Mr. Brian Kernohan reports

MANULIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PUBLISHES INAUGURAL TNFD ALIGNED NATURE-RELATED DISCLOSURE FOR TIMBERLAND AND AGRICULTURE

Manulife Financial Corp.'s Manulife Investment Management (Manulife IM) has published its inaugural timberland and agriculture nature disclosure, aligned with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). As an early supporter of TNFD, Manulife IM will be an early adopter with its publication of its TNFD-aligned disclosure. As the world's largest manager of natural capital, Manulife IM prioritized issuing this report, which outlines its responsible approach to the stewardship of timberland and agricultural assets. Manulife IM oversees approximately 5.5 million acres of timberland across the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil and Chile, and manages approximately 400,000 acres of prime farmland in major agricultural regions of the United States, and in Canada, Chile and Australia. These assets total more than $15-billion as of June 30, 2023, as part of Manulife IM's comprehensive private markets strategies.

"Although the TNFD is a recent initiative, we have maintained a longstanding commitment to the responsible stewardship of timberland and farmland for over 30 years," said Brian Kernohan, chief sustainability officer, private markets, Manulife Investment Management. "Our first TNFD-aligned nature disclosure marks an important milestone, and it further attests our ongoing pursuit of excellence in responsible operations and transparent reporting, as well as our commitment to nature and our support for the TNFD framework."

The TNFD aims to bring changes to the culture and actions of companies and financial institutions through risk management and mainstream corporate reporting as it relates to nature-related assessment and disclosure. The TNFD recommends 14 disclosures covering governance, strategy, risk and impact management, and metrics and targets, to promote the provision of clear, comparable and consistent information by companies to investors and other providers of capital. Manulife IM has supported the development of the TNFD since its early stages, championing the release of the TNFD's final recommendations and reporting framework in September, 2023.

"Nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities are thoroughly considered throughout our business, from the initial stages of investment due diligence to the operational management. We believe it's our responsibility to keep natural capital assets healthy and productive over the long term," said Thomas Sarno, global head of timberland investments, Manulife Investment Management. "We strive to pro-actively assess and manage nature-related risks and opportunities to help our clients achieve their objectives and build resilient portfolios."

"Nature plays a vital role in the future success of our businesses, the economy and society," added Oliver S. Williams IV, global head of agriculture investments, Manulife Investment Management. "Alignment with the TNFD general requirements and disclosures, with the data and information currently available, is a significant step in our journey to achieving key priorities of our sustainability program supporting climate change mitigation, and positive biodiversity and nature-related outcomes."

Highlights from the report include:

• Materiality in the investment process:
  • Across both timberland and agriculture, Manulife's IM's stewardship approach focuses on climate, nature and people throughout the cycle of an investment.
  • Since 2021, the firm has used a proprietary process -- its sustainability tool kit -- that was co-developed in-house by its sustainability, acquisitions and operations teams to identify, assess and score environmental, social and governance components of every transaction.
  • Together with its deforestation policy, carbon principles and carbon tool kit (used specifically for forest carbon project evaluation), this approach is designed to systematically consider all identified material sustainability considerations.
• Materiality in operations:
  • Manulife IM believes independent third party sustainability certification is a comprehensive mechanism for credibly demonstrating sustainable asset management and, critically, that it provides independent assurance to stakeholders.
  • As of Dec. 31, 2022, 100 per cent of Manulife IM's managed forests were certified under either the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). In agriculture, 100 per cent of its U.S. farmland investments were certified in June, 2022, to the Leading Harvest Farmland Management Standard by a third party, and other agriculture investments have participated in Leading Harvest pilot programs in Australia and Canada. Some assets have been certified to additional agriculture standards on a case-by-case basis. Over all, 223 of the 245 properties (91 per cent, or approximately 80 per cent of agriculture assets under management) in the global agriculture investment portfolio carried one or more third party certifications.
• Consideration of time horizons:
  • Long-term thinking is fundamental to timberland and agriculture investment management, and Manulife IM's experience operating timberland and farmland assets over the past 30 years has shaped and refined its ability to manage sustainably over extended time horizons.
  • Manulife IM's financial models and asset management plans are forecast over 50 years for timberland, while for agriculture the forecast is typically 10 to 30 years ahead, depending on the type of asset.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corp. Its mission is to make decisions easier and lives better by empowering investors for a better tomorrow. Serving more than 17 million individuals, institutions and retirement plan members, the company believes its global reach, complementary businesses and the strength of its parent company position it to help investors capitalize on today's emerging global trends. The company provides its clients access to public and private investment solutions across equities, fixed income, multiasset, alternative and sustainability-linked strategies, such as natural capital, to help them make more informed financial decisions and achieve their investment objectives. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions.