Empowering our communities
Empowering our communities
Empower’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging initiatives aim to build an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace where everyone belongs. We elevate the associate experience further through Business Resource Groups and Corporate Social Responsibility programs in pursuit of deepening and strengthening the relationships between our associates and their communities.
Our volunteer impact
Our volunteer impact
In 2022, associates across Empower's footprint volunteered thousands of hours in their communities. The number in each state on the below map represents the number of hours associates based in that state volunteered last year.
$3M
Donated to nonprofits
1,702
Nonprofits supported
29,104
Volunteer hours
14%
Percentage of associates that volunteered
35%
Corporate sponsorship recipients serving under-resourced communities
2,012
Number of associates in Business Resource Groups
8
Number of Business Resource Groups
20%
Percentage of associates that belong to at least one Business Resource Group
With the acquisition of Prudential's full service retirement business, Empower invested in fourteen nonprofits in three of the acquired areas to continue supporting long-term, impact-driven partnerships.
Empower hired its first Chief Diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, Djuana Beamon. She has begun to execute an impactful three-year strategy to advance DEIB and corporate social responsibility.
In 2022, Empower’s Business Resource Groups (BRGs) hosted 84 events, including an alphabet series highlighting the different letters of LGBTQIA+, discussions on diverse allyship, and events celebrating the unique cultures of our associates.
In partnership with Horace Mann Educational Associates, Empower piloted the Neurodiversity Hiring Program to train twelve neurodiverse interns during a two-week immersive. Four interns from the immersive joined Empower for an eight-week internship, and three came on as full-time, salaried Empower associates.
As a company, Empower celebrated Juneteenth as a paid company holiday in recognition of the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.
The Women’s Empowerment Network BRG ran a successful, organization-wide mentorship program with 269 employees, focusing on topics ranging from change management to public speaking.
In alignment with goals set by Great-West LifeCo, Empower’s parent company, Empower is on track to achieve 50% women in management roles and is making progress in achieving 25% underrepresented groups in management roles by 2030.
For the fourth year in a row, Empower was named an honoree of the Civic 50 Colorado as one of the most community-minded companies in Colorado.
In partnership with our VETS BRG, dozens of associates laid wreaths on the gravestones of veterans at nine cemeteries with Wreaths Across America.
Environmental, Social, and Governance
Environmental, Social, and Governance
In 2022, Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America and Empower Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York publicly disclosed information in line with the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Climate Risk Disclosure Surveys.
Highlights in alignment with the four pillars of the TCFD include:
Highlights in alignment with the four pillars of the TCFD include:
Governance
Governance
Empower Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York, a subsidiary of Empower, evolved its climate governance to comply with new regulation from the New York Division of Financial Services. The board’s audit committee received training on the financial risks of climate change and best practices for mitigating them. Board responsibilities were clearly defined and approved.
Strategy
Strategy
Empower’s investment division is utilizing an ESG integration tool for credit underwriting in its insurance general account. Current and potential holdings will be assessed in the following areas:
- Environment, such as carbon emissions and air quality
- Social, such as human rights issues in corporate supply chains
- Governance, such as board management, quality and integrity
Risk management
Risk management
Empower updated its Own Risk & Solvency Assessment (ORSA) report with an industry best-practice set of climate-change scenarios. One component in the ORSA report is the stress and scenario testing. These scenarios were updated to align with the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).
Metrics and targets
Metrics and targets
Empower tracks, audits, and reports Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions from our facilities. In addition to tracking emissions, Empower saved the equivalent of 2,367 trees and conserved nearly 1 million gallons of water in 2022. We are setting targets to reduce our emissions in line with climate science.
What's next
What's next
Board diversity
Empower supports associate nonprofit board service through strategic advice and monetary support. In 2023, Empower will launch an internal board service training program to prepare associates to be effective board members, and to diversify associate representation on nonprofit boards. We seek to provide opportunities for personal and professional growth through meaningful service.
Recruiting diversity
To continue thoughtfully diversifying our workforce, Empower will focus on deepening relationships with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), community colleges, and work with local chambers of commerce and National Urban League affiliates. We seek to provide more diverse interviewing panels and evaluate job postings for inclusive language. Additionally, we aim to support the full career journey of our diverse associates through internal sponsorship and both internal and external talent development programs.
Neurodiversity hiring program expansion
Continuing the success of the Neurodiversity Hiring Program partnership with Horace Mann Educational Associates, Empower will invite 10 individuals on the autism spectrum to participate in the immersive program. We aim to hire five full-time associates for the fall.
Internal financial well-being study
The well-being of our associates is key to our long-term success, which currently has Empower administering more than $1.4 trillion in plan assets1 and 18 million1 Americans. To support the well-being of our associates, we will conduct an internal study to better understand what associates need to meet their own financial goals, and we will leverage the study’s findings in future white papers and thought leadership.
Improving sustainable investment options
As environmental, social, and governance capabilities evolve, and new investment opportunities come to market, retirement savers expect their own options to also evolve. As of December 31, 2022, Empower has more than 300 ESG funds2 available on the broad Empower platform and more than 150 on its Empower Select™ platform for plan sponsors to choose from.
Working toward net zero
In November 2021, Empower’s parent company, Great-West Lifeco, announced a commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. As a financial institution, our largest opportunity to address climate change stems from the activities we enable through our loans, investments, and insurance underwriting. We’ve continuously increased the proportion of general account investments for which we calculate financed emissions, and we’ve updated our baseline calculation.
1 As of March 31, 2023. Information refers to all retirement business of Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America (EAICA) and its subsidiaries, including Empower Retirement, LLC; Empower Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York (ELAINY); and Empower Annuity Insurance Company (EAIC), marketed under the Empower brand. EAICA’s consolidated total assets under administration (AUA) were $1,400.0B. AUA is a non-GAAP measure and does not reflect the financial stability or strength of a company. EAICA’s statutory assets total $74.6B and liabilities total $70.9B. ELAINY’s statutory assets total $7.1B and liabilities total $6.8B. EAIC’s statutory assets total $86.6B and liabilities total $85.3B.
On August 1, 2022, Empower announced that it is changing the names of various companies within its corporate group to align the names with the Empower brand. For more information regarding the name changes, please visit empower.com/name-change.
2 ESG Funds as designated by Morningstar. Morningstar’s definition of an ESG Fund is: An indication whether the investment product uses ESG criteria as a central part or binding factors of their security-selection and portfolio-construction process. Strategies that incorporate ESG factors typically have explicit sustainable criteria that invested companies must meet. These strategies generally use some combination of positive screening, negative screening, and active engagement with the investee company or holding. These strategies endeavor to promote sustainability and minimize negative impact, without focusing on a specific theme or area of action.
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