AEGON's sustainability experts answers the question: What is sustainability?

1. Sustainability column
Ask me another one
Sometimes the most straightforward questions are the hardest to answer. What, for
example, is sustainability? It’s a good question and like any good question, the answer
is: it depends.
It depends first of all on what kind of company you are. And, just as importantly, where
you’re located. If you’re an energy company like Shell or Exxon, then the answer’s likely
to be the environment, climate change or safety. But if you make clothes or sportswear
like Nike then you’d probably say ‘labor standards’ or ‘my suppliers’.
The point is: there’s no right or wrong answer. You have to come up with your own
definition.
What about location? How does that affect your thinking?
In two ways:
Firstly, it helps determine the kind of issue you’re likely to be confronted with. For
example, a mining company operating in a conflict zone has to deal more often with
issues such as corruption, security and human rights.
Secondly, it determines the backdrop against which you operate. The fact is political
and social attitudes differ. Europe is not the same as the United States, nor is Asia the
same as Latin America. It’s this that often influences the way you manage your
businesses and take your decisions.
So what about for AEGON? It’s really no different for us.
 It’s about behaving responsibly with the resources we have – financial, material
and human.
 It’s about taking a 360-degree view of the company – not just as a provider of life
insurance and pensions, but also as an investor, an employer and a business
partner.
 It’s also about asking yourself: Where can we support our business objectives?
Where can we make a difference? Where can we influence things for the better.
Like other companies, we have to pay attention to what others are saying to us. Our
shareholders. Our employees. Our business partners. And particularly our customers.
And we have to balance these various interests – especially where they come into
contention – and, on key issues, provide leadership and stand up for what we think.

2. It’s not easy. And often the ground shifts. One year the big issue for us might be our
investments, the next it might be the transparency of our products. So we have to stay
on our toes.
What is sustainability? Easy question, complex answer.
The views and opinions expressed in this document are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily represent those of AEGON N.V. This document is for information purposes only and
any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. AEGON N.V., its affiliates
and the author cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or reliability of the contents of this
document.