TORONTO, June 6, 2013 /CNW/ - Sun Life Financial is pleased to be named to the 2013 Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada ranking by Corporate Knights. It's the eighth time in 12 years that Sun Life has been named to the list. The Best 50 Corporate Citizens recognizes Sun Life as one of the country's top companies across resource, employee and financial management - which are critical elements of Sun Life's focus on sustainability.

"We're honoured to be viewed as a leading corporate citizen," says Phil Gillin [VIDEO], Senior Managing Director, Head of Canadian Property Investment, Sun Life Financial. "We're committed to operating as a sustainable company; that means taking accountability for our interactions with the environment, contributing to communities where we live and work, and developing high-performing employees focused on nurturing enduring customer relationships."

Sun Life is one of only three insurers on the Best 50 Corporate Citizens this year. Key factors that contributed to Sun Life's recognition included leadership diversity and linking compensation with talent management and customer satisfaction - which align with Sun Life's priorities to create a high performance culture, intensify customer focus and improve productivity. For more complete information about the methodology, visit www.corporateknights.com.

Sun Life and sustainability

In addition to the Best 50 Corporate Citizens ranking, Sun Life is the only North American insurance company on the Corporate Knights 2013 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World. Making life brighter [INFOGRAPHIC] through sustainable endeavours is at the very heart of helping people achieve lifetime financial security and ensuring Sun Life delivers value to its stakeholders.

Making life brighter through sustainable business practices, to Sun Life, means:

• Fighting diseases, like diabetes, and improving health around the world;
• Giving back to the community by supporting social services, providing disaster relief and encouraging volunteerism among Sun Life's employees;
• Working with environmentally sustainable organizations and like-minded companies to advance the importance of sustainability within Sun Life's operations and, ultimately, the world; and
• Making responsible, sustainable investments to contribute to the Canadian and global economies.

To find out more about Sun Life's commitment to making life brighter, please visit Sun Life's Public Accountability and Sustainability Report.

Other recognition

Sun Life Financial is the "Most Trusted Life Insurance Company" in Canada, according to the 2013 Reader's Digest Trusted Brand consumer survey. Sun Life was also listed, once again, on the 2012 FTSE4Good Index as well as on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2013 the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $571 billion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

Note to Editors: All figures in Canadian dollars.

Video with caption: "Video: "Sun Life Financial is honoured to be viewed as a leading corporate citizen," says Phil Gillin, Senior Managing Director, Head of Canadian Property Investment, Sun Life Financial.". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20130606_C5606_VIDEO_EN_27617.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20130606_C5606_PHOTO_EN_27617.jpg&clientName=Sun%20Life%20Financial%20Inc%2E&caption=Video%3A%20%22Sun%20Life%20Financial%20is%20honoured%20to%20be%20viewed%20as%20a%20leading%20corporate%20citizen%2C%22%20says%20Phil%20Gillin%2C%20Senior%20Managing%20Director%2C%20Head%20of%20Canadian%20Property%20Investment%2C%20Sun%20Life%20Financial%2E&title=SUN%20LIFE%20FINANCIAL%20INC%2E%20%2D%20Sun%20Life%20Financial%20named%20one%20of%20Canada%27s%20Best%2050%20Corporate%20Citizens%20for%202013&headline=Sun%20Life%20Financial%20named%20one%20of%20Canada%27s%20Best%2050%20Corporate%20Citizens%20for%202013

SOURCE: Sun Life Financial Inc.