Better Health for All

Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, demonstrates a strategic focus on health-positive impact, acknowledging the link between financial wellbeing and health.

The company's purpose includes helping people live better, longer lives. It provides tools like the Money Mindset app to over 1.5 million members and is a headline partner for Cancer Research UK's Race for Life. The Phoenix Group Foundation focuses on mental health and substance use disorders, constructing innovative treatment centers and supporting young adults and the transgender community. Standard Life has a comprehensive 'Vulnerability strategy' with innovative approaches, including a SignLive service for Deaf BSL users, training for Vulnerable Customer Champions, and a VR experience to foster empathy for vulnerable customers. The company implements extensive wellbeing programs and mental health support, including a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders, and a partnership with Samaritans. It offers exceptional health education through its Money Mindset app, webinars, and resources like the 'Hope In Action' guide for suicide prevention. The Phoenix Group Foundation's core focus on substance use disorders and provision of treatment centers contributes to a comprehensive addiction prevention framework. The company also shows strong environmental mitigation efforts, achieving an 80% reduction in operational emissions and procuring 100% renewable electricity across UK and EU sites, leading to positive health externalities.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Standard Life launched its Family Finance Hub in June 2025, a digital coaching platform providing comprehensive financial education with interactive tools and jargon-free guidance.

This platform reaches approximately 4.1 million of its 12 million customers, representing about 34.17% of its customer base. The company also partnered with Moneyhub in June 2023 to integrate open finance functionality, indicating a move towards data portability. As an investment company focused on pensions, savings, and insurance, Standard Life does not appear to offer consumer lending products, making fair lending compliance and debt burden ratio not applicable. There is also no evidence of the company operating financial service access points in specific underserved geographic regions.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Standard Life Plc, now known as abrdn plc, is an investment company. Its core business does not involve the procurement or trade of physical commodities, nor does it have a traditional manufacturing supply chain. Therefore, KPIs related to fair trade certifications, supplier audits, forced/child labour incidents in a physical supply chain, supply chain traceability, remediation speed for such incidents, ethical clauses in material sourcing contracts, and materials risk are not applicable to its direct operations. The provided articles about abrdn plc focus on ESG integration in investment decisions and engagement with investee companies

, as well as its own operational emissions and internal diversity initiatives , but do not provide evidence for these specific fair trade and ethical sourcing KPIs. No specific data on the percentage of procurement budget directed to indigenous, minority, or local community suppliers is provided, leading to the omission of that KPI.

Honest & Fair Business

Standard Life Aberdeen plc (now abrdn plc) has established a confidential 'Speak Up' helpline for whistleblowing.

This helpline is managed by an independent third party, allowing employees to report unethical behavior without fear of retaliation.

Kind to Animals

Standard Life Plc, as an investment company, has an investment policy to exclude companies involved in industries deemed unethical, such as animal testing.

For its core business operations, which are financial services, several animal welfare KPIs are not applicable as the company does not engage in direct animal product manufacturing, testing, or agriculture. While the company states it takes steps to improve biodiversity across its operational sites and joined Nature Action 100, a global investor initiative on nature and biodiversity, no measurable impact or specific metrics for wildlife conservation are provided. Similarly, general supplier due diligence is mentioned, but not specifically for animal welfare compliance.

No War, No Weapons

Standard Life Plc, including its former entity Standard Life Aberdeen, has stated responsible investment policies that exclude controversial weapons, such as cluster munitions, anti-personnel landmines, and companies involved in weapons production and nuclear power

. However, public records from January 2018 to January 2020 show that Standard Life Aberdeen owned or managed shares worth over £1.5 billion in 20 nuclear weapons producers , with the majority of its funds not excluding these producers . This indicates a significant lack of compliance with its ethical red lines and a failure to achieve zero exposure to controversial weapons , resulting in 0% divestment from these defense-related assets. While the Phoenix Group, of which Standard Life is a part, is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and UN Principles for Responsible Investment , the actual investment practices demonstrate uneven implementation of human rights commitments.

Planet-Friendly Business

The company's targets are not currently seeking validation from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

100% of waste from all core operational sites is diverted from landfill. The company's approach to managing climate risks is in line with TCFD recommendations, and it has been proactive in publishing TCFD-aligned reports. Climate scenario analysis is used to assess the ability to meet decarbonization targets, with the company on track for 2025 targets in most scenarios, though 2030 and 2050 targets are less certain.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

The company has established 5 formal partnership agreements with local community groups through its UNESCO partnership, focusing on environmental sustainability and cultural preservation in specific biosphere reserves.

These projects include initiatives like generating marine litter data through community-based research in Crete and promoting Sustainable Drainage Systems in the UK. The company has not reported any cultural appropriation incidents, which aligns with its business model as an investment company. Furthermore, it has taken active measures to protect cultural or heritage sites through its partnerships, with no reported incidents of disruption. No cultural incidents or controversies requiring a response framework have been reported.

Safe & Smart Tech

All colleagues receive annual mandatory computer-based training on data protection and financial crime prevention, with an enhanced program including testing and performance linkage.

The company is materially compliant with the FCA’s Consumer Duty for open products since July 2023 and proactively prepares for new regulations, adhering to EU SRD II, UK Corporate Governance Code, and anti-bribery law. It explicitly states it does not sell customer data, sharing it only with approved companies after checks. Users have comprehensive rights including objection, access, data portability, rectification, restriction, and deletion, supported by a Privacy Hub. The company received formal approval in July 2023 for closure of the advanced CBEST remediation program, with a Security Assurance Team conducting ongoing penetration testing and annual incident response plan testing. Vulnerability management matured in 2023, with a high SecurityScorecard rating for timely patching. There are no documented data breaches within the last three years, supported by continually strengthened cyber security controls. An AI Governance framework, principles, and standards are in place, with AI tools developed with a "human in the loop" and compliance checks. The 2023-2025 strategy includes a Group Identity Platform and Zero Trust model, implying multi-factor authentication. The Group holds ISO 27001 Information Security Management Certification for its Workplace Pension and Benefits schemes.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

The company has eliminated the use of single-use plastics and disposable coffee cups.

It achieved a 78.2% recycling rate for non-hazardous waste in the reporting year, which is an increase from 75.9% in the previous year. Hazardous waste generation decreased by 29% to 833 tonnes in the reporting year. The company implements multiple waste reduction initiatives, including annual waste audits (conducted in 2023, 2024, and planned for 2025), improved recycling signage, increasing types of waste collected, and partnering with Olio to redistribute 388kg of surplus food in 2024. Its London office received an award for waste management. However, the company states that waste reduction targets and relevant measures will be developed in the future.