Corporate responsibility

AEGON’s approach to issues of corporate responsibility mirrors the Group’s overall structure. At Group level, AEGON sets out a number of basic principles, providing a framework for strategies that are carried out generally by individual country units.

In line with this approach, country and business units are encouraged to focus on issues specific to their local situations. This approach helps ensure that AEGON’s common principles become an integral part of the Group’s business activities, wherever they are located. More information on AEGON’s corporate responsibility strategies and initiatives may be found in the Group’s 2007 Corporate Responsibility Report¹.

1. AEGON’s 2007 Corporate Responsibility Report contains further information on the Group’s corporate responsibility strategy and initiatives, as well as more detailed data on customer and employee satisfaction and AEGON’s environmental and investment records.

Common principles

• AEGON endeavors to provide products and services that are transparent and easy to understand, helping customers secure their long-term financial futures;
• AEGON acts as a responsible employer, providing the conditions, incentives and formal training its employees require for personal success;
• AEGON takes measures to help reduce the impact of its business operations on the environment, seeking to limit energy use and curb unnecessary waste;
• AEGON recognizes its position as one of the world’s leading investors and strives to ensure that its investment decisions take into account not only the need for profit but also the interests of all legitimate stakeholders and the wider communities in which the Group operates;
• AEGON endeavors always to provide clear, accurate, timely and transparent information so that investors, customers and other stakeholders can make the right financial decisions for themselves and their families;
• AEGON has four core values to guide its decision-making: Respect, Quality, Transparency and Trust.

Code of Conduct

AEGON’s Code of Conduct contains rules, regulations and guidelines for employees that set out the Group’s core values and its underlying principles of business practice. The Code, which applies to all AEGON employees, covers a number of different areas, including non-discrimination, protecting free and open competition in the Group’s markets, preventing insider trading and money laundering, as well as ensuring clear, accurate, timely and transparent disclosure of financial and other information.

Importantly, the Code also includes ‘whistleblower’ provisions allowing employees to report suspected irregularities without jeopardizing their position.

AEGON’s Code of Conduct operates in conjunction with national laws and separate provisions set out at country unit level.

Investing responsibly

With more than EUR 370 billion in revenue-generating assets, AEGON is one of the world’s leading institutional investors. It manages investments not only on its own account, but also on behalf of its various customers and policyholders. The Group places great importance on the responsibilities it has as an investor and recognizes that poor social or environmental practices can affect the value of the companies in which it invests.

AEGON’s investment strategy consists in attempting to balance the need to maximize returns with consideration for social, environmental and other non-financial factors. Early in 2008, AEGON introduced a new Global Voting Policy to operate in conjunction with existing country unit voting policies.

In addition, AEGON adheres to a number of international agreements, which set out guidelines or minimum standards for pollution, human rights or labor conditions. These agreements help shape and inform the Group’s investment decisions. They include:

• The Carbon Disclosure Project
• United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Core standards of the International Labor Organization
• Principles on human rights and labor standards contained in the UN Global Compact
• Global Reporting Initiative

AEGON also offers Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) funds in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Hungary. These funds invest only in companies that demonstrate ethically and environmentally sound business practices. Typically, SRI funds avoid investing in certain sectors of the economy, including armaments, firearms and gambling.

Supporting good causes

In 2007, AEGON donated a total of EUR 6.57 million to charitable organizations around the world, down from EUR 7.18 million in 2006. These donations represent 0.3% of AEGON’s 2007 net income. Most of AEGON’s charitable donations in the United States are channelled through AEGON USA’s non-profit organization, the AEGON Transamerica Foundation.

Financial literacy

AEGON places great importance on ensuring its customers have the information they need to make the right long-term financial decisions for themselves and their families. In each of the Group’s three main markets – the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom – AEGON organizes and supports initiatives aimed at improving levels of financial literacy in its local communities.

These initiatives include:

• AEGON USA contributes to LIFE – the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education – a non-profit organization that instructs people on the importance of life insurance and sound family financial planning;
• AEGON UK is backing the UK government’s National Strategy for Financial Capability, a program designed to improve financial education;
• AEGON The Netherlands has set up an extensive training program for salesmen and intermediaries designed to improve the advice they give to customers on insurance and long-term savings products.

Protecting the environment

AEGON has a corporate group-wide environmental policy, which stresses the importance of respecting the environment, conserving energy and eliminating waste. In recent years, AEGON has endeavored to reduce its energy consumption and to make as much use as possible of renewable or recyclable sources. Two of AEGON’s country units – AEGON UK and AEGON The Netherlands – have been certified ISO14001 compliant. Many AEGON country units also have their own environmental policies, which operate alongside the Group’s overall corporate policy.

Indices

AEGON has been included in both the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good indices for the past several years and was again in 2007. These indices rank companies according to their ability to manage a range of economic, social and environmental risks.

AEGON’s Statement of Principles As a global company, AEGON has global responsibilities. We believe that business success is not incompatible with a respect for the environment and human rights. Indeed, we recognize that creating a sustainable business means taking into account the interests of all our stakeholders – customers, employees, business partners and shareholders. We also believe we can make a valuable contribution to the communities in which we operate not only as a provider of long-term financial products and services, but also as a responsible employer and investor. We will pursue our objectives through sound business principles based on our core values: Respect, Quality, Transparency and Trust.