The wider community

The Wider community

AEGON hopes to enrich the communities in which it operates by providing long-term employment, respecting the local environment and extending financial support to good causes.

At the end of 2007, AEGON employed more than 30,000 people in over twenty countries around the world. During the year, the Group’s total workforce rose by a net 1,688 mainly as a result of new acquisitions in the United States and an expansion in the number of employees in the United Kingdom, Central and Eastern Europe and Asia.

Protecting the environment

AEGON has a corporate Group-wide environmental policy, which stresses the importance of respecting the environment, conserving energy and eliminating waste. Each year, AEGON measures its consumption of energy and other raw materials, most notably paper, as well as its production of waste and its emissions of carbon dioxide. In 2007, consumption of gas, electricity, paper and water all rose, though primarily as a result of an increase in the number of employees. On a per capita basis, gas and electricity use fell, while water use was unchanged and consumption of paper showed a moderate gain.

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 ISO 14001 compliant 1 with respect to their property activities. Many AEGON country units also have their own environmental policies, which operate alongside the Group’s overall corporate policy. In the United Kingdom, AEGON has specific reduction targets in place for paper, energy and water use, as well as objectives for waste generation and the use of renewable energy. Four of AEGON’s country units (the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Canada, covering 87% of the Group’s global workforce) have programs designed to reduce the impact of AEGON’s operations on the process of climate change.

AEGON’s consumption of energy, water and paper in 2007 were as follows 1:

	Unit	2007	2006	% change
Total paper use	Metric tonnes	5,753	5,201	+10.6%
Per capita	kilograms	189	181	+4.4%
Recycled paper as % of total		14%	10%	+40%

Total electricity consumption	GWh	146	143	+2.1%
Per capita	kwh	4,800	4,978	- 3.6%

Total gas use	Cubic meters (millions)	4.5	4.3	+4.7%
Per capita	Cubic meters	149	150	-0.7%
Renewable energy use as % of total energy consumption		5%	Not measured	n/a

Total water consumption	Cubic meters	451,848	428,415	+5.5%
Per capita per day	Liters	65.0	65.0	unchanged

Total waste generation	Metric tonnes	4,084	4,035	+1.2%
Per capita	kilograms	134	140	-4.3%
Recycled waste as % of total		52%	59%	-11.9%

Total business travel	Kilometers (millions)
By road 2		16	Not measured	n/a
By air (short haul) 3		2.8	Not measured	n/a
By air (medium haul)		45.5	Not measured	n/a
By air (long haul)		78.2	Not measured	n/a
Total air		126.4	104.3	refer to note below⁴

CO2 emissions (from gas and electricity use)	Metric tons	84,383	77,225	+9.3%
Per employee		2.77	2.69	+3.0%

CO2 emissions (from air travel)		14,470	12,510	+15.7%
Per employee		0.48	0.44	+9.1%
All figures in this table cover 100% of AEGON’s global workforce but are based on data covering less than 100% of total employees (with the exception of waste generation, which is based on 46%). This figure does not include the use of privately owned vehicles for business purposes and covers data from six country units. Short haul refers to any air travel within the country or region of origin. Long haul refers to travel outside the region. Please note that figures for air travel in 2006 covered only six AEGON country units. For 2007, coverage was widened to include seven country units and AEGON N.V., the Group’s holding company.

As part of a broader objective to reduce AEGON’s impact on the environment, the Group’s country units are pursuing a number of separate initiatives. These include:

AEGON UK has set up a dedicated team to recommend programs to further reduce the company’s environmental impact;
AEGON companies in the United States are saving energy through the use of high efficiency light fixtures and bulbs. Thanks to this initiative, AEGON Direct Marketing Services’ offices in Baltimore reduced electricity costs in 2007 by USD 137,000;
Transamerica Insurance and Investment Group in the United States has established a special ‘Green Team’ to oversee environmental initiatives;
AEGON Hungary will launch a new selective waste collection system in its offices in 2008;
AEGON The Netherlands is switching to 100% Forestry Stewardship Council-approved paper;
AEGON Canada has launched a car-pooling program for employees and set up a dedicated team to oversee new environmental initiatives;
AEGON’s Realty Advisors unit in the United States set up a special committee in 2007 to focus on the growing ‘green’ opportunities in the US commercial property market. A Plan of Action for 2008 will incorporate green principles into many of the company’s operational processes.

AEGON USA’s ‘Green Team’

In 2007, Transamerica Insurance and Investment Group, part of AEGON USA, set up a special task force, known as the ‘Green Team’. The new team will be focused on:

• Helping employees better understand their impact on the environment;
• Monitoring and improving employee satisfaction levels;
• Reducing TIIG’s carbon footprint.

TIIG’s Green Team is working alongside The Climate Trust, a leading provider of carbon offsets, to help employees find ways of reducing their own carbon footprints by at least 10% in 2008.

“How many bottles of water do you drink in a week? Americans drink ONE BILLION bottles every week, which takes 1.5 million barrels of oil. And if that isn’t bad enough, 70% of those bottles never get recycled. Did you know it takes nearly 1,000 years for a plastic bottle to decompose? And the kicker is bottled water isn’t safer or even healthier: 24% of it is just repackaged tap water.” – ‘Message in a bottle’, part of TIIG’s campaign to raise employee awareness of environmental issues.

Reducing emissions at the Transamerica Pyramid

In 2007, workers installed a new 1.1-megawatt cogeneration plant in Transamerica’s landmark pyramid building in San Francisco. The plant will supply 70% of the Transamerica Pyramid’s heat and power, making it one of the greenest buildings in the United States. The new plant, which consists of two natural gas-fired generators, will lead to a significant reduction in the amount of nitrous oxide and other harmful emissions released into the atmosphere. Transamerica, part of AEGON USA, still owns the building, which was completed in 1972.

Supporting good causes

AEGON gives to a wide variety of good causes. These range from supporting research into cancer and other serious illnesses, to supporting education for disadvantaged children and financing music and the arts.

In 2007, AEGON donated a total of EUR 10.0 million to charitable organizations and various good causes around the world, up from EUR 9.0 million in 2006. These donations represent 0.39% of AEGON’s 2007 net income. Most of AEGON’s charitable donations in the United States are channelled through the AEGON USA’s non-profit organization, the AEGON Transamerica Foundation.

Of total donations, most went to projects and organizations in the following three areas:

Health and safety
Civic and community
Colleges, education and sport

In 2007, the six leading recipients of donations from AEGON were:

Organization	Unit	Location	Amount in EUR	Purpose
Cancer Research 1	AEGON N.V.	International	601,500	health and safety
United Way 2	AEGON USA	United States	1.01 million	various
Right To Play 3	AEGON The Netherlands	The Netherlands	120,000	colleges, education and sport
Art donations 4	AEGON Hungary	Hungary	200,000	arts and culture
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center	AEGON USA	United States	244,099	health and safety
Alzheimer Foundation	AEGON The Netherlands	The Netherlands	150,000	health and safety
Includes financial contributions to research projects at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, SWOP-Research, Rotterdam, the Stichting Bevordering Geneeskundige Oncologie, and the Medical Center, Utrecht, in the Netherlands, as well as University of Nanjing in China. Founded more than a hundred years ago, United Way is a network of more than 1,300 locally governed charitable organizations stretching across the United States. In 2006-2007, United Way raised more than USD 4 billion for good causes. AEGON donates money to United Way organizations in several US states, including Maryland and Iowa. Read more. Includes the 2007 AEGON Art Award as well as financial support to the Rembrandt exhibition, the Katona Jozsef theater and the Summa Atrium in Budapest.

Fighting cancer

For years, AEGON companies around the world have helped support the fight against cancer. Last year, the Group contributed approximately EUR 900,000 in total. Most of the funds went toward an international cancer research program, involving scientists at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center in Baltimore, the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center in Amsterdam and the University Medical Center in Utrecht. AEGON also helps fund a separate research program in China between Johns Hopkins and Nanjing University in the center of the country.

Christmas cards for Save the Children

In 2007, instead of sending out traditional Christmas cards, AEGON used electronic greetings cards instead, donating the money it saved – EUR 45,000 – to the international charity, Save the Children. The money will go toward Save the Children’s ‘Rewrite the Future’ campaign, which aims both to improve access to education and to lift overall educational standards for children and young people in the world’s conflict zones.

Health clinics for rural China

In China, AEGON-CNOOC is helping support a Red Cross program to build clinics in rural areas – vital in a country where an estimated 450 million people still have little or no access to medical care. As part of the program, AEGON-CNOOC – AEGON’s joint venture with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation – will finance a series of new clinics across southern and central China as well as help support training for medical staff. “This is an important project for us,” says Marc van Weede, head of AEGON’s operations in China during the year. “It’s about helping support China’s rural communities. The Chinese Red Cross estimates that almost two-thirds of villages and towns in China have no official medical facilities. This is a project that really will make a difference to the lives of millions of people.”

War Trauma

In 2007, AEGON continued its support for the War Trauma Foundation – an international organization set up to provide psychological counselling and treatment for children and adults affected by war and terror around the world. Based in the Netherlands, the Foundation currently supports projects in areas such as the Middle East, Afghanistan, Angola , the Great Lakes region of Africa and Brazil.

Arts and Culture

Each year, AEGON makes significant contributions to arts and culture. In 2007, donations were made to the British Museum in London and to the Mauritshuis, one of the Netherlands’ most prestigious museums. In addition, AEGON has pledged EUR 100,000 to help celebrate the 125th anniversary in 2008 of the Rembrandt Foundation, an organization that aims to keep major works of Dutch art in the Netherlands. In music, AEGON helps supports both the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Residentie Orkest, The Hague’s resident orchestra.

Right To Play

AEGON donates money each year to the Right To Play organization, which uses sport and play to promote peace and health in areas ravaged by disease, poverty and war. Currently, Right To Play has projects in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Most recently, AEGON employees in the Netherlands raised money for a health and education project for children in the west African state of Liberia, which is suffering from years of violence and neglect.

New Health Insurance Fund for Africa

In June 2007, Kornelis ‘Kees’ Storm, a member of AEGON’s Supervisory Board and former Executive Board Chairman, helped set up the Health Insurance Fund, to provide health insurance for low-income groups in Africa. The new initiative – supported by the Dutch government as well as AEGON and a number of other companies – is a response to the current HIV-Aids crisis affecting the continent. The Dutch government has already pledged EUR 100 million to the project. Mr. Storm says one of the most important objectives of the new fund is to ensure better access to treatment and medicines so that those in work can continue to support their families. “Only if people work will the local economy continue functioning and will people be able to support other members of their family,” he says.

ISO 14001, compiled and published by the International Organization for Standardization, sets out minimum standards and quality requirements for environmental management systems. It helps companies and other organizations measure their impact on the environment and demonstrate sound environmental practice.