Our approach to sustainability is key to helping people live their best lives and to protect the future for all of us.
Aegon has a unique opportunity, and responsibility, to be part of global efforts to help create a more sustainable and equitable world.
We understand that sustainability issues impact on our business, and that our actions as an organization can also affect society and the planet.
We want to ensure Aegon is in a good position to understand, manage, and where necessary mitigate, those impacts. We, therefore, engage with stakeholders to help us assess which sustainability issues are most significant for our businesses.
Aegon’s sustainability approach is guided by our Global Sustainability Board (GSB). In 2022 the GSB oversaw the development of a Sustainability Roadmap, which sets out the steps we are taking to deliver against our sustainability ambitions.
Our sustainability governance
The GSB’s core function is to steer, strengthen and embed sustainability across our businesses, and is supported by local sustainability boards and specialized working groups. This governance structure drives the delivery of our Sustainability Roadmap. It also provides alignment on sustainability across our businesses by ensuring consistency in sustainability-related actions and decisions.
The GSB drafts, reviews and advise on Group-wide sustainability policies, including the Aegon Group Responsible Investment Policies. The GSB also provides advice and recommendations on specific topics such as inclusion and diversity as well as on products, processes, initiatives, and communications relating to sustainability. The GSB also plays an advisory role to the Executive Committee, with the Board of Directors’ Nomination and Governance Committee having ultimate oversight.
How to measure success
Aegon’s sustainability reporting program is a key part of assessing the success of our Sustainability Roadmap and measuring progress on other sustainability topics. The reporting program benefits from expertise from both the Global Corporate Sustainability Team and the company’s Finance function to improve and mature: for example, in relation to collecting and monitoring non-financial data, establishing processes and controls, and implementing robust reporting tools. This ensures that the program will continue to meet evolving regulatory requirements, can provide data for rating agencies, and assessment of progress towards our sustainability goals.
Integrated reporting
Aegon's aim in reporting is to provide a balanced overview of Aegon’s operations, strategy and performance, as well as our approach to long-term value creation (both financial and sustainability-related) for our key stakeholder groups. Aegon's Integrated Annual Report is prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards.