our business partners

Our business partners


AEGON builds lasting partnerships with business partners and suppliers who share its approach to doing business. At all times, AEGON strives to communicate openly and accurately and expects its business partners to do the same.


Suppliers

In 2007, AEGON paid out a total of EUR 1.7 billion to suppliers in return for a wide variety of goods and services, up from EUR 1.6 billion the year before largely as a result of higher IT and general administration costs.

Selection of suppliers

In 2007, AEGON drafted proposals for Group-wide corporate responsibility standards for suppliers in its major procurement centers in Europe and North America. This is an important step toward ensuring high ethical standards throughout the Group’s supply chains.

Many AEGON country and business units also use locally determined standards as part of their selection process for suppliers. In the United Kingdom, these standards form an integral part of the company’s procurement policy. AEGON The Netherlands is currently working on a new set of minimum standards for its suppliers.

In Taiwan, meanwhile, AEGON has introduced a 16-point code for suppliers, while minimum standards in Canada are in line with ISO 14001, an internationally recognized benchmark for environmental management.

Please note that AEGON’s operations in the United States do not require suppliers to conform to pre-determined standards for any of the categories below.

% of AEGON country units requiring minimum standards from suppliers

Environment

47%

Labor conditions

45%

Health and safety

48%

Stakeholder groups

AEGON country and business units maintain contact with a wide variety of stakeholder groups either through regular meetings or through more formal structures such as Works’ Councils or Trade Associations. These groups include:

  • Customer advocacy groups
  • Shareholder advocacy groups
  • Trade unions or other employee representative groups
  • Regulators and government authorities
  • Local communities
  • Industry and other trade associations

In 2007, 41% of employees worked for an AEGON company that had regular dialogue with its staff through a works’ council or similar structure.

AEGON companies strive to be as transparent as possible and are happy to engage in dialogue with any individual or group that has a legitimate interest in their future.

Governments and regulators

AEGON actively engages with governments and industry regulators around the world. The Group holds regular discussions on new legislation for the life insurance and pension sector in the Americas, Europe and Asia. With populations aging and workforces shrinking in many parts of the world, these discussions are of vital and growing importance to the future of the global financial sector.

Over the past year, AEGON has played a key role in helping shape the regulatory environment in many of the countries in which it operates, including Taiwan, India, China and Canada, as well as the Group’s three main markets. In addition, AEGON’s Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs department works alongside policymakers in Washington, Brussels and London. The department’s objective is to ensure lawmakers have the opportunity to make use of AEGON’s considerable knowledge and experience when framing legislation.

Tax payments

In 2007, AEGON paid a total of EUR 98 million in tax, down from EUR 442 million the previous year. AEGON’s effective tax rate fell to 17%, down from an adjusted 20% 1 in 2006. It should be noted that there is no direct correlation between earnings for any given year and the amount of tax paid.

Tackling corruption

AEGON is determined to tackle incidences of corruption and mispractice in all its businesses around the world. With respect to allegations of corruption, AEGON’s country units reported the following in 2007:

  • A case of embezzlement involving an independent agent working with the Group’s Shanghai office in China, which resulted in a prosecution and conviction.