Annual Report 2022
2.7.2
Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
a.s.r. has chosen to focus on six of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These are the goals to which a.s.r. can contribute with the greatest impact on the stakeholder groups: customers, employees, investors and society.
a.s.r. believes it is important to contribute to the prevention and resolution of financial problems. a.s.r. does this by proactively offering a solution to customers with payment arrears, and by making an active contribution to their financial self-reliance. By the end of 2025, a.s.r. aims to  have helped 25,000 households to improve their current and/or future financial situation. This indicator consists of:
  • The number of customers or households with payment arrears or debts that a.s.r. has supported. More information can be found in the chapter 3.1.2.

  • The number of customers whose financial self-reliance has improved through the Ik denk vooruit platform. This platform helps customers to make carefully considered financial choices and contributes to more self-reliant individuals.

a.s.r. also supports people through the a.s.r. foundation. First, by teaching and providing support to help people with reading and arithmetic. Second, in teaching people how to deal with money issues and keep their financial records in order.
a.s.r. offers health insurance to everyone who lives and works in the Netherlands. It also contributes to the development of new medicines through impact investments. In addition, a.s.r. works to prevent illness, for example by helping customers and employees improve their health and vitality, through a.s.r. Vitality and various health programmes relating to exercise, sports and sleep. In 2022, over 90,000 customers participated in a.s.r. Vitality. The Disability segment contributes to the sustainable employability of employees by guiding reintegration processes and by offering preventive services to avoid (long-term) sickness, such as the annual prevention check as part of the Absenteeism Relieve Insurance (Verzuim Ontzorg Verzekering).
a.s.r. wants to make a positive contribution to the energy transition and combating climate change. It does so in various ways, for example through the purchase of wind farms in the Netherlands. It has also improved the sustainability of residential units in recent years, such as insulation and investments in on-site sustainable energy generation. In 2022, 5,479 solar panels were installed on existing homes, shops and offices. a.s.r. also invests in sustainable new housing.As a mortgage lender, a.s.r. offers the sustainability mortgage as a standard product with an a.s.r. mortgage. This makes it easier for customers to make their homes more sustainable since. The mortgage is covered by a reduced interest rate. The money is available for two years and the customer does not have to pay interest on the unused portion. In 2022, 23% of new mortgage customers added a sustainable component to their mortgage to make their homes more sustainable.
As an employer, a.s.r. contributes to this goal and champions equal opportunities for all regardless of gender, age, religious conviction, physical and mental capacity, background and sexual orientation. a.s.r. has the following targets with regard to diversity, equity and inclusion:
  • Promoting diversity in the composition of the workforce through inflow and advancement.

  • At least one-third (33%) of the Supervisory Board are women and at least one-third (33%) are men.

  • At least one-third (33%) of the Executive Board are women and at least one-third (33%) are men.

  • At least one-third (33%) of senior management are women and at least one-third (33%) are men.

  • Participation of at least 70 people with limited labour market opportunities by 2026 through the Participation desk.

a.s.r. upholds the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. a.s.r. holds an annual statistical survey on equal pay. The aim of this survey is to ensure that it offers equal opportunities to women and men, devises relevant interventions and stimulates the influx and development of women in particular to ensure an equal ratio between men and women at all organisational layers. Each year, a.s.r. also conducts the Denison scan. This scan highlights cultural aspects that influence the success of a.s.r. It also measures the perception and progress of equal opportunities to women and men in the Diversity and Inclusion module. a.s.r. aims to be among the top 25% of companies in this module and to maintain this position over the next two years.
The biggest impact on this goal is made through a.s.r.'s investments. a.s.r. has therefore included in its Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) policy criteria on the climate impact of the companies it invests in and has an exit strategy for its investments in fossil fuels. a.s.r. announced the goal of reducing the carbon emissions of its own investment portfolio by 65% by 2030 (compared with 2015). a.s.r. is a member of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, a global platform of asset managers committed to decarbonising their investment portfolios and hence contributing to the realisation of the Paris Climate Agreement.a.s.r. also has an impact on this SDG through its P&C insurance. a.s.r. was one of the first insurers in the Netherlands to expand its buildings and movable property insurance policies to include cover for flooding. As a result, a.s.r. customers were automatically insured against damage caused by flooding due to the failure of a non-primary flood defence. In 2022, a.s.r. launched an improved home insurance policy which covers additional sustainable components and offers additional coverage to replace damage by a more sustainable alternative.a.s.r. has also joined the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance in order to reduce CO2-eq emissions in its insurance portfolio. Several leading (re)insurers are working together in this partnership to make their insurance portfolios climate neutral by 2050. The initiative initially includes only the corporate P&C insurance and personal motor insurance portfolios. In 2022, the Alliance developed an accounting standard and a target-setting protocol.
Biodiversity is a theme that is particularly relevant for a.s.r., both positively and negatively, within the investment portfolio. a.s.r. is a signatory to the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge and is also developing biodiversity policies and targets to enable it to report on the positive and negative impact on global biodiversity targets linked to a.s.r.’s investments by 2024 at the latest.P&C and mortgage products can also make a positive contribution to the living environment by encouraging customers to make their homes and gardens more eco-friendly and by giving them the option of sustainable repair rather than replacement when they submit a claim.