Protecting the environment

AEGON has a company-wide environmental policy, which stresses the importance of respecting the environment, conserving energy and eliminating waste. These objectives are also contained in the company's business principles and Code of Conduct, which apply to all AEGON staff worldwide. In addition, in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, AEGON works with an environmental management system, which:

• Identifies the potential impact of the company's operations on the environment
• Ensures compliance with local legislation
• And, encourages local policies and initiatives in this area.

AEGON is also working on extending principles of good environmental management to its approach to investments and, in many of its country units, encourages employees to take measures to reduce their own carbon footprint.

For a copy of AEGON's environmental policy, please click here.

Each year, AEGON measures its consumption of energy and other raw materials, most notably paper, as well as its production of waste and emissions of carbon dioxide.

In 2009, AEGON's consumption of gas and paper both rose. However, electricity consumption was reduced by nearly 10% and water by 9%, while air travel declined by just over 20%, partly as a result of measures taken during the year to reduce operating costs. 

AEGON has policies and initiatives in place aimed at reducing energy consumption and making as much use as possible of renewable or recyclable sources. In addition, two of AEGON's country units - AEGON The Netherlands and AEGON UK - are certified ISO 14001[1] compliant with respect to their property activities.

In the United Kingdom, AEGON has specific reduction targets in place for electricity, gas and water use, as well as objectives for waste generation and the use of renewable energy. As part of these targets, AEGON aims to reduce its consumption of electricity, gas and water in the United Kingdom by 3% in 2010, and its waste deliveries to landfill by 4%. Furthermore, the company's target is to source at least 25% of its energy in the United Kingdom from renewable supplies.  

In four countries - the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Canada, covering 87% of the company's global workforce - AEGON has specific initiatives in place to reduce the impact of its operations on the process of climate change. In the United States, AEGON lowered its spending on business travel by just over 17% in 2009, compared with the company's original target of 20%. The decrease was part of AEGON's overall cost reduction measures and efforts to reduce the number of face-to-face meetings. In addition, facility managers at properties owned and occupied by AEGON in the United States were given a target to reduce energy consumption by 5%.

All figures in this table cover 100% of AEGON's global workforce but have been extrapolated from data covering less than 100%.

Please note that figures for air travel cover nine country units and AEGON N.V., the holding company.

[1] 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.

[2] Please note that the figure for 2008 has been restated to reflect adjustments in figures for water consumption in both the United Kingdom and China.

[3] Equivalent to scopes 1 and 2 carbon dioxide emissions. For more information, please see 'AEGON's carbon footprint'.

[4] Equivalent to scope 3 carbon dioxide emissions. For more information, please see 'AEGON's carbon footprint'.