Aflac Incorporated Releases 2021 Business and Sustainability Report

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Mar 21, 2022, 07:00 ET

The Aflac Way: Making a Difference While Balancing Purpose and Profit

COLUMBUS, Ga., March 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated announced today that the company has released its 2021 Business and Sustainability Report, titled "The Aflac Way: Making a Difference While Balancing Purpose and Profit." The 2021 Business and Sustainability report is available at investors.aflac.com under "Sustainability."

The 2021 Business and Sustainability Report provides key insights into Aflac Incorporated's environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and achievements alongside an overview of operations and financial results for the 2021 fiscal year. This year's report also highlights achievements of the company advancing integration of ESG into its investment and ownership decisions, including: becoming a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment; progressing on its path to carbon neutrality and net zero emissions; making $725 million of incremental commitments in qualified investments that address economic mobility and social inequity; allocating $252 million to Green and Social investments within the first year of issuing the company's first sustainability bond; continuing to foster an inclusive culture in Japan and the U.S.; exceeding $157 million in contributions in support of the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta; supporting 140,000 pediatric patients and their families who stay at the Aflac Parents House in Japan during treatments; and giving a My Special Aflac Duck® to more than 13,000 children since 2018 to provide comfort through their treatment for cancer and most recently, sickle cell disease. It also highlights Aflac Incorporated's focus on strong governance and commitment to being a good steward of the environment.

About the 2021 Business and Sustainability Report, Aflac Incorporated Chairman and CEO Dan Amos commented: "I don't think it's coincidental that Aflac has achieved success while focusing on doing the right things. In fact, I believe they go hand in hand. I'm proud of what we have accomplished in terms of both our social purpose and earnings results – in other words, balancing purpose and profit. Throughout this report, you will see Aflac's sound business strategies, unique company culture, and commitment to doing business the right way, including our commitment to diversity, the environment, governance and our communities. This is all done through the lens of balancing purpose and profit."

Aflac Incorporated President and Chief Operating Officer Frederick J. Crawford added: "ESG is all about doing right by not only our shareholders, but also our employees, policyholders, and the communities in which they live and work. We've always had purpose, but now we have the stakeholder support and measurement tools to help us meet our profit goals in ways that also meet our environmental and social goals. We recognize that to become and remain an industry leader in ESG, every company, including Aflac, needs to adapt continuously, and that is what we are doing. In the spirit of the transparency we prioritize, we've posted material that our investors have expressed an interest in seeing, including the company's 2020 Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report, the Aflac U.S. 2020 EEO-1 Disclosure and the company's Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) submission."

The report also integrates various reporting frameworks, including the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which are easily located in the report's ESG Reporting Index.

Investors may learn more about Aflac Incorporated and its commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and social responsibility, at investors.aflac.com under "Sustainability." Posted there is the company's 2020 Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report, the Aflac U.S. 2020 EEO-1 Disclosure and the company's Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) submission.

ABOUT AFLAC INCORPORATED

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is a Fortune 500 company helping provide protection to more than 50 million people through its subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S., where it is a leading supplemental insurer by paying cash fast when policyholders get sick or injured. For more than six decades, insurance policies of Aflac Incorporated's subsidiaries have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the U.S., Aflac is the number one provider of voluntary/worksite insurance products. Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance in Japan, where it insures 1 in 4 households. In 2021, Aflac Incorporated was proud to be included as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere for the 16^th consecutive year, Fortune's list of World's Most Admired Companies for the 21^st time, and in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index. In 2021, Aflac Incorporated also became a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and in 2022, Bloomberg's Gender-Equality Index included Aflac Incorporated for the third consecutive year. To find out how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover, get to know us at aflac.com or aflac.com/espanol. Investors may learn more about Aflac Incorporated and its commitment to ESG and social responsibility at investors.aflac.com under "Sustainability."

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" to encourage companies to provide prospective information, so long as those informational statements are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. The company desires to take advantage of these provisions. This document contains cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected herein, and in any other statements made by company officials in communications with the financial community and contained in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Forward-looking statements are not based on historical information and relate to future operations, strategies, financial results or other developments. Furthermore, forward-looking information is subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties. In particular, statements containing words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "goal," "objective," "may," "should," "estimate," "intends," "projects," "will," "assumes," "potential," "target," "outlook" or similar words as well as specific projections of future results, generally qualify as forward-looking. Aflac undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements.

The company cautions readers that the following factors, in addition to other factors mentioned from time to time, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements:

difficult conditions in global capital markets and the economy, including those caused by COVID-19
defaults and credit downgrades of investments
exposure to significant interest rate risk
concentration of business in Japan
limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments
foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate
differing judgments applied to investment valuations
significant valuation judgments in determination of expected credit losses recorded on the Company's investments
decreases in the Company's financial strength or debt ratings
decline in creditworthiness of other financial institutions
concentration of the Company's investments in any particular single-issuer or sector
the effects of COVID-19 and its variants (both known and emerging), and any resulting economic effects and government interventions, on the Company's business and financial results
ability to attract and retain qualified sales associates, brokers, employees, and distribution partners
deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions
ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in information technology systems
interruption in telecommunication, information technology and other operational systems, or a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on such systems
subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to the Parent Company
inherent limitations to risk management policies and procedures
the operational risks of third party vendors
tax rates applicable to the Company may change
failure to comply with restrictions on policyholder privacy and information security
extensive regulation and changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities
competitive environment and ability to anticipate and respond to market trends
catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, as a result of climate change, epidemics, pandemics (such as the coronavirus COVID-19), tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, war or other military action, terrorism or other acts of violence, and damage incidental to such events
ability to protect the Aflac brand and the Company's reputation
ability to effectively manage key executive succession
changes in accounting standards
level and outcome of litigation
allegations or determinations of worker misclassification in the United States