“The Sun Life Centre is a testament not only to our commitment to sustainability, but to our belief in the future of the Philippines.”
At last Thursday’s inauguration of Sun Life Centre, the headquarters of Sun Life Financial Philippines (SLFP), Donald Stewart, Global chief executive officer of Sun Life Financial, said that they are very committed on the country’s future.
“Sun Life Philippines continues to be one of our top markets in Asia. With a history spanning 116 years, we have a solid brand here and are very committed to growing our business by providing Filipinos with top quality products and services to meet their needs,” Stewart said.
SLFP introduced life insurance in the Philippines in 1895 and is a member of the Sun Life Financial group of companies.
It provides a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers.
As of end-2010, Sun Life of Canada Philippines Inc., which manages and distributes life insurances, posted over P90 Billion in assets under management.
Sun Life Asset Management Company, Inc., on the other hand which manages and distributes mutual funds, posted over P20 billion in managed assets as of April 2011.
Sun Life Philippines is backed by over 600 employees; 3,000 financial advisors; 32 new business offices; 35 sales offices and 5 financial stores nationwide.
The company has over a million individual and group life policyholders to date.
The Sun Life Centre is SLFP’s first green corporate building which will focus on long-term sustainability, not only for their business, but also for the environment.
The 14-storey Sun Life Centre in Bonifacio Global City has already been pre-certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and it will be the first green building in the country to receive a Gold Level LEED certification for Core and Shell development and for Commercial Interiors.
LEED is an internationally recognized green building rating system developed by the US Green Building Council to guide owners and operators in implementing LEED-inspired design, construction operations and maintenance solutions.
“Making it a green building aligns with our company’s focus on long-term sustainability, not only in business but also in support of the environment. Providing a healthy workspace for our various stakeholders allows them to perform more efficiently and become more focused and productive,” Riza Mantaring, SLFP President and CEO said.
“In other words, a green building makes strong business sense for our employees, advisors, building tenants and the larger community,” she added.
The Sun Life Centre will promote a whole-building approach to sustainability, through recognizing performance in these key areas: energy savings, water efficiency, carbon emission reductions, improved indoor environmental quality, stewardship of resources and education on sustainability practices.
Sun Life said that the green building will create lower energy costs, with its double-glazed low emissivity glass allowing natural daylight in. At the same time, it also blocks outside noise and heat, reducing harmful emissions and minimizing the use of cooling devices.
The Sun Life Centre also has a green roof where a rain harvesting system can irrigate rainwater for non-potable use.
“The green roof will mitigate the ‘heat island effect’ which transforms buildings into pocket islands of heat. Because of vegetation, Sun Life Centre’s green roof will absorb the urban heat while also serving as an outdoor garden,” Armando Apuya, SLFP Director for Administrative Services, said.
The building also addressed the “sick building syndrome,” which refers to ailments mostly related to poor indoor air quality in the office, usually due to the building’s ventilation system.
As the Sun Life Centre reduces the use of air conditioning and has increased circulation of natural air, it becomes beneficial for the wellness of the tenants.
“The Centre’s features are expected to set the standard for premium office architectures in the Bonifacio Global City,” Apuya said.
Sun Life will occupy 50 percent of the building, while the remaining 50 percent will be leased.
“Hopefully before the end of the year, we’ll be fully occupied,” Mantaring said.
Nokia has already moved in to the building, while Philips will be moving in by July. Sun Life will occupy their space in the building by September.
Recently, SLFP entered into an agreement with GPL Holdings, Inc., a member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies to acquire 49 percent of Grepalife Financial, Inc., which will result in the creation of a restructured entity called Sun Life Grepa Financial, Inc.
The new joint venture entity will allow Sun Life Financial Philippines to form a bancassurance relationship with the Yuchengco-owned Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and provide quality protection products to the bank’s clients nationwide.
Under the deal, Sun Life Grepa Financial will enter into an exclusive distribution agreement with RCBC, which will give rise to a line of insurance products that will be made available to RCBC’s two million strong customer base through its over 350 branches.
The Yuchengco Group of Companies, through GPL Holdings Inc., will maintain 51 percent ownership of Sun Life Grepa Financial while Sun Life will have management control of the company.
“We’re extremely excited about this deal. Sun Life Philippines has a long history in the country and is already one of the leading players in the insurance industry. This alliance allows us to take advantage of the growing opportunity in the bancassurance sector and positions Sun Life Philippines for even greater growth,” Mantaring said.
“The joint venture deal will not only benefit both parties but will also bring greater choice of insurance products to Filipinos,” she added.
Sun Life Grepa Financial aims to become the exclusive provider of top-quality protection and wealth management products to RCBC’s customers across the Philippines.
“We are pleased to seal this partnership as this will position the Yuchengco Group’s financial services business for further growth as we will now be able to offer customers an even wider range of world class insurance products that will better serve their needs for protection and financial security,” said Grepalife President Victor Quisumbing.
“With Sun Life Grepa Financial, we will surely introduce a more diverse product line that will cater to different market segments targeting specific ages, genders, paying capacities, risk appetites,” Quisumbing added.
Sun Life Grepa Financial deepens Sun Life’s presence in the Philippines, reaffirming its commitment to the country.
The company will operate separately from Sun Life Financial Philippines.
Sun Life Financial Philippines will continue to focus on helping customers achieve lifetime financial security, via its 3,000 advisors.
