Aegon

[Translation] "AEGON values that companies prevent deforestation and are not active in forests with High Conservation Value status, like rainforests, primeval forests and mangrove forests. In forestry, cerfication by the Forest Stewardship Council is regarded as best practice." "Aegon finds it important that the aforementioned principles are lived up to and will try to promote certification on the basis of comparable initiatives in its direct forestry investments and indirect investments in the supply chain, for example paper producers and big retailers." "We have identified the below criteria for consideration which can be included when making investments and related decisions with respect to biodiversity: [...] Do companies act to prevent deforestation (e.g. by planting new forests when clearing existing forests) and protect natural forests (including old growth forests, bogs, mangroves, peatlands and rainforests) as described in the High Conservation Value (HCV) concept? [...] Do agriculture companies prevent the burning of naturally occurring ecosystems (e.g. forests and savanna) for the purpose of land clearing to establish large-scale agricultural plantations? 14. Do agricultural companies have ‘No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation’ (NDPE) in place? [...] Where it is determined that further engagement with a company is unlikely to yield the required results set out in the engagement plan, Aegon NL may decide to add the company to its exclusion list and / or divest its existing investments."

"Aegon NL expects the companies in which it invests in to adhere to high ethical standards and operate free from corruption." "Since paying taxes is a corporate responsibility, Aegon NL expects companies to pay taxes in the countries where they have operations. In this respect, we support the OECD’s framework on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), which refers to tax avoidance strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or notax locations."