Today we published our Integrated Annual Report 2024, which contains our financial and non-financial results, as well as a detailed overview of our company and its various businesses. In the report we provide an analysis of our business environment in 2024 and discuss how we brought our purpose and strategy to life during the year. We also outline our approach to sustainability, and how we create value for a wide range of stakeholders.
We also chart the progress that we made as a company during 2024. This included meeting all our financial goals for the year and the steps we’ve taken regarding our non-financial ambitions. For example, we achieved a 75% reduction in our operational carbon footprint, and we already met our 2025 target to invest USD 2.5 billion in activities that can help society to either mitigate climate change or adapt to its impacts.
The report also highlights some other important milestones for Aegon during 2024. These included our UK Strategy Teach-In, where we announced our plans to transform Aegon UK into a leading digital savings and retirement platform; the completion of the EUR 1.535 billion share buyback mainly related to the combination of our Dutch businesses with a.s.r.; and that we held our first Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on Bermuda.
Looking back over the past year, Aegon CEO, Lard Friese, said: “The progress we made in 2024 reflects our ability to adapt and grow in a changing environment. For me, this is proof that we laid the right foundations in previous years and are on the right track for our transformation. I very much appreciate the dedication and hard work of our teams over the past twelve months that made this possible.”