Aegon commits to group-wide net-zero emissions objective by 2050
November 02 2021 - 3:00AM
Aegon commits to group-wide net-zero emissions objective by 2050
The Hague, November 2, 2021 - Aegon announces today that it has
committed to transition its EUR 156 billion general account
investment portfolio to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
This is an important step in the strengthening of Aegon’s
group-wide approach towards corporate sustainability. In this
context, Aegon will join the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a
UN-convened group of institutional investors committed to
transitioning their portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas
emissions.
To ensure progress towards this 2050 commitment, Aegon has set a
clear medium-term target. By 2025, Aegon aims to reduce by 25% the
weighted average carbon intensity of its approximately EUR 55
billion corporate fixed income and listed equity general account
assets where it has control. Aegon will set additional targets at
5-year intervals for the period after 2025 until 2050. To reach the
2025 target, Aegon will make adjustments to its general account
portfolio.
Furthermore, Aegon will regularly engage with those companies in
its global investment portfolio that are the most carbon intensive
in order to drive real-world reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions. Aegon will regularly update its group-wide responsible
investment exclusion criteria to reflect the latest scientific
findings on climate change.
"Climate change is one of the most urgent environmental and
social issues of our time, and Aegon is committed to helping
transition to a net-zero carbon economy,” said Lard Friese, CEO of
Aegon. “With today’s announcements, Aegon is embarking on a journey
to transition its investment portfolio to net-zero emissions by
2050. To live up to this commitment, we have set a first
medium-term target, underpinned by concrete action plans. I am
convinced that by building a sustainable company, we can create
lasting value for all our stakeholders.”
Additional actions are underway in local markets. For its Dutch
business, Aegon will commit to an extended 2050 climate action plan
to include separate account assets and off-balance sheet
investments, next to general account assets. Earlier this year,
Aegon UK announced its commitment to a 50% carbon reduction in its
standard funds for workplace pensions by 2030 and net-zero
emissions by 2050. Complementary to Aegon joining the Net-Zero
Asset Owners Alliance, Aegon Asset Management will join the Net
Zero Asset Managers Initiative.
About Aegon
Aegon’s roots go back more than 175 years – to the first half of
the nineteenth century. Since then, Aegon has grown into an
international company, with businesses in the Americas, Europe, and
Asia. Today, Aegon is one of the world’s leading financial services
organizations, providing life insurance, pensions, and asset
management. Aegon’s purpose is to help people achieve a lifetime of
financial security. More information on aegon.com.
Contacts |
|
Media
relations |
Investor
relations |
Dick Schiethart
|
Jan Willem
Weidema |
+31(0) 70 344
8821 |
+31(0) 70 344
8028 |
dick.schiethart@aegon.com |
janwillem.weidema@aegon.com |
Forward-looking statementsThe statements
contained in this document that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words that
identify such forward-looking statements: aim, believe, estimate,
target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting
on, plan, continue, want, forecast, goal, should, would, could, is
confident, will, and similar expressions as they relate to Aegon.
These statements are not guarantees of future performance and
involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to
predict. Aegon undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
merely reflect company expectations at the time of writing. Actual
results may differ materially from expectations conveyed in
forward-looking statements due to changes caused by various risks
and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not
limited to the following:
- Changes in general economic and/or governmental conditions,
particularly in the United States, the Netherlands and the United
Kingdom;
- Changes in the performance of financial markets, including
emerging markets, such as with regard to:
- The frequency and severity of defaults by issuers in Aegon’s
fixed income investment portfolios;
- The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or accounting
restatements on the financial markets and the resulting decline in
the value of equity and debt securities Aegon holds; and
- The effects of declining creditworthiness of certain public
sector securities and the resulting decline in the value of
government exposure that Aegon holds;
- Changes in the performance of Aegon’s investment portfolio and
decline in ratings of Aegon’s counterparties;
- Lowering of one or more of Aegon’s debt ratings issued by
recognized rating organizations and the adverse impact such action
may have on Aegon’s ability to raise capital and on its liquidity
and financial condition;
- Lowering of one or more of insurer financial strength ratings
of Aegon’s insurance subsidiaries and the adverse impact such
action may have on the written premium, policy retention,
profitability and liquidity of its insurance subsidiaries;
- The effect of the European Union’s Solvency II requirements and
other regulations in other jurisdictions affecting the capital
Aegon is required to maintain;
- Changes affecting interest rate levels and continuing low or
rapidly changing interest rate levels;
- Changes affecting currency exchange rates, in particular the
EUR/USD and EUR/GBP exchange rates;
- Changes in the availability of, and costs associated with,
liquidity sources such as bank and capital markets funding, as well
as conditions in the credit markets in general such as changes in
borrower and counterparty creditworthiness;
- Increasing levels of competition in the United States, the
Netherlands, the United Kingdom and emerging markets;
- Catastrophic events, either manmade or by nature, including by
way of example acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war and
pandemics, could result in material losses and significantly
interrupt Aegon’s business;
- The frequency and severity of insured loss events;
- Changes affecting longevity, mortality, morbidity, persistence
and other factors that may impact the profitability of Aegon’s
insurance products;
- Aegon’s projected results are highly sensitive to complex
mathematical models of financial markets, mortality, longevity, and
other dynamic systems subject to shocks and unpredictable
volatility. Should assumptions to these models later prove
incorrect, or should errors in those models escape the controls in
place to detect them, future performance will vary from projected
results;
- Reinsurers to whom Aegon has ceded significant underwriting
risks may fail to meet their obligations;
- Changes in customer behavior and public opinion in general
related to, among other things, the type of products Aegon sells,
including legal, regulatory or commercial necessity to meet
changing customer expectations;
- Customer responsiveness to both new products and distribution
channels;
- As Aegon’s operations support complex transactions and are
highly dependent on the proper functioning of information
technology, operational risks such as system disruptions or
failures, security or data privacy breaches, cyberattacks, human
error, failure to safeguard personally identifiable information,
changes in operational practices or inadequate controls including
with respect to third parties with which we do business may disrupt
Aegon’s business, damage its reputation and adversely affect its
results of operations, financial condition and cash flows;
- The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings,
product withdrawals and other unusual items, including Aegon’s
ability to integrate acquisitions and to obtain the anticipated
results and synergies from acquisitions;
- Aegon’s failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings or
operational efficiencies, as well as other management initiatives
related to cost savings, cash capital at Holding, gross financial
leverage and free cash flow;
- Changes in the policies of central banks and/or
governments;
- Litigation or regulatory action that could require Aegon to pay
significant damages or change the way Aegon does business;
- Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax changes that affect
profitability, the distribution cost of or demand for Aegon’s
products;
- Consequences of an actual or potential break-up of the European
monetary union in whole or in part, or the exit of the United
Kingdom from the European Union and potential consequences if other
European Union countries leave the European Union;
- Changes in laws and regulations, particularly those affecting
Aegon’s operations’ ability to hire and retain key personnel,
taxation of Aegon companies, the products Aegon sells, and the
attractiveness of certain products to its consumers;
- Regulatory changes relating to the pensions, investment, and
insurance industries in the jurisdictions in which Aegon
operates;
- Standard setting initiatives of supranational standard setting
bodies such as the Financial Stability Board and the International
Association of Insurance Supervisors or changes to such standards
that may have an impact on regional (such as EU), national or US
federal or state level financial regulation or the application
thereof to Aegon, including the designation of Aegon by the
Financial Stability Board as a Global Systemically Important
Insurer (G-SII); and
- Changes in accounting regulations and policies or a change by
Aegon in applying such regulations and policies, voluntarily or
otherwise, which may affect Aegon’s reported results, shareholders’
equity or regulatory capital adequacy levels.
Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting
Aegon are described in its filings with the Netherlands Authority
for the Financial Markets and the US Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the Annual Report. These forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this document. Except as
required by any applicable law or regulation, Aegon expressly
disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any
updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained
herein to reflect any change in Aegon’s expectations with regard
thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on
which any such statement is based.
- 20211102 - PR - Aegon commits to net zero by 2050
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