Overview
Fostering responsible business is at the heart of what we do – it drives our business behaviors and strategy, our commitment to investing in and developing our colleagues and our environmental and social practices and policies.
Strong and effective governance practices—developed over 150 years through a commitment to ethics and integrity, board diversity and independence, and stakeholder engagement—underpin our ability to support our clients and our communities.
Highlights
Internal
- We appointed our 5th consecutive diverse candidate, Jane Lute, to our Board of Directors. Of our 13 directors, three are women and three are men who are racially or ethnically diverse.
- 100% of our colleagues certified their commitment to live The Greater Good and win with integrity.
- We published Client Engagement Principles in May 2020 to help us navigate an evolving risk landscape, to make responsible decisions and better serve the long-term interests of our clients and the communities in which they operate.
External
- Mercer’s Executive Rewards practice advised more than 350 clients in 2020 on shareholder engagement and shareholder voting policies across all aspects of executive pay and corporate governance.
- Marsh issued FAQs to clients to explain the threats of “silent cyber” and provided guidance to help policyholders maximize cyber coverage.
- We partnered with the World Economic Forum to publish the Global Risks Report, which provides a rich perspective on the major threats that may impact global prosperity in 2020 and over the next decade.
Spotlight
Government Relations and Managing Political Interests
Marsh McLennan views its engagement with government as part of responsible corporate citizenship.
Our Government Relations team represents our public policy priorities by strategically engaging policymakers and external stakeholders. This includes sharing thought leadership with policymakers, providing expert testimony and engaging with trade associations and coalitions to amplify our messaging.
Marsh McLennan’s government relations activity is subject to our code of conduct, The Greater Good, and other corporate policies that address interactions with public officials, gifts and entertainment of public officials and corporate political contributions.
Martine Ferland, as Vice Chair, Marsh McLennan and CEO of Mercer, visited Capitol Hill in February 2020 to meet with Richie Neal, Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee. They discussed our client priorities relating to retirement and Mercer’s support for the recently passed SECURE Act.
Resources
Policies on Political Expenditures and Conduct
Marsh McLennan does not use corporate funds for independent political expenditures in support of or opposition to any candidate for office. That prohibition also applies to payments made to trade associations. Each payment to a trade association is individually reviewed and subject to attestation, to ensure compliance with this prohibition.
Further, it is our policy that Marsh McLennan does not engage in the following kinds of political conduct:
• Paying for independent advertising or public communications that expressly support or oppose a federal political candidate
• Communicating its view on specific candidates
• Communicating a view on whether a candidate's voting record is in line with the company's view on issues
• Establishing a federal political action committee (PAC) to engage in so-called “independent expenditures”.
A Foundation for Ethical Political Engagement
Marsh McLennan Political Action Committee (PAC) is a non-partisan, US federal political action committee that receives voluntary contributions from Company employees. The Company's political action committee provides the Government Relations Department with important opportunities to build relationships with federal lawmakers. The PAC does not use corporate funds to make political contributions and operates with a loyal base of voluntary support from Marsh McLennan colleagues.
Marsh McLennan PAC does not contribute PAC funds to any presidential exploratory committee or presidential campaign committee. Marsh McLennan PAC publicly discloses all contributions as required by applicable laws. Federal Election Committee filings for Marsh McLennan PAC can be found here.
PAC Governance
Marsh McLennan PAC is governed by an Advisory Committee, which administers the PAC’s budget over each two-year election cycle and oversees compliance with US federal election laws.
The PAC makes contributions with the approval of the Advisory Committee chairperson to federal candidates that are governed by a set of criteria and made transparent according to federal law and Company policy.
For more details, please review the PAC By-Laws here.
Giving Guidelines
Marsh McLennan PAC contributes to candidates for federal office who:
• Support Marsh McLennan’s business interests and those of our clients.
• Serve on committees with jurisdiction over policies that are core to our interests.
• Serve in districts or states where our colleagues live and work, and
• Align with our Company's values as outlined in The Greater Good.
Lobbying Activity and Disclosure
Marsh McLennan actively engages public officials at the federal and state levels on issues that impact our colleagues, businesses and clients. Marsh McLennan also retains outside consultants and lobbyists to advocate on our behalf.
In compliance with federal law, Marsh McLennan and its outside consultants file lobbying reports (LD-2) on a quarterly basis to disclose federal lobbying activities and expenses.
In addition, Marsh McLennan’s federal lobbyists are required to file semiannual LD-203 reports on any personal funds contributed to federal candidates. A separate semiannual LD-203 report is filed on behalf of Marsh McLennan, including Marsh McLennan PAC.
Corporate Governance Documents
Sound corporate governance principles, acting with integrity and maintaining the trust of our shareholders are among our most important values and practices at Marsh McLennan.
Key guidance includes:
- Tax Strategy
- Annual Reports + Proxy Statements
- Lobbying Disclosure, Office of the Clerk (house.gov)
- Transparency Register (europa.eu)
Find additional corporate governance guidelines, bylaws and charters here.
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