thinking acting together

Thinking & acting together

Sustainability report 2004

Accessible, transparent and full of integrity for our customers

Activein society

Time for each other

Thinking & acting together

Sustainability report 2004

SNS REAAL Group N.V.

Croeselaan 1

P.O. Box 8444

3503 RK Utrecht

Corporate Communications

Telephone +31 (0)30 291 48 76

Fax +31 (0)30 291 48 49

[email protected]

CSR

Telephone +31 (0)30 291 51 02

Fax +31 (0)30 291 51 32

[email protected]

Chamber of Commerce Utrecht no. 16062627

Being part of society means for SNS REAAL Group thinking and acting together and

daring to take initiatives. So when it comes to socially responsible business, we’re more

than willing to start new things and trigger new trends.

This isn’t something we’ve just invented in the last few years. Ever since the early

20th Century, when we started out in banking and insurance, we have been setting

trends in social responsibility. You could say it’s in our genes!

What’s our goal? We want to realise our ambitions and at the same time create

something positive for our customers, for our company and definitely for the society

we live and work in.

With that aim as a basis we have demonstrated with great conviction what it is to

do business in a socially responsible way. Clear, sparkling and full of energy.

Thinking

& acting together

Foreword chairman of the Management Board

How do we as a retailer give expression to our social values?

Exactly what do we stand for in society? How do we see our role in

society, what do we contribute and what business principles do

we apply to our approach? There are obviously no quick answers to such questions. And yet it’s more than just a

feeling that throughout history socially responsible business has fit seamlessly into the

SNS REAAL Group way of working. In this first sustainability report we sketch a

panoramic and realistic picture of how we at SNS REAAL Group express our social

responsibility. We show what we do to improve our relationship with our customers. How

we create a climate for our employees in which they feel good and respected. How social

responsibility ‘lives’ within the organisation. And what our concern for the environment

means in practical terms, such as consumption of energy and paper. But also how we

translate our social awareness into products and policy. In addition we give a variety of

good examples of special initiatives, such as the SNS REAAL Fund activities. The reader of

will repeatedly come across three concepts in this report: accessibility, transparancy

and integrity. These are the pillars of our brand and of our way of doing business. We

want our products to be accessible to all groups in society. We work and communicate in

a transparent manner and show what we stand for, what choices we make and how they

are reflected in the results. And we attach great value to our integrity. We are convinced

that socially responsible business contributes towards good financial results. In this light

it is fitting that all those involved with SNS REAAL Group earn trust and sympathy.

Utrecht, 18 May 2005 Sjoerd van Keulen

18ACCESSIBILE, TRANSPARANT AND FULL OF INTEGRITY FOR OUR CUSTOMERS

8PROFILE

14WHAT DO WE STAND FOR?

34TWO BUSINESS UNITS WITH A LEADING ROLE

44TIME FOR EACH OTHER

58ACTIVE IN SOCIETY 64

CARING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

CONTENT

FOREWORD CHAIRMAN OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD 8 PROFILE 10 Mission 11 Corporate Governance 12 Commercial structure SNS REAAL Group 13 Key figures 2004

14 WHAT DO WE STAND FOR?

18 ACCESSIBILE, TRANSPARANT AND FULL OF INTEGRITY FOR OUR CUSTOMERS 20 Accessible in the broadest sense of the word 24 Transparent at every level 28 Integrity: personalising the norms

34 TWO BUSINESS UNITS WITH A LEADING ROLE 36 ASN Bank: for tomorrow’s world 38 SNS Asset Management: sustainable investment 41 Sustainable products and services

44 TIME FOR EACH OTHER 46 Our employees 49 Our own group labour agreement 51 In the employee’s interest 52 Employee satisfaction survey 54 Room for education 56 Health and safety

58 ACTIVE IN SOCIETY 60 Showing involvement through the SNS REAAL Fund62 Voluntary work 63 CSR cooperation

64 CONCERN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT 66 A greener company 66 Responsible choices: Green and biological product purchases 67 Reducing consumption: know what you consume 73 Waste disposal: the way we deal with it

76 WHAT NEXT?

ANNEX: GRI-GUIDELINES

76WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

8 SNS REAAL GROUP sustainability report 2004

Profile

SNS REAAL GROUP sustainability report 2004 9

SNS REAAL Group is an innovative financial retail

specialist with total assets of around € 55 billion and more than 5,200 full-time

employees. We provide services to retail and

business clients primarily through the main brands

SNS Bank and REAAL Verzekeringen, the

insurance arm. SNS Bank serves clients through a branch network,

independent intermediaries, the internet and telephone.

REAAL Verzekeringen sells its products and services

through independent brokers.

In addition to the two main brands, SNS REAAL Group

has other labels that target specific markets. They are

ASN Bank, BLG Hypotheken, CVB Bank, Proteq Direct,

SNS Securities and SNS Asset Management.

Profile


The corporate principles of SNS REAAL Group are: customer focus, professionalism, integ-rity and social involvement. The customer values of REAAL Verzekeringen and the core values of SNS Bank are an extension of these basic principles.

StakeholdersThe interests of our stakeholders: customers, employees, business relations and all other parties who are involved with SNS REAAL Group matter a lot to us. Our business princi-ples from the basis of our relationship with them.

MissionSNS REAAL Group wants to be the Nether-lands’ favourite financial retail specialist. To that end we offer a comprehensive package of innovative banking, investment and insur-ance products. A package that’s tailored to the demands of today and tomorrow. Our focus is the Dutch retail and small and medium-sized business markets, which we term retail plus. We work through several brands and distribution channels.

SNS REAAL Group has always attached great importance to doing business in a socially responsible way. We demonstrate this in var-ious ways, such as our development of sus-tainable savings, investment and insurance products, through our specialised research into socially responsible investment, and through our sponsoring at a national, regional and local level.

SNS REAAL Group has always attached great

importance to doing business in a socially

responsible way.

Our business principles

§ Customer focus In our approach, clients’ interests are always central. That means that we take the desires and needs of the customer as the starting point. We communicate in a clear and comprehensible way and are open to all suggestions. We are approach-able, practical and reachable.

§ Professional We invest continuously in acquiring knowledge and upgrading our trade skills. Our products are innovative and contemporary. Our service is of the high-est quality and we make use of the latest technology and a diversified distribution network.

§ IntegrityIntegrity means more than acting in accordance with the law. It’s more about the concept of responsibility. We are con-scious of the role that we play as employ-ees of a financial organisation.

§ Involvement with society We are conscious of our social responsi-bility and pay acute attention to the need for a healthy micro-economic climate, with regard for welfare and wellbeing. We respect nature and our living environ-ment and develop sustainable products.


Corporate governanceThe Dutch corporate governance code drawn up on 9 December 2003 applies to stock exchange-listed companies only. While the shares issued by SNS REAAL Group are not stock exchange-listed, due to its sense of social responsibility, the group likes to fol-low the code closely. Since the introduction of the Code, SNS REAAL Group has taken several steps to ensure that it complies to a large degree § The statutes of SNS REAAL Group have

actually been altered to reflect better the elements of the Dutch corporate gover-nance code.

§ All necessary decisions have now been taken to allow for the decertification of shares issued by the SNS REAAL Group.

§ The members of the management board have resigned from the board of the foun-dation Stichting Beheer SNS REAAL.

§ In addition to the audit commission, a remuneration and a selection and appoint-ments committee have been set up.

§ The statutes of the management board, audit commission, supervisory board and supervisory board have been updated.

§ A whistleblower policy has been estab-lished.

Management Board SNS REAAL Group is managed by a manage-ment board under supervision of the super-visory board. None of the board members has supervisory board directorships at other stock exchange-listed companies. There is no options scheme for the management board. The members of the management and supervisory boards are bound by the ‘Ruling on private equity transactions at SNS REAAL Group’ and the ‘Ruling on pos-session of and transactions in equities at SNS REAAL Group’. These rulings comply with the Code. With regard to appointment terms, SNS REAAL Group has chosen to dif-fer from the Code. For current directors there is no limit set to the term of their (re)appointment. In appointing new direc-tors, the setting of a time limit to their appointments will be discretional.

Witruimte tussen logo en pay-off is de totale hoogte van het ovaal+zwart.


Supervisory Board The Supervisory Board watches over the pol-icy of the Management Board and gives advice. The Management Board reports to the Supervisory Board in writing on strategic policy developments, general and financial risks and the management and control sys-tem. This is in accordance with the statutes. These reports are discussed in supervisory board meetings. A supervisory board mem-ber is allowed a maximum of three four-year appointments. When the statutes were changed on March 24, 2004, it was decided to allow existing supervisory board mem-bers to be eligible for two more re-appoint-ments of four years. The chairman of the supervisory board is not allowed to have served previously on the management board of the company. The compensation of the supervisory board members is not linked to the results of the company. The manage-ment of the foundation that holds all the shares in SNS REAAL Group N.V. consists of members of the Supervisory Board.

Commercial structure

Key figures 2004 2003

Economic

Balance sheet (in EUR millions)Total assets 55,679 53,058Shareholders’ assets 1,961 1,643

Results (in EUR millions)Total assets 4,475 4,472Total liabilities 4,066 4,115Pre-tax profit 409 357Net profit 310 243

Key ratios Return on shareholders’ assets 17.2% 15.9%Efficiency ratio bank 59.8% 64.6%Cost-premium ratio Insurance 16.1% 16.4%

Social

Number of full-time employees at year end 5,230 5,536Male-female ratio m(55%) f(45%) m(55%) f(45%)Number of employees by type of position1 full-time (70%) part-time (30%) full-time (71%) part-time (29%)Education costs (in EUR per full-time employee)2 1,226 1,752Sick leave 4.4% 5.0%Employee satisfaction general 7.4 7.6

Environment

Paper consumption (in kg per fte) 296 343Energy consumption (kj per fte) 31 36Water consumption (in m3 per fte) 15.4 13.7Business waste (in kg per fte) 406 369


1 part-time = < 36 hours2 paid to external parties

What do we stand for?

Nearly everyone in our

society uses financial products and services, at

work or at home. In fact no one can survive without

them. And that notion determines how we at

SNS REAAL Group act in society. We are not the kind of

organisation to stand quietly and passively on the

sidelines. We want to play an active part in society.

We want to think and act together and thus to be at the

start of all sorts of new, positive developments.

What do we stand for?


As a financial retail specialist we are closely involved with society in many ways. We do all we can to either keep abreast with the most important developments or initiate them our-selves. We maintain active contact with our customers and intermediaries. And we main-tain a dialogue with our stakeholders. Social responsibility is not new for us. At the time when our very first savings bank and insurance office opened, doing business in a socially responsible way was already an important con-cept. Attention and respect for people, stimu-lating social change, these things are in our blood. And over the years we have put this into practice in increasingly new ways.

SNS REAAL Group is a financial retail special-ist. That means that we concentrate on con-sumers and smaller companies in the Neth-erlands. We want to translate our customers’ wishes into products that are customer-friendly and relevant, into realistic advice and excellent service. We consider it impor-tant to flesh out our concept of ‘retail’ from a social values perspective. We know that money fosters security and creates space. Our products are there to minimise risks and offer refuge in the event of financial set-backs. That’s exactly where our social responsibility lies.

SNS REAAL Group is convinced that conduct-ing business in a socially responsible way is an important condition for continued growth in a heavily competitive market and a means to justify our existence. We expect it to improve our relationship with customers and to increase employee motivation. We also think it strengthens the powers of inno-vation within our organisation and gives internal impetus. Doing business in a socially responsible way will thus lead to further improvements in our financial results. In our attempt to give impetus to socially respon-sible business, we have selected themes such as ‘accessibility’, ‘transparency’ and ‘integrity’.

Our products serve to minimalise risks and

to create financial muscle.

In the genes

The original bank and insurance compa-nies that are now grouped under the SNS REAAL Group banner have long been involved in society. The aim of the local and regional savings banks, most of which were set up at the beginning of the 19th Century, was to promote savings and independence. The insurance com-pany grew largely out of the union move-ment.

Our first sustainability report

In this first sustainability report of the SNS REAAL Group we give account of how we express our social responsibility. For many years the provision of sustainable financial services has been the main mis-sion, for example, of two of our units, ASN Bank and SNS Asset Management. From the way we treat our customers, the intermediaries and our employees, it’s clear that concern and respect for people are important values to us. The Group is involved, furthermore, in a whole range of social activities. Environmental aware-ness also runs high in the organisation and is taken into consideration in all business decisions.


Accessible We want to fulfill the financial ambitions of a broad section of society. That means that our products and services have to be use-able to and meaningful for lots of people. It means that everyone should be able to use our distribution channels and that we should be an open company: open in our goals and principles. Accessibility also means being open to suggestions.

Transparent Our products, services and rates must be clear so that customers know what they can expect from us. We want to be open about the way we work, to show what we stand for, what choices we make and how they are reflected in our results.

Integrity As a financial retail specialist we have a big influence on the asset development and future income of our customers. It therefore goes without saying that trust plays a crucial role in our branch. We can earn that trust by living by the principle of integrity. In daily practice this means that we will always try to keep our promises, that when advising and selling we always focus on the client’s interest.

CSR: Group-wide integration SNS REAAL Group is actively working to inte-grate corporate social responsibility further into group policy. We have set up a commit-tee for corporate social responsibility that plays the role of initiator and coordinator in socially responsible business. The commit-tee consists of the chairman of the manage-ment board, a board member of REAAL Ver-zekeringen, the Director of Communication at SNS Bank, the Director of SNS Asset Man-agement, the corporate secretary and the CSR coordinator. In addition, we take part in CSR networks aimed at sharing knowledge and experience and working on CSR projects together.

SNS REAAL Group is active in the Dutch mar-ket only. The execution of our business therefore has virtually no direct link with international issues such as child labour, forced labour and human rights. SNS REAAL Group has therefore not developed a specific policy on these issues. Our purchasing policy will be tightened, however, with respect to these concerns.

At SNS REAAL Group, the customer is the main focus. We do everything

we can to translate the wishes and needs

of customers into appropriate products and

good service. SNS Bank and

REAAL Verzekeringen have both chosen their own

focus when it comes to approaching customers.

For the bank it’s accessiblity: to ensure that

everyone can use the distribution channels.

For the insurer the emphasis is on transparency:

to be clear and honest about products and services.

To be accessible and transparent is not something

that’s always ‘market-driven’. But given our mission,

we attach great importance to it. Surely just as

important as customer contact is integrity.

That’s because customer confidence is the basis of our

existence. To earn that confidence absolutely

requires integrity.



Accessibility in the broadest sense of the word


Accessibility in the broadest sense of the word

Jan Willem Dreteler, Director of Communications at SNS Bank

‘Banking and insuring involves everyone. That is something you take for granted as a financial retail specialist. We consider it important for people to live their lives in their own way and to realise their dreams. As soon as money plays a role, banks enter the picture. To achieve their financial goals, customers use cash dispensers, the phone, the internet, or they go into one of our branches or one of our brokers’ offices. If you take our retail concept, which means being there for a broad section of society, you have to accept that accessibility is a precondition. We want to make our distribution networks as accessible as possible and really useful. Take for example the case of easy internet access for physically or mentally handicapped people. For the deaf, the blind and the sight-impaired. And of course for old people. We find accessibility so important that we have made it one of the key issues of our corporate social responsibility policy. In 2003 and 2004 SNS Bank studied the use of internet, the telephone and cash dispenser machines together with organisations for handicapped people. This was the start of modifications that should ultimately lead to maximum accessibility, in the broadest sense of the word, for everyone.’

‘Banking and insuring involves everyone. That is a something you take for granted as a financial retail specialist.’


A more user-friendly web siteInternet plays a central role in modern bank-ing. The home page of SNS Bank received on average 826,000 visitors per month in 2004. For physically restricted people, the internet is often indispensable. To find out how user friendly the web site of SNS Bank is, we had the site – www.snsbank.nl – tested by the Foundation Bartiméus Accessibility in 2003 for accessibility and usefulness. This led to recommendations that formed the basis of the adjustments made to the site in 2004. The renewed site makes greater user of colour, for example, making it easier to find the various different topics. Navigation has also been improved: the drop-down menus that visually and physically handicapped people had difficulty with have disappeared. Also, a search function has been introduced that helps customers to ask the right ques-tions in order to find specific information.

Eric Velleman, Director Bartiméus Accessibility

Advantageous for comanies tooThe Foundation Bartiméus Accessibility strives to make internet more accessible and user-friendly. ‘We started a campaign in 2004 aimed at companies in the small and medium-sized segment. A lot of businesses don’t know that building in accessibility is advantageous for them, too. Accessible sites are easier and cheaper to maintain and it’s easier to add a mobile telephony application, for example. The file sizes are also smaller and the pages load more quickly. That means substantial savings in bandwidth and a less of a burden on the server. Accessible sites also score better with the search engines. For this SME project, SNS Bank pledged financial support for three years. During this period we will get € 50,000 per year.’

‘Accessible sites score better with the search engines.’


Doing more with your mobile Internet is not the most convenient way for everyone to handle their financial affairs. That’s why the transactions the bank offers through internet have been made accessible via the mobile phone too.

Launch of the pin code decelerator A study into the effectiveness of bank cash dispensers has shown that certain user groups find the on-screen instructions go too fast. As a result they do not respond quickly enough to the questions asked by the machine and their transaction is can-celled. For this reason, SNS Bank installed a pin code decelerator in all cash dispensers in 2004. The application consists of special software that adjusts the speed of the screen dialogue to the tempo of the user.

Further improvements in accessibilityTo improve the accessibility of the branch offices, internet, and telephone services even more, the initiatives taken in 2004 will be further elaborated in 2005. SNS Bank will study the possibility of making cash machines more accessible to people in a wheelchair by making it possible to position the chair snugly under the machine. That would make the machine much easier to use for this group. In the next year we will also look into ways of improving the web site for the blind and sight-impaired. Also, SNS Bank intends to draw up guidelines for accessibility of buildings, and in the next year or so other units within the SNS REAAL Group will partially or fully adopt the SNS Bank initiatives to improve accessi-bility.


Transparent at every level


Cornelie van Bergenhenegouwen, Head of Marketing and Communication REAAL Verzekeringen

‘REAAL Verzekeringen assumes that customers talk, know what is important to them, and can decide themselves. We treat customers as equals. That means you can appeal to someone’s sense of reality. Customers, in turn, want clarity over what they can expect from REAAL Verzekeringen. If openness and realism form the basis, you automatically arrive at transparency. You win the confidence of clients if you are open and tell things as they are. A customer has a right to that. So we show what is possible and what is not, and what the consequences of certain choices are. And we are very honest about what a customer pays for a product or service. For us transparency is therefore also about product simplicity and clarity, and about not giving customers nasty surprises. This requires clear language. It means explaining in plain language, without fanfare or jargon, what a financial product means for a customer. REAAL Verzekeringen welcomes the new Financial Services Act, in which transparency plays a major role. The quality of service provision within the insurance sector will definitely improve thanks to this law.’

Transparent at every level

‘We treat customersas equals.’


Transparency of fees for investment-linked insurances The advent of the financial product guide was aimed primarily at making it easier for customers to compare offerings from vari-ous providers. In practice, however, the comparison of offers for investment-linked insurances ran into difficulties. That is because insurers use different methods for charging costs. It’s tempting not to mention all costs when drawing up a proposal, because the product will then appear cheaper. However, REAAL Verzekeringen is in favour of being as transparent as possible. For this reason REAAL Verzekeringen was one of the first insurers in the Netherlands to start using what’s known as gross yield when putting together proposals. What this means is that all the costs in the premium calcula-tions are spelled out.

Jip and Janneke project To simplify information about about pen-sions, we launched the Jip and Janneke proj-ect in 2004. Jip and Janneke are characters in a famous series of classic Dutch children’s’ books. The project involved taking a critical look at all forms of communications, which were tested according to specially selected criteria. Some of the guidelines were lifted from the Association of Insurers’ recommen-dations for harmonising pension summaries. The pension summaries of REAAL Verzekerin-gen have been now updated so as to be clearer and more comprehensible.

Cooperation with intermediaries REAAL Verzekeringen sells its products through independent intermediaries based in the Netherlands. SNS REAAL Verzekerin-gen cooperates intensively with its interme-diaries, who can count on active support in carrying out their work. There are regular exchanges of information about develop-ments in the sector, customer needs and the solutions offered by REAAL Verzekeringen. REAAL Verzekeringen chooses to do busi-ness only with intermediaries who have signed the Code of Conduct for the provision of Financial Information in Financial Inter-mediaries Services. This industry-wide code of conduct is aimed at guaranteeing the con-sumer gets the best possible mediation ser-vice.

Support in implementing the Financial Services Act The Financial Services Act has major conse-quences for intermediaries in the Nether-lands. They have to satisfy strict professional requirements and give clear information and advice. The new Act means that the interme-diary has to invest in order to continue oper-ating in the market. In anticipation of this, REAAL Verzekeringen started early on to give concrete support to intermediaries in imple-menting the new Financial Services Act. REAAL Verzekeringen provides intermediar-ies a whole range of professional courses and training and has also developed practi-cal tools relating to the new law.


REAAL Business School REAAL Verzekeringen likes to do business with intermediaries who act like entrepre-neurs. These are the intermediaries who want to stay ahead of the professional learn-ing curve, want to improve their business skills and also seek to develop themselves personally. That’s because it helps them to serve their customers better and also pro-motes cooperation and healthy business. REAAL Verzekeringen has developed the REAAL Business School or these intermedi-aries in particular. It’s a one-year, intensive hands-on management course tailored to intermediaries. In September 2004 the first 20 participants completed the REAAL Busi-ness School course.

‘The REAAL Business School course came as

a pleasant surprise.’

Raymond Pulles, An intermediary who attended the REAAL Business School

Holding up a mirror ‘The REAAL Business School course came as a pleasant surprise.’

‘Before I started I was a bit worried that it would be too heavy and take up too much time. The opposite was true: the course actually created new room. The REAAL Business School helped me order my thoughts, made me think about myself as a business man and what future direction to take. Through the exchange of ideas with other entrepreneurs, and thanks to the mirror that was held up to me, I came a long way for sure.’


Integrity: Personalising the norms


Integrity: Personalising the norms

Raf Houben,Head of Compliance SNS REAAL Group

‘For a financial organisation it’s logical for integrity to be ranked highly. Ultimately you’re working with money, so trust is crucial. Customers need to feel safe in the knowledge that they are dealing with a reliable partner. With an organisation that takes its responsibilities seriously. For SNS REAAL Group, integrity is a key issue of corporate social responsibility. It’s about integrity, good risk management, clarity about what is permissible and what is not. It’s a culture in which people judge each other by their behaviour. Establishing the norms is important, but it goes further than that. That’s because employees have to personalise those rules. That can only be done if the rules are integrated with the corporate culture. Of course there is also the personal perspective, the values and norms of the individual employee. An employee can find himself in a situation where his or her personal norms differ from those of the company. There should always be the possibility to discuss such dilemmas. A corporate culture that provides room for openness, discussion and dialogue is a precondition for demonstrating integrity and to raise awareness in this area.’

‘An employee can find himself in a situation where his or her personal norms differ from those of the company.’


Code of conduct SNS REAAL Group has drawn up a code of conduct for employees. There are also sev-eral other rules and procedures that serve to increase the integrity and transparency of the organisation. Examples are the general code of conduct for integrity and the private investment transactions ruling.

Awareness campaigns In 2005, we started designing and develop-ing initiatives for a group-wide awareness campaign about integrity and compliance issues. SNS REAAL Group started another awareness campaign for employees about information security. The intention is to communicate widely on these topics and to hold special workshops.

Local compliance officers Compliance officers have been appointed at several units of SNS REAAL Group. They serve as the first point of contact for compliance and integrity questions in the workplace. They play the role of information provider and reporter. SNS REAAL Group has a total of 10 local compliance officers.

Whistleblower policy Employees are expected to report suspicious or irregular practice within the organisation. To that end a whistleblower policy was set up at the end of 2004. This policy provides a procedure for reporting suspected abuses and protection of the legal position of the whistleblower. The reports will be treated confidentially. In addition, a timely and thor-ough inquiry will be held into the suspected irregularities. Employees who report sus-pected improper practices will be spared any negative consequences. The procedure for reporting suspected abuses was enforced in mid-2005.

Know the customer To combat fraud and money laundering, SNS REAAL Group, as a financial retail specialist, must know who they are doing business with. The absence or inadequacy of a good accep-tance and identification policy can also lead to certain risks. For that reason a due dili-gence policy has been established at the bank and insurer. SNS REAAL Group accepts no clients without first establishing their identity, character and background accord-ing to its own organisational and adminis-trative procedures and rules. In 2005, initiatives relating to customer due diligence will be developed further.

Complaints procedure Complaints from customers provide useful information that can be used to improve the level of service at SNS REAAL Group. Every business unit, therefore, has developed its own complaints procedure. At Group level, however, there is not one central system with uniform registration. This means we cannot provide comparable figures in this report on the registration and processing of complaints for the different units.


Business principles in practice The business principles of customer focus, professionalism, integrity and social involve-ment, serve as the basic rules of conduct for SNS REAAL Group employees. They have been set out in the booklet ‘What do we stand for?’ and are presented at induction sessions for new employees and various courses. In addition, they play a role in regu-lar work evaluations and they are discussed in the internal employee magazines. To give employees the opportunity to find out how the business principles translate into behav-iour in their daily work situation, REAAL Ver-zekeringen has created a dilemma game. In the game, employees are presented with a situation in which different and apparently contradictory interests are at play. Employ-ees get to work out how they would deal with such a situation. Then, together with their colleagues they discuss which reaction best fits the business principles of SNS REAAL Group. The dilemma game is played at different levels and is now being further development for all units of the SNS REAAL Group.

Huub Narinx, Director of Culture, SNS Bank

Are you a buffalo or a goose?‘James Belasco has written a good book, Flight of the Buffalo, in which he descri-bes the difference between a gaggle of geese and a herd of buffalos. A herd of buffalos has virtually no organisational structure. A few strong males on the outside of the herd and an otherwise flat organisation with at the head just one male, the head buffalo. He is an autocrat. He decides where the herd goes and is responsible for finding a tender and juicy plot of grass and water. No one asks him whether he’s absolutely sure he is heading in the right direction. Now the gaggle of geese. Every goose knows apparently exactly where South Africa lies and they continuously take over the lead from one another, without the first goose having to ask. They each take their own responsibi-lity and have their specialisms such as flying into the wind, rising, descending, and so on. And they give each other encouragement. They cackle!

I sometimes think of this comparison when I supervise the dilemma game. The dilemmas thrown up lead to widely different opinions and to some nice discussions too. So what do you do if you have just promised your team to stay on another full year and three days later you get a fantastic offer for a better position? Or if you constantly help your weaker colleague to get out of trouble and that same colleague at the end of the year gets a better evaluation report than you?

It’s irrelevant what business principles it touches on. What it all boils down to is that it must be clear where we are going and that during the journey you take responsibility.’

‘So what do you do if you have just promised your team to stay on another full year and three days later you get a fantastic offer for a better position?’


Close to the customer As a financial retail specialist, SNS REAAL Group wants to be close to its customers. When it comes to service, products and con-tact options, customers are good at decid-ing what they want. SNS REAAL Group con-siders the ability to think ‘outside-in’ as an important factor in fostering innovation. For that reason we are keen to absorb the ideas and desires of Dutch people. To that end we ask customers and the public at large on a regular basis for their opinion on financial products and services. We organise discus-sion forums in which participants are invited to go into greater depth on their financial services desires and needs. To target the invitees selectively we use the SNS REAAL Group customer information system as well as external sources.

Armand Vaessen, Market Researcher

Listen to customers ‘In order to make the right decision it’s crucial to listen. To customers, non-customers, intermediaries and colleagues within the organisation. That’s how you find out how whether an advisory chat went well or whether a television commercial is working. They can tell you how powerful your brand is and whether a new mortgage product has a chance of succeeding. Or how to improve the interior design of a bank branch and make the web site more user-friendly. So we ask them all that. We do it over the phone or in online interviews, through one-on-one’s, mystery shopping or lab-based research. In the discussion groups participants can tell us the whole story, as frankly as they like, if needs be. By listening carefully we surface the information we need in order to serve our customers even better.’

‘By listening carefully we surface the information we need in order to serve our customers even better.’

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Since 1960, ASN Bank has been the Netherlands’ largest sustainable bank. Since then ASN Bank has built up 200,000 customers and assets under management of EUR 2.2 billion. ASN Bank thinks the yield on these savings and investments should be 100% honestly earned. So not under the wrong regime. Exploitation or violation of human rights are also absolutely out of the question. Do you agree with this? Well, all the more reason for you to open a savings account now at ASN Bank. You can chose from a range of very attractive savings options. ASN Internetsp@ren for example. And ASN Jeugdsparen. Both offer 3.25% interest. And because your money is earning interest at a sustainable bank, the world benefi ts with you. That’s double profi t! For more information go to www.asnbank.nl or call our toll-free number 0800-0380

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Two units with a pioneering role

With ASN Bank and SNS Asset Management,

SNS REAAL Group has two very special brands:

both companies play a pioneering role in the

Netherlands in sustainable financial services. ASN Bank is a

benchmark in socially responsible banking. No activity is

undertaken, nor decision taken, without careful

consideration to human rights, social involvement and

environmental policy issues. SNS Asset Management has

grown to become a recognised specialist in investments in

sustainable and ethical investments. Of course much of

this knowledge is circulated and tried out within the

SNS REAAL Group too. ASN Bank and

SNS Asset Management are leaders in setting

sustainability criteria and sustainable and profitable

investment policy.

Two units with a pioneering role


ASN Bank was founded in 1960 and since

then has grown to become a leading

sustainability bank in the Netherlands,

with 205,000 customers and managed

assets of € 2.4 billion. The product range

of ASN Bank includes savings accounts

and investment funds. In addition

ASN Bank provides loans to businesses.

Mortgages issued by ASN Bank are

managed by SNS Bank.

Jeroen Jansen, Deputy Director, ASN Bank

Growing interest in sustainability ’The mission of ASN Bank is to promote sustainability in society. To achieve this we have to steer money in the right direction. That means that we have to be extremely careful in selecting which companies, institutions or public bodies we invest in. We first want to know that company’s policy on the environment, human rights, social aspects, children’s rights and animals. To form an opinion we use sustainability analyses run by SNS Asset Manage-ment. If you want a sustainable investment policy, you have to set clear criteria: what do you invest in and what conditions must a company satisfy to qualify for investment? We’re finding that our norms are appealing to more and more people and that the results of our policy are turning out very well in financial terms too. Evidently the two are mutually reinforcing and that has not gone unnoticed. At the same time we notice that other financial institutions are showing an increasing interest in sustainability, and that makes us hopeful for the future.’

ASN Bank: For tomorrow’s world

‘ASN Bank’s mission is to promote sustainability

in society.’

ASN Bank: own sustainability report

ASN Bank publishes its own sustainability report once a year. The report can be downloaded from the web site of ASN Bank at www.asnbank.nl.


Consistent investment policy As part of its investment policy, ASN Bank has established sustainability criteria. Only com-panies, institutions and governments and authorities that fulfill these criteria enter the eligible investment universe of ASN Bank. There are three categories of criteria:

§ Exclusion criteria § Conditional criteria § Other criteria

Exclusion criteria: being selective ASN Bank does not invest in energy compa-nies that use nuclear energy sources. Com-panies that make or deal in arms or that make or trade in arms components are also disqualified. Companies that apply genetic technology to plants and animals are also ruled out unless there is a biological prob-lem at that moment in time that can only be solved through use genetically modified plants or animals. These companies would need also in that case to have a demonstra-ble and transparent policy on gene technol-ogy.

Conditional criteria: demand an active role In addition to the exclusion criteria, ASN Bank applies a number of other conditions when selecting which companies to include in its investment universe. They must be able to demonstrate an active and comprehensive environmental policy and show that they play a positive role in promot-ing human rights in the countries where they have operations. Companies must also give account of their social corporate policy. For companies active in developing countries, the presence of a social and environmental policy is a precondition.

Other criteria: always look ahead If a company makes it through the exclusion and conditional criteria, ASN Bank can still decide out of choice not to invest in it. Exam-ples are companies that only produce tobacco products or alcoholic drinks, or that are active in the gaming industry. In addition ASN Bank would rather not invest in compa-nies in the bio-industry or that perform tests on animals on a large scale for product development purposes. In some special cases a country’s political situation can also be a reason to rule out investments in any company active in that specific country. An example would be countries sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council for human rights violations. Failure to meet the guidelines of the International Labour Orga-nization (ILO) and the Organisation for Eco-nomic Cooperation and Development might be another reason not to invest in a com-pany.

Regular monitoring The organisations that are included in the investment universe of ASN Bank are checked out thoroughly every three years at least and earlier if developments warrant it. The investment universe is adjusted on a quar-terly basis. The investments are monitored and analysed using official reports, docu-ments and environmental data. In addition, there are visits to the companies and use is made of external sources such as social insti-tutions, in order to arrive at an independent assessment on an organisation.

Other than environmental and social fac-tors, ASN Bank naturally also looks at the financial forecasts in order to decide whether to invest in a company, institution or public authority.

Dialogue with customers More and more new customers are discover-ing ASN Bank, not just for their savings and investments, but also as a source of knowl-edge about social involvement and sustain-able investment. Between 700 and 1,000 customers come to the Annual General Meeting of shareholders, for example. This is a day when sustainability issues are dis-cussed, alongside the annual report and accounts. Each year, ASN Bank also organ-ises the Day of Ethical Investment. This is a popular event in the financial world that fea-tures leading national and international speakers who talk on social and financial topics.


SNS Asset Management: Sustainable investments

In the Netherlands SNS Asset Management is market

leader in sustainable institutional investments.

SNS Asset Management manages a large number of

portfolios on behalf of pension funds, social institutions

and other institutional investors. In addition,

SNS Asset Management manages assets for the portfolios

of ASN investment funds and a large number of

SNS investment funds.

Guus van der Kamp, Director SNS Asset Management

Partner in sustainable investment ’Institutional investors increasingly want to include companies in their portfolio that take their role in society seriously. The economic performance of a company is often clear, but how do I as institutional investor get insight into the social and ecological policy? That’s where SNS Asset Management comes in. Investors can come to us for a complete range of advanced investment products and services, such as sustainability research. Through SNS Asset Management, investors can also translate their own social involvement into a sustainable investment strategy. So they’ll invest in shares and bonds of exemplary companies that have demonstrated the application of sustainability criteria in their organisation. They are very attractive because companies that do business in a socially responsible way often have better risk management and are more innovative because they have to do more with less. We want to show that sustainability pays, that it’s reflected in the results.’

‘We want to show that sustainability pays, that it’s reflected in the results.’


Sustainability research SNS Asset Management performs systematic sustainability analyses that examine to what degree companies conduct socially responsible business. SNS Asset Management has established criteria for rating companies according to their environmental and social policies and corporate governance. ASN Bank has developed a sustainability index for small- and medium-sized European stock exchange-listed companies, together with Kempen Capital Management and HSBC. Questions, criteria and results are stored in PEARL, a unique data base. A special method has also been developed to compare the sus-tainability performance of different companies. SNS Asset Manage-ment is striving to become the knowledge centre in the Netherlands on socially responsible investment in European listed companies.

In 2005 SNS Asset Management plans to give an overall rating on all the dimensions of sustainability. That means the social, environmen-tal and financial facets of an organisation will be considered as a whole in the assessment. Up until now the various dimensions were judged separately, meaning that the sustainability rating reflected heavily the Ps of people and planet. In coming years the intention is to put a greater emphasis on the P of profit in judging sustainability.

In addition, SNS Asset Management will change its research method in 2005. Instead of examining sectors individually, all sectors will be continually researched. The advantage of screening throughout the whole year is that the data will be up-to-date and changes in the sec-tor can be registered easily and quickly.

‘The Dutch knowledge centre for socially

responsible investments.’

Roelie van Wijk, Head of Research, SNS Asset Management

Sustainability pays ‘In the capital goods sector there are companies that produce ball bearings that are used, for example, in cars, windmills or rollerblades. The market leader, the Swedish company SKF, gets an excellent rating from SNS Asset Management on micro-economic grounds. The company stands out on account of its strong management and high capacity for innovation. It also scores well on social aspects. It has an excellent personnel policy and good relations with the unions. On the environmental front it does great, too. The ball bearings it makes are made entirely from recycled steel, an excellent idea especially considering the currently high steel prices too. Finally, SKF attaches great importance to chain liability: all suppliers are held to the same high sustainability demands that the company subjects itself to. SKF is therefore one of the investments in the ASN Share Fund and the SNS Sustainability Share Fund and has outperformed the benchmark market indices by 200%.’


In accordance with international guidelinesTo make it easier to compare the performances of fund managers, international guidelines have been established that prescribe how asset managers present their financial performance. These are the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). Since November 2004, SNS Asset Management has complied fully with the GIPS guide-lines. The basis of the GIPS guidelines, transparency and uniformity, are generally taken very seriously by sustainable investors and are perfectly aligned with the business principles of SNS REAAL Group.

A member of the Enhanced Analytics Initiative At the end of 2004, SNS REAAL Group joined the Enhanced Analytics Initiative (EAI), an expanding group of institutional investors in the Netherlands, the U.K. and France. There are currently eight mem-bers. The group has a goal of investing 5% of its provision income via equity brokers that include non-financial and immaterial investment criteria in their research. This percentage equates with a provision income amount of around € 8 million.

Tightening SNS REAAL Group investment policy further The bulk of the proprietary investment portfolio of SNS REAAL Group consists of fixed-income paper, mostly issues by European government organisations. Investments in European shares are made on the basis of sustainability criteria set by SNS Asset Management. For the fixed-income portfolios, sustainability criteria have also been developed.

To exercise better sustainable investment within its own investment policy, SNS REAAL Group plans to take a more active role in share-holder meetings, and to exercise shareholder voting rights. For issues relating to corporate governance, SNS REAAL Group uses the advice of Deminor, a European consultancy that helps promote shareholder interests.


Sustainable products and services

If you care about the impact of your

business on future generations, you should

show it by offering sustainable products.

That notion prevails at SNS REAAL Group.

Employees are encouraged to consider

social aspects explicitly in developing new

products. ASN Bank is a forerunner in this

respect, with a range of investment funds

and savings accounts with a social angle.

Savings accounts ASN Bank All savings schemes offered by ASN Bank are driven by the same aim: to achieve a good yield and make a concrete contribution to tomor-row’s world. Customers of ASN Bank can rest assured that their savings will not increase global warming or the violation of human rights.

ASN Share FundThe ASN Share Fund (Dutch: ASN Aandelenfonds) invests world-wide in publicly listed pioneers in socially responsible business. European, American and Japanese funds are judged according to special invest-ment criteria drawn up by ASN Bank. The funds that perform best in this area are included in the investment universe of ASN Bank. These funds are then judged on their financial performance, too, before being included in the ASN share fund. In this way they contribute to the performance of the share fund, which has outperformed the market for the past 10 years.

ASN Green Project Fund Invests in projects designated by the Dutch government as being ‘green’.

ASN Bond FundInvests in stock exchange-listed, fixed-income paper issued by authorities, companies and institutions. The fund uses a unique method for rating authorities, too, on their contribution to society.

ASN Mix FundInvests in fixed-income (55%) through the ASN Bond Fund and shares (45%) through the ASN Share Fund.

ASN-NOVIB FundThis fund supports financial intermediaries in Africa, Latin-America, Asia and Eastern Europe by financing the expansion of their credit and investment projects.The fund offers the individual investor the possibility to contribute to the war against poverty in a tax-efficient way by financing small busi-nesses in developing countries.

Invested assets ASN investment funds

The total invested assets of ASN investment funds on Decem-ber 31, 2004 amounted to € 681 million. Total savings account deposits managed by ASN Bank on December 31, 2004, amounted to € 1.7 billion.

Managed assets SNS Asset Management

The total managed assets of SNS Asset Management on Decem-ber 31, 2004 amounted to € 11.7 billion, of which € 2.3 billion were invested according to sustainability criteria.


ASN Environment & Water fund Invests world-wide in shares of stock exchange-listed companies involved in environmental and water technology.

Orange SeNSe Fund Together with Kempen Capital Management, ASN Bank introduced the Orange SeNSe Fund in the last quarter of 2002. This is a sustain-ability fund that invests in European small- and mid-cap companies. The Orange SeNSe Fund was the best performing Dutch sustainable investment share fund in both 2003 and 2004.

SNS Sustainable Share Fund Invests in European shares with the highest sustainability score in their sector. The ratings are based on environmental and social crite-ria.

SeNSe FundThis fund is the institutional variant of the SNS Sustainability Share Fund and invests largely in large-cap companies.

Stop smoking Savings SchemeOn December 31 2004, SNS Bank started the Stop Smoking Savings Plan. People who wanted to stop smoking could invest in the money they saved as a result into a special account at SNS Bank. They were also invited to follow a course paid for by SNS Bank that motivated them to stop smoking. Finally, participants couls also have their health checked by cardiologists. The campaign Stop Smoking ran until January 16, 2005.

Business credit ASN Bank offers businesses attractive financial terms for initiatives that contribute to a better future. In the Netherlands there are vari-ous subsidy schemes for projects that promote a sustainable society. ASN Bank offers a very attractive rate and market knowledge. Through the ASN green project fund, ASN Bank finances plans that directly promote a better environment. Businesses can benefit from an extra low interest rate if they invest in projects that have been declared ‘green’ by the government. ASN Bank works intensively with SNS Bank in providing corporate credit.

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SNSStop Smoking Savings Plan

Who will

help me quit

smoking?

Time for each other

How do you create a working environment

where each employee not only feels good but can

also achieve the best personal development?

SNS REAAL Group does this by caring for

our employees in every way we can. When it comes to agreeing

work conditions for the Social Plan or to freeing up

employees to go on courses, our motto is stay human,

however big you are. And whether it’s a question of

having a well thought-out recruitment policy, or giving

our absent employees the attention they need, we know

that an organisation is as good as its people.

Only with and through them can SNS REAAL Group

realise its ambition to be the favourite financial

retail specialist of the Netherlands.

Time for each other

Employees in service (in fte’s)

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0

2004 2003

permanent temporary


At the end of 2004 SNS REAAL Group

had 5,697 employees in service.

This is 326 less than the previous year.

The drop in the number of employees is

related to the restructuring of certain

business units. The effect was greatest at

SNS Bank. Conversely, as a result of the

centralisation of activities, the number of

full-time employees at group level

expanded by 50 people.

Decline in temporary workers The number of employees in permanent employment (expressed in fte’s) grew relative to the total to 93% (2003: 91%). Many temporary contracts, such as annual contracts, were not renewed. Approxi-mately 3.5% of the total staff base in 2004 consisted of temporary workers. That is a substantial decline on the 2003 level of 6.5% and reflects a conscious effort to cut the costs of temporary workers.

Our employees

Inflow and outflow of staff based on average staffing level (in fte’s)

12.0%

10.0%

8.0%

6.0%

4.0%

2.0%

0.0%

2004 2003

inflow

outflow, employer-led

outflow, employee-led


Staff movements SNS REAAL Group strives to achieve stable employee turnover, with a balance between the inflow of new staff, the promotion of existing staff and those moving on to new opportunities. In 2004 the inflow of new employees was 6% (2003: 11%). The outflow of employees was 10.5% in 2004 (2003:7%). In 2004, 5% of employees who left did so of their own accord. (2003: 3%).

SNS REAAL Group tracks the motives behind staff departure via a questionnaire. These exit analyses reveal a lack of promotion possi-bilities at SNS REAAL Group as a major reason why employees seek a new employer. These results are in line with the results of the employee satisfaction survey of 2004 (see page 51).

Number of employees by age

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

<20

2004 2003

20-29 30-39 40-49 >50

<36 hours 36 hours

Number of employees by type of service

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

>36 hours

2004 2003

30% 29%

60% 62%

10% 9%


AgeAt SNS REAAL Group there is a balanced age distribution within the personnel base.

SNS REAAL Group realises that career ambitions are not as easily ful-filled within some groups of employees as they are among others. Career stagnation occurs especially among 25 to 38 year olds with young children, and among employees older than 50. SNS REAAL Group will formulate a specific target group policy for such employ-ees in 2005.

Working weekAccording to the collective labour agreement, a standard working week at SNS REAAL Group comprises 36 hours, though it is also pos-sible to work part time. The agreement states that the working week is longer than 36 hours for certain positions.

Service yearsThe average years of service among employees is 10.5 years, with men staying in employment for an average of 11.3 years and women 9.3 years. About one in five employees has been in employment for more than 20 years.

Male/female ratioIn both 2004 and 2003, the male/female ratio in the company was 55%/45%. About 20% of the executive management – people who are hierarchically responsible for managing colleagues – are women.

Number of transfers under social plan

250

200

150

100

50

0

2004 2003

extern intern


SNS REAAL Group expects employees

to be results-oriented and enterprising.

To this effect, we have created a good and

stimulating working climate with excellent

working conditions, an up to date

collective labour agreement and an

attractive personnel policy.

Ever since the year 2000, SNS REAAL Group has had its own collective labour agreement. Within a dynamically operating bank and insur-ance company like SNS REAAL Group, working relations are subject to regular change. SNS REAAL Group needs to be able to react easily to these changes. To this end, a focused policy for personnel devel-opment is essential. The company’s collective labour agreement plays a guiding and supporting role in this policy, as well as creating favourable conditions.

The deadline for the company’s fourth collective labour agreement was June 2004. In May 2005, a new collective labour agreement was finalised that is valid until 1 January 2006. PensionsIn 2004 the SNS REAAL Group pension scheme was changed from a final salary scheme to a mid-salary scheme. In addition, a personal contribution of 5% of the pension base has been introduced for new employees. A transition scheme will apply to the employees already working in the company.In 2004, the employees of REAAL Verzekeringen were incorporated into the pension funds of SNS Bank and the Group. As a result there is now a single pension fund for all employees. At the end of 2004, the participatory council and the management of the pension fund agreed on proposals for an independent pension fund. Under the collective labour agreement, a settlement was reached with the

unions on this issue. As a result, the pension fund will be separated from SNS REAAL Group in 2005. To put the fund in a viable starting position, the employer will make a one time contribution of € 105 mil-lion.

Profit sharingSNS REAAL Group has had a profit-sharing agreement since 2002. Depending on the percentage increase in the net profit of SNS REAAL Group, employees receive a bonus that can amount to a maximum of 3.5% of the final salary within the job grade. Due to the good finan-cial results of 2003 and 2004, the maximum remittance was awarded for two consecutive years.

A well-regulated Social Plan A new Social Plan has been agreed on with the trade unions to cover the period from 2004 to the end of 2006. The Plan applies to employees who have lost their positions due to branch reorganisation. They will be conscientiously supported in finding other suitable internal or external positions. The Social Plan also includes regulations for financial compensation in the event that employees face costs incurred by transfer.

A separate Group collective labour agreement


Requesting advice from the Review CommitteeAn employee might think that the Social Plan has not been correctly applied to his personal situation. Or that the application has led to an inequitable state of affairs. It is also possible that a difference of opinion develops between the employer and the employee concern-ing the suitability of a position being offered. In all these cases the employee can submit an objection to the Review Committee. This could lead to a hearing at which both the employee and the employer are invited to be present. The Review Committee will issue its advice which the employer is obliged to follow unless there are very strong reasons for him to deviate from this advice.

In 2004, 27 objections were submitted to the Review Committee. Of these, 14 were taken further; 8 notices of objection were declared to be inadmissible 1 was pro forma submitted and 4 objections were withdrawn.

Frank Strijkers, Damage Correspondent, SNS Assuradeuren

The relocation went just fine‘When our new branch closed down, we were shocked. How would we quickly find another job? Luckily it was stated in the Social Plan that we would get help in finding alternative employment. As a result we were given precedence when we applied for certain job openings at SNS REAAL Group. In addition to that, outplacement was another option. At an early stage I was alerted to a job opening at SNS Assuradeuren. I applied and was accepted. Not only that, I could keep my service years and my previous salary. I was very impressed at the level of communication. We were contacted regularly and we were also invited to go to them with any queries.’

’I was very impressed by the level of

communication.’


In the interests of the employeesEmployee participation in decision-making: giving the employees a voice. At SNS REAAL Group, employees participate in decision-making. They can make their voices heard and exert influence on the course of affairs in the organisation. In this way, they are involved in promoting their own interests and those of the company. Employee participation in decision making within SNS REAAL Group is structured in layers.

§ On a decentralised level, the participation in decision-making takes place through the Branch Committee. In principle, each company has its own Branch Committee.

§ Representatives of different Branch Com-mittees form the Works Council at SNS Bank and REAAL Verzekeringen.

§ Above them is the Central Works Council (COR in Dutch) of SNS REAAL Group, in which representatives from both Works Councils have seats. The COR deals with issues that rise above the branch or local level and have a bearing on the entire SNS REAAL Group.

Currently, proposals are being discussed that should lead to the creation of a single works council for the entire Group.

Confidentiality and mediation committeeThe basic principle within SNS REAAL Group is that all employees should be treated with respect. Undesirable behaviour is therefore not tolerated. In 2004, a policy was drawn up to prevent undesirable behaviour and to counsel and support victims of such behav-iour. Information about undesirable behav-iour plays an important role in prevention. Furthermore, in 2005, five mediators/confi-dants will be appointed who can be approached by anyone confronted with undesirable behaviour. Their task is to advise, mediate and help in the event that an official complaint is submitted. To facilitate this procedure, a very clear complaint procedure has been developed. It calls for a Mediation Committee to conduct a deeper investiga-tion into the complaint and issue a state-ment to the manager of the person accused. The manager is obliged to implement the measures recommended in the statement. The Mediation Committee will be installed in 2005.

Clear complaint procedure and complaint committeeIf an employee is in disagreement with the policy concerning an issue involving them, they can discuss this with their direct man-ager. If this does not lead to a satisfactory resolution, the employee can then take the complaint to the complaint committee. Within a month of receiving the complaint, the complaint committee will issue its rec-ommendation to the Management Board concerning the policy that should be pur-sued in this individual situation. The Board of Management will then make its decision. If this decision deviates from the advice pre-sented by the complaints committee, the Board of Management must explain why that is. In 2004, 24 complaints were submitted, of which 9 were of a general nature and 15 con-cerned the integration of Zurich-employees.


Highly motivated employees are of great

importance to SNS REAAL Group.

SNS REAAL Group therefore wishes to

know if it is seen as an attractive employer

by its employees, and also whether

improvement is made in this area over

time. To this end, approximately every

18 months an employee satisfaction

survey is conducted.

Employees can fill in a questionnaire in which their opinion is asked on a wide range of subjects and they are also asked to give an evalu-ation. A selection of the subjects treated are: work activities, working conditions and work pressure, management, colleagues, possibili-ties for development and remuneration. Employees are also asked to give an evaluation of their own branch or unit and of SNS REAAL Group as a company.

In the autumn of 2004 the second employee satisfaction survey took place. All permanent employees were approached to take part in this research. The survey was disseminated both on paper and electroni-cally. The response was 69.3%, considerably higher than the response in the first assessment in 2003, when only 60.2% of employees filled out the questionnaire.

Good working atmosphereThe general level of satisfaction as gauged by the employee satisfac-tion survey in 2004 came out at 7.4 (2003: 7.6) on a scale of 0 to 10. That is slightly higher than the score of the National Satisfaction Index (NTI), the average score that the Dutch gave to their work envi-ronment. High scores were given in particular to colleagues, the level of cooperation within the department and communication with col-leagues. Employees were also content with the working hours and their relations with management. The item working conditions was given a much higher score than in the last assessment. Satisfaction has increased in the areas of work place, the work load, the time allo-cated to do the work, the influence on work pressure and the avail-able means.

Company prideThe employee satisfaction survey showed that pride in the company unit in which an employee works has the greatest influence on the general feeling of satisfaction. In comparison to the first assessment, the sense of pride, commitment, trust in management, of being in support of the strategy, the communication and the consultation structure, were all rated either the same or slightly higher. Only when it comes to the issue of cooperation between the different company units were employees less satisfied than the year before.

Employee Satisfaction

Survey

Results of the employee satisfaction study 2004

How satisfied are the employees? 2004 2003 NTI 1

General 7.4 7.6 7.3Work activities 7.0 7.1 7.1Working conditions and work pressure 6.7 6.2 6.6Management 6.9 6.6 6.6Colleagues 8.0 8.2 7.8Company branches 7.2 7.3 7.1SNS REAAL GROUP 6.3 6.6 6.2Development possibilities 6.2 6.6 6.2Rewards 6.3 6.1 5.8

1 National Satisfaction Index


SNS REAAL Group is a pleasant company to work for. The research bureau Effectory annually presents six awards to companies that scored highest in their surveys in the category of employee satisfaction, or to companies that have risen most sharply in terms of employee satisfaction.For 2004, CVB Bank received the satisfac-tion award for companies with up to 100 employees. SNS Bank won the prize for the sharpest riser in the category of companies with at least 2,500 employees, and Proteq Direct won the satisfaction award for the sharpest riser among companies with 100 to 2,500 employees.

More attention to moving up the career ladderResearch into the level of satisfaction among employees at SNS REAAL Group revealed that they were less positive about promotion opportunities and career guidance than they were during the first survey. The research has brought to light the fact that the general feeling of satisfaction among employees was strongly related to the possibility of moving up the career ladder. For that reason SNS REAAL Group is going to devote a lot of attention to this subject in 2005.

Working on personal developmentIn order to assess and reward employees, the SNS REAAL Group uses the Performance and Competence Assessment model, called the PCB for short (Dutch acronym). This assessment system is used to render perfor-mance, effort and development visible, which is then assessed. Depending on the individual result, the employee is rewarded with a periodic salary rise and/or an assess-ment bonus. The PCB consists of a number of contact moments per year between the management team and the employee in which there is an open dialogue and consul-tation. A PCB-interview can result in a Per-sonal Development Plan to facilitate result-orientated work practices and development. With a Personal Development Plan the employee decides, together with his man-ager, how he can best achieve his develop-ment goals.

2004 2003

% of gross salary 2.9% 4.2%Per full-time employee (in €) € 1226 € 1752

Educational costs

Room for

Education

Spending on courses and trainingSpending on courses in 2004 includes the cost of the courses, seminars, travel expenses and overnight stays for external courses. Internal training courses have not been incorporated into these figures. The fall in course expenses is mainly due to an increase in the number of internal courses provided.

Shaping your own career SNS REAAL Group believes that employees should themselves take responsibility for giving shape to their own development. In addition to the opportunity to follow train-ing courses, we pay a lot of attention to per-sonal development and the development of strategic competence. Employees can par-ticipate in workshops that afford insight into personality, talents, underlying interests and drivers. In addition to this there are also workshops for teams and departments to raise employee awareness of ‘enterprising’ and ‘result-oriented’ competences.

Competence Development ProgrammeThe Competence Development programme was set up to help employees to rise to man-agerial or specialist positions within the Group. This programme consists of a broad managerial training course for young, talented employees. At this point in time, the programme comprises three different ele-ments, each focused on a special target group in the organisation.

SNS REAAL Group asks a flexible approach of its

employees and the ambition to develop continually.

Increasing employees skills takes centre place and

improves career prospects. A lot of space is given to

developing individual qualities, varying from

specialised training programmes and external courses, to

management development

programmes.

The three programmes running within the Competence development project are:§ Talent Development Programme: a scheme focused on personal develop-

ment designed for employees who are 30 or under who have completed academic or higher vocational training and who have been working for at least one year at SNS REAAL Group.

§ Young Executive Programme: a scheme designed to develop personal

and leadership qualities. The target group for this scheme comprises highly edu-cated employees between the ages of 28 and 38 with the required professional knowledge and organisational skills as well as the ambition to move up.

§ Management Programme: a scheme designed to develop manage-

ment qualities that are connected to implementing and realising group strat-egy. This is designed for fourth-grade managers and potentials who want to broaden their horizons by preparing them-selves for future management and leader-ship roles.

NetworkNetwork is a platform of over 250 young, highly educated professionals working within the various company branches of SNS REAAL Group. Goal: making contacts and exchanging knowledge and experience.Network encourages its members to con-tribute to developments within the organi-sation and has the role of being a construc-tively critical sounding board and an organisation-wide, creative think-tank.

Jochem Aubel, Senior employee, Balance Sheet and Risk Management, SNS REAAL Group, follows the Young Executive Programme.

Intensive days ‘When I started working at SNS REAAL Group in June 2004, I made it clear right away that personal development is a priority for me. Luckily there are lots of opportunities in that regard. In consultation with P&O I chose to participate in the Young Executive Programme. What appeals to me in this programme is the attention given to the issue of how you want to develop within the organisation. What are your strengths and what do you really enjoy doing? In this way I am learning more about myself and the way in which I tackle things. I also find the contact with the other participants valuable. It gives me the chance to broaden my network and I am getting to know the organisation better. The programme consists of three modules of three days. There is a limited amount of time involved but these days are very intensive and I am learning an enormous amount in a very short time.’

‘What really appeals to me is the attention given

to the issue of how you want to develop within

the organisation.’


Health and safety

One working conditions service for all SNS REAAL GROUP needs a uniform system for registering and reporting sick leave data, as well as for implementing policy on work-ing conditions and sick leave. For this reason the Group serves all company units with one single working conditions service that is specialised in sick leave in the financial ser-vices sector. The working conditions service is charged by SNS REAAL Group to conduct research into the reasons for sick leave and gives advice on the support of sick employ-ees. Employees are given individual support in issues relating to work and health. SNS REAAL Group would like the working condi-tions service to be approachable for employ-ees, which is why we’ve arranged for the ser-vice to be available at nine different locations, which employees can visit.

The activities of the working conditions ser-vice are managed by the Working Conditions Committee, a work group that translates the internal and external developments in the field of working conditions into a practical response within SNS REAAL Group.

SNS REAALGroup takes the working conditions

of employees very seriously. Good working conditions

help to prevent absenteeism and increase work

satisfaction. Our employees can therefore count on

having a workplace that fulfils the requirements of the

working conditions service and is ergonomically sound.

SNS REAAL Group has an active sick leave policy that

aims to get sick employees back at work

as soon as possible.

Sick leave

6.0%

4.0%

2.0%

0.0%

2004 2003

5.0%4.4%


Successful approach SNS REAAL Group believes in tackling work-related health problems such as stress, RSI and back pains early on. The working condi-tions service supervises the employee dur-ing the period of absence. The employee, manager and working conditions service work together to help the employee to return to work as quickly as possible. This approach dovetails with a new law (Wet Verbetering Poortwachter) that has been designed to prevent long term absenteeism and entry into the WAO Disablement Insurance Act. The fact that this approach works is borne out in the figures: absenteeism in 2004 was lower than in other companies in the finan-cial sector where it affects on average 5% of the work force.

Organisation for accidents at workA company assistance organisation has been set up in order to ensure effective action in an emergency situation. At least once a year an emergency evacuation procedure is prac-ticed in all locations. In addition, SNS REAAL Group has developed a policy under which accidents at work are immediately reported and registered.

Victims of hold-ups SNS REAAL Group has a programme that offers help to employees who are victims of hold-ups, hostage-taking or other traumatic events. In addition, SNS REAAL Group has a number of company social workers who have followed a special course aimed at securing the safety of employees and to limit dam-ages.

Mutual Help Fund In 1992 employees at SNS Bank set up the Mutual Help fund. The fund provides finan-cial support to employees who, through no fault of their own are confronted with large costs in relation to illness or emergencies. As of November 2004, all employees at SNS REAAL Group can apply for assistance from the Mutual Help Fund. In the period from 1 January to 1 November 2004, 14 new requests were made of which five were met. From 1 November 2004 to 1 January 2005 seven repeat requests were made and there were also seven new requests. Of the seven new requests, four were met.

Active in the community

From the moment we started out in banking and insuring

at SNS REAAL Group we were already developing

a great diversity of social initiatives.

The idea behind this was simple: you take something, you give

something back. Money and banking

affairs play a crucial role in the mechanics of society.

And that is precisely the justification of our existence.

At SNS REAAL Group we find it only logical to

offer a ‘social dividend’ in return.

That’s why we use the SNS REAL Fund to support

countless projects that further general

community interests.

.

Active in the community


Evaluation by two committees Under the auspices of the foundation’s man-agement, there are two committees in the SNS REAAL Fund in which the managers of SNS REAAL Group as well as external inter-ested parties hold seats. These two commit-tees are the SNS REAAL Committee and the Profit-Sharing REAAL Verzekeringen Com-mittee. The committees judge requests and grant support.

Focused on education, culture and monumentsThe SNS REAAL Committee receives an annual fixed sum of over € 1.1 million for the support of initiatives and projects in the areas of education, culture and monuments. An example is the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht, a varied, four-day chamber music programme held at the end of December 2004 held in the Vredenburg Muziekcentrum in Utrecht. The SNS REAAL Fund also contributed to de Prix de Rome, the Dutch ‘state ’prize that is geared towards encouraging the artistic development of young Dutch and foreign sculptors who work in the Netherlands.

Our own initiativesNot only does the committee make money available for requests, it also takes the initia-tive in starting innovative projects. For example, to mark the 10th anniversary of the fund, a special performance of the Requiem of Mozart was organised in the great hall of Vredenburg Muziekcentrum in Utrecht, in collaboration with the Ensemble Lyrique. Another initiative was the intermediary proj-ect launched in 2001.

Showing solidarity via the SNS REAAL Fund

Through the SNS REAAL Fund, SNS REAAL Group seeks to

express its commitment to social responsibility and

solidarity in a concrete way, in the form of a social

dividend. For this reason the fund gives financial support

to projects that further general community interests with

an idealistic or social content. The focus areas of the

SNS REAAL Fund are Art & Culture, Health & Care, Sport

& Recreation, Nature & Environment, Education,

Restoration (cultural heritage) and social-community

activities. When granting requests, attention is paid to

regional distribution. In 2004 the SNS REAAL Fund spent

over 1.5 million in support of a wide variety of activities

and projects. Every year, an overview is published

mentioning all the projects supported by the fund.


An intermediary who works with REAAL Insurance can put forward schools for finan-cial support in setting up and implementing a cultural educational project. These schools can be regular primary schools or schools for children with special needs. A maximum on-off sum of € 2,250 can be granted. The school receives the financial support via the intermediary in the name of the SNS REAAL Group. Eighty two primary schools were able to set up a project in 2004 thanks to an inter-mediary. A school in Eindhoven received money for a project to plant a school nature garden. The Maria school in Oudewater was able to do the project ’world party at school’ on music, dance and songs from around the world.

Solidarity with the workersThe founder companies of the REAAL Group had a tradition of close relations with the trade unions and were actively involved in the trade union movement. Herein lie the origins of the ideology behind the REAAL Verzekeringen Profit Share Committee. The committee receives an annual sum of over € 453,000 and uses this money to support emancipation movements and research into this area. In this framework, the Fund sup-ports the Willem Drees-Lezing Foundation. This foundation wants to call attention to the significance of Willem Drees to Dutch soci-ety by organising an annual lecture. Another example is the financial support we provided to the activities of the De Voorpost Founda-tion. This foundation ensures refugees and families who have been living on the dole for years can have a week’s holiday. In other surroundings

Jonne Verburg, Director of SNS REAAL Fund

Hundreds of requests‘The SNS REAAL Fund receives more and more requests every year for financial support for the most divergent projects. In 2004 we handled over 800 requests. We carefully consider which request we will meet and which ones we will refuse. The criteria in making this decision include the extent to which the project is exceptional: it is a new initiative? Is it innovative? But the most important criterion is the quality of the project. We also take into account our wish to spread support across the Netherlands and across a diversity of sectors. In 2004, almost 300 projects received our financial support, with the emphasis on art and culture.’

‘We carefully consider which requests we will meet and which ones we will refuse.’


Alliance with 13 savings bank trustsBesides the two committees, the SNS REAAL Fund is also affiliated with 13 savings bank trusts formed as part of the consolidation process of the last 15 years. These founda-tions operate at a local and regional level and contribute to society at many different locations. The directors of the foundation are closely involved in their own region and operate completely autonomously. The SNS REAAL Fund maintains close connections with the savings bank trusts. Every year a number of meetings are held with the board of directors to discuss developments within SNS REAAL Group.

Social involvement in the regions Savings bank foundations are located in the following regions: Alblasserdam, Appinge-dam, Buren, Gorinchem, Grijpskerk, Katwijk, Lochem, Middelstum, Ruinen, Sneek, Tiel, Wildervank and Zierikzee.

Frans Walkate Archive Since 1943, SNS Bank predecessor Nutsspaar-bank has had guardianship of the Frans Walkate collection and has expanded the collection over the years. At around 1920, Frans Walkate, commissioner and later direc-tor of the Nutsspaarbank, began collecting all kinds of materials that had bearing on the history of Kampen and its surroundings. The total collection has been assimilated into the budget of SNS Bank.

Volunteer work SNS REAAL Group wants to give employees the opportunity to give time to the commu-nity and therefore encourages volunteer work initiatives.

§ Special leave If employees want to use their holidays to

make it possible for youth groups, the elderly or invalids to have a decent holiday, they can make use of the special leave option. They are given back half of these days including pay. Special leave can cover a maximum of fifty percent of the average hours worked per week by the person sub-mitting the request.

§ LaLuz La Luz is a charitable foundation that

brings together highly educated profes-sionals during their free time and idealis-tic organisations that need specific exper-tise and experience. As volunteers, outside working hours, these professionals can fulfil specific positions in the management board or implement specific assignments. Within SNS REAAL Group, Netwerk (see p. 55), the platform for young, highly edu-cated professionals, has entered into an alliance with LaLuz. Netwerk hopes thus to give shape to the need among its mem-bers for more social involvement.

Examples of activitiesSNS REAAL Fund

1. Book publishing The Profit Sharing Committee of REAAL Verzekeringen supports the publication of books relating to its area of involve-ment. One such book is that of Brigitte Slot, Everyone a Capitalist! The develop-ment of investment funds in the Nether-lands during the 20th Century. The book attempts to place the explosive growth of investment funds in the Netherlands during the past twenty years in an his-torical perspective.

2. Exhibition on young designersIn 2004, the exhibition Asking the Right Questions was held in the Dutch Museum of Architecture. The goal was to intro-duce design processes and design philosophy in architecture to a broad spectrum of the public. This was achieved by taking the special educational approach of the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam as a departure point. This approach is centred on discovering your own design style. The project was sup-ported by the SNS REAAL Fund to the tune of € 5,000.

3. Hollandse NieuweIn October 2004, Cosmic Theatre organ-ised for the eighth time the annual playwriting festival Hollandse Nieuwe (Holland’s New Talent). The festival is geared towards the implementers as well as the visitors. New writers are exposed to all the various facets of writing a play, young actors are given the chance to test themselves, and students of the Sand-berg Institute gain experience in design-ing the sets. This project received € 15,000 from the SNS REAAL Fund.


CSR cooperationSociety & BusinessIn 2004 SNS REAAL Group joined the Society & Business foundation, a national network of companies that want to collaborate in developing and furthering socially responsi-ble enterprises. Companies can use their core qualities in making a contribution to society.

CSR NetherlandsIn 2004, SNS REAAL Group became a partner in MVO-Nederland (CSR Netherlands). MVO-Nederland encourages and supports com-panies, government bodies and community organisations in fulfilling their public role through the exchange of knowledge, activi-ties and collaboration with partners.

Donations to good causes

Christmas presentsEvery year SNS REAAL Group donates a sum to two good causes. In 2004 CliniClowns and Stichting Hulphond ( Guide Dog) Nederland were chosen. CliniClowns spent the money on a new innovative project, in which sick children can receive a visit from the CliniClown more frequently by way of a video telephone. Hulphond used the money to train a pup to become a guide dog. The Christmas donation amounted to € 45,000.

Tsunami-campaignIn response to the tsunami disaster in Asia at the end of 2004, SNS REAAL Group set up a campaign among employees to give money to the Collaboration Aid Organisations (giro 555). The board of Management put forward € 100,000 and also doubled the amount of € 186,000 collected by employees. The total amount donated reached € 472,000.

Old pc’s, printer supplies and mobile phonesSince 2001 the IT company at REAAL Verzekeringen has donated ‘old’ pc’s to organisations and foundations that work for a good cause, and to schools. These pc’s function perfectly technically but are no longer suitable for a modern office environment. Up until now about 700 PC’s have found a new home, not just in the Netherlands but also in Brazil, Romania, Hungary and Poland. A new initiative in 2004 is to support the Ronald McDonald Children’s’ Fund. This organisation receives the proceeds from the sales of all printer supplies such as empty toner cartridges. In 2004 a one-off campaign was held: old mobile phones were sold and the proceeds went to the Duchenne Parent Project.

Taking care of the environment

When it comes to environmental awareness we are focusing our gaze

on the future. Preserving the environment to us means

dealing carefully with scarce raw materials and limiting the environmental effects of our actions as much as

possible. Sometimes we do this by taking a

giant step forward, sometimes under the motto

‘every little helps’. Are we idealistic? Yes!

But we are also without question realistic. As far as

SNS REAAL Group is concerned, conservationism is not

just about being socially responsible: it can also be argued

that it makes good sense financially. Many environmental

measures lead directly to cost savings. And if we think

long term, they will even yield more returns. These are the

building blocks of a sustainable future.

Taking care of the environment


In July 2004, the company’s internal environ-mental protection activities were centralised by creating a single Facility Company for the entire Group. This has led to a stronger and more uniform environmental policy. In this new policy the focus has expanded from car-ing for the environment to ‘sustainability’. This means taking into consideration eco-nomic gain as well as the consequences for people inside and outside the company. We have highlighted three key areas:

§ Responsible choice§ Reducing consumption§ Waste disposal

RESPONSIBLE CHOICE:PURCHASING GREEN AND ORGANIC PRODUCTSIn 2005 SNS REAAL Group set out criteria to assess the extent to which new and existing suppliers were operating in an environmen-tally friendly way. Existing suppliers that do not meet these criteria must then change their policy. In addition, suppliers will be requested to actively support the Facility Company in its efforts to achieve better results in terms of conservation. When pur-chasing materials and resources, we will test them to see if they meet the conservationist demands set by SNS REAAL Group. Moreover, suppliers will be selected based on their environmentally friendly assortment and the extent to which they conduct their business in a socially responsible fashion.

A greener GroupTo put into practice our concern for the environment inside

the company we launched the initiative ‘A greener Group’.

We carried out an environmental examination and in

response to the findings, environmental goals were set in

the areas of environmentally friendly accommodation,

conservation of energy, recycling paper, company house-

keeping and mobility. SNS REAAL Group’s environmental

efforts must meet the same demands we place on other

companies in terms of using green products.

Ecological product share (By turnover)

12.0%

10.0%

8.0%

6.0%

4.0%

2.0%

0.0%

2004 2003


Office materials inventory We have looked at all intensively used office materials that can be ordered at SNS REAAL Group to see if there is an environmentally friendly alternative available in the market. During purchasing, we look not just at func-tionality and price, but also durability, the use of raw materials, their reusability, whether there is a refill option and whether they are economical in use. This has resulted in a greener core assortment of office arti-cles. A special list has been drawn up con-taining green office materials that the employee can order.

In 2004, 3.8% of the total purchasing sum for office materials was spent on green materials. By exerting a strong influence on the purchasing policy, SNS REAAL Group wants 25% of the total purchasing sum for office materials to be spent on green prod-ucts in 2005.

Workshop on sustainable purchasing To put into practice sustainable purchasing within the purchasing process, the work-shop Sustainable Purchasing will be started in 2005. The workshop is targeting buyers, facility managers and contract owners and helps to create a clear picture of the defini-tion of sustainable purchasing and of the collective ambitions, tasks and responsibili-ties in this area. The purchasing ethics adhered to by SNS REAAL Group are also dis-cussed in the workshop.

Low-chlorine paper The type of paper used by SNS REAAL Group is almost all low in chlorine. Part of the paper fulfils the demands of reputable hallmarks such as Nordic Swan, ISO 14001 and Emas certificate.

Environmentally friendly cleaning methods In each of its locations, SNS REAAL Group wants to grow towards a cleaner cleaning method. This means that the traditional cleaning methods using chemical cleaning agents will gradually be replaced by a clean-ing method based on micro fibre cloths. As a result all cleaning activities will be without the use of any chemical agents, with the exception of the descaling of sanitary fit-tings. In 2005 all the larger locations of SNS REAAL Group will switch over to this more environmentally friendly cleaning method.

Biological catering at all locations In April 2002 SNS REAAL Group signed the Organic Catering Letter of Intent. With this declaration the Group has commissioned itself to encourage demand for organic prod-ucts in the company canteens and to handle as wide as possible an assortment of organic products. At the larger offices of SNS REAAL Group, over 1400 lunch-eaters a day make use of the catering facilities. The catering is provided by a company caterer who is an active proponent of organic catering. We have made agreements with this caterer

about making the catering policy more envi-ronmentally friendly, in areas such as the assortment on offer, the packaging and sep-aration of rubbish. In 2004 almost 10% of the turnover came from selling organic products (2003: 8.8%). We hope to reach 14% in 2005. Our aim is for organic products to replace non-organic products. The purchasing of coffee and tea are not included in these figures. The tea and coffee supplies for the entire SNS REAAL Group are purchased with the Max Havelaar hallmark and the EKO-hallmark.

REDUCE CONSUMPTION KNOW WHAT YOU ARE USING UP Through our central ordering system for company materials we are pursuing a policy of reducing the use of materials. Wasteful use can be reduced by raising awareness among buyers and by introducing greener alternatives.

1.800

1.600

1.400

1.200

1.000

800

600

400

200

0

paper consumption including ASN Bank

paper consumption printed matter1

Paper consumption (x 1.000 kg)

paper consumption A41

2004 2003

paper consumption envelopes, bank statements, insurance policies1

1 this consumption of paper excludes ASN Bank


Reducing paper consumptionAt SNS REAAL Group different measures were taken in 2004 to ensure a reduction in paper consumption. Clients were encour-aged to conduct banking business via the Internet. The number of Internet clients increased greatly during 2003 and 2004. Many of these Internet clients have indicated that they no longer wish to receive bank

statements on such a regular basis, which saves a lot of paper in terms of envelopes and bank statements.In 2005 SNS REAAL Group wants to achieve a 20% reduction of paper consumption by raising awareness about use and wastage. One example of this policy is that double sided prints and copies must become the new standard.

Paper consumption In the diagrams below we give total paper consumption in 2003 and 2004 within SNS REAAL Group and a breakdown by type.

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40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

gas consumption

Energy consumption (GJ/fte)1

2004 2003

electicity consumption


Energy consumption: using space differentlyFor an office- based organisation like SNS REAAL Group, energy consumption is responsible for a large part of the environ-mental burden. The consumption is in the form of electricity, gas, diesel and the sys-tem for heating and lighting the office build-ings. IT applications also often use large amounts of energy. In the diagram below we show the energy consumption per full-time employee of SNS REAAL Group gigajoules.

Thanks to our flexible approach to work places and offices, we are now using the sur-face area in SNS REAAL Group locations more intensively. Energy saving measures led to a decline in energy consumption per full-time employee to 31 m3 in 2004 (2003: 36 m3). To monitor energy consumption and find out which energy- saving measures can best be enforced, we plan to carry out an energy scan in 2005.

Environmentally friendly accommodationThe introduction of new workplace concepts is a top priority for SNS REAAL Group. Re-thinking the way we use our present acco-modation will make it possible to expand, while staying in the existing buildings. Flexi-ble workplace concepts present possibilities for new forms of working. Building on the success booked through the introduction of an innovative workplace concept, and a desk-sharing pilot project at a number of locations, new workplace con-cepts will be introduced on a broader scale in the company in the coming period. This will lead to a more intensive use of the exist-ing buildings and will reduce the need for extra property.

1 These details have been extrapolated from data on 38% of the gross surface area to the total gross surface area of all SNS REAAL Group buildings. Diesel consumption and district heating have not been included in this extrapolation because they do not apply to every office.


Agnes Otten, Environmental Coordinator

Two and a half trees per employee‘Paper is the largest source of waste within SNS REAAL Group. Each year we go through an average of 60 packages of paper containing 500 sheets. That can be equated to 350 kilos of wood or 2.5 trees a year. The good news is that paper consumption dropped by 13.7% in 2004: from 343 kilos to 296 kilo per full-time employee. This result is partly due to central measures that were taken. Our back offices, for example, process enormous output in the form of complete lists and overviews. The back office employees receive a lot of information on paper and they only use part of it, the rest disappears in the paper container. For this reason we have decided to tackle the back office output so that the employees involved receive only the output they need. Many departments already work with overviews that are delivered digitally.’

Wilfred Verkaaik, Facilities Manager

Cold-heat ground storage system‘In 2003 we built a so-called cold-heat ground storage system at our office in Alkmaar. Using this system, underground water that has cooled down in winter is stored underground and then used in the summer to keep the office cool. Conversely, heat stored in the summer is used for extra heating in the cold winter months. This system has allowed us to save between 40% and 80% of our total energy consumption. We can clearly see this in our gas consumption, which in two years has dropped from 117,960 m3 to 78,822 m3. We expect that this reduction to go even further.’

‘Paper consumption dropped by 13.7%

in 2004.’

‘This system has allowed us to save between 40% and 80% of our total energy consumption.’

1 The details mentioned above have been extrapolated from data on 38% of the gross surface area of all the SNS REAAL Group buildings.

Water consumption in m3/fte 1

20.0

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0

2004 2003

Employee commuter traffic by transport vehicle (in %)

55%

50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

company car

2004 2003

own car travel card pass bike/foot


Much more green energyIn a bid to help reduce the greenhouse effect, SNS REAAL Group switched progressively over to green energy in 2003 and 2004. In 2003 green energy was purchased for use at ASN Bank, the offices in Alkmaar and for the SNS Bank off-premise-cash dispensers. As of 1 January 2005 this was extended to vir-tually all SNS REAAL Group locations. This means that of the total energy consumed by SNS REAAL Group, 97% is now green. Our goal is to become 100% green in 2005.

Water consumptionWater consumption by SNS REAAL Group was estimated at 82,745 m3 in 2004 (2003: 72,351).

MobilityIn 2004, a quarter of our employees had a public transport pass for travelling to work (2003: 20.2%). In addition to this, 17.1% of employees took advantage of tax benefits offered by buying a bicycle for commuting to work (2003: 16.4%).

Total company waste, absolute (x 1,000 kg)1

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

2004 2003

other company waste paper and cardboard

Total company waste (kg/fte)1

500

400

300

200

100

0

2004 2003

other company waste paper and cardboard

1 The table above shows the total amount of waste and the amount per full-time employee. For a number of buildings the amount of waste is determined by the emptied containers and the number of containers emptied per year. This figure can deviate from the actual amount of waste. The details mentioned above are extrapolated from data on 38% of the gross surface area to the total gross surface area of all the SNS REAAL Group buildings.


WASTE DISPOSAL: HOW WE DEAL WITH OUR RUBBISHSNS REAAL Group strives to maximise the recycling of waste and to dispose of waste in an environmentally responsible way. The aims of our waste prevention policy are to keep constant or reduce the amount of waste our company produces. And also to keep constant the damage caused to the environ-ment by the products used.

Within SNS REAAL Group waste material is produced in the form of paper and card-board, leftovers such as canteen garbage, glass and plastic and serious pollutants such as toners and minor chemical waste. The company waste material policy rests on two pillars: waste prevention and waste separa-tion.

Company separation of waste Company separation of waste at the source has been enforced since 2004 in accordance with the principle of what is reasonable. This means that SNS REAAL Group expects offices to separate waste material unless there is a disproportionate amount of work involved in doing so. Employees in locations with more than 20 workplaces are required to separate the fol-lowing waste as much as possible: paper, cardboard, minor chemical waste, vegetable and fruit waste, toners/cartridges and resid-ual waste. The company restaurants sepa-rate: glass, fat, vegetable and fruit remains and residual waste. In addition to this, wood, strip lighting, building and demolition waste must be kept apart at the bigger locations. At locations with fewer than 20 workplaces, waste material is separated in accordance with the legislation and regulations imposed by the governing municipality.

Due to a better system of separating waste material, a lot of paper and cardboard is now kept apart from the residual waste. As a result there has been a rise in registered wastepaper and cardboard. Paper and card

board are completely recycled. The plastic cups are returned to the supplier for recy-cling. In the figures on company waste mate-rial plastic cups have therefore been omit-ted.

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A successful experiment with eco-bins In the spirit of separating waste material at source, ecological waste disposal con-tainers – eco-bins – were installed at the SNS Bank in Den Bosch in 2001. Employees no longer use wastepaper baskets and other garbage containers. Instead, they’re expected to take their garbage to the eco-bin themselves. Thus all garbage is sepa-rated from the start and stays that way. It also raises employees’ awareness of their own daily waste production. The system has led to a reduction of work for the cleaning staff and a big drop in the consumption of plastic bags. Due to the effectiveness of the scheme, the weight of the most expensive waste material, residual waste, has been drastically reduced. We are researching the possibility of introducing eco-bins at other SNS REAAL Group locations.

Communicating on the environment We consider it very important to inform people and raise awareness about their own behaviour in relation to the environment. For this reason employees are actively informed about environmentally friendly products and services provided by the Facilities Company. The Facilities Company has its own conservation site on the intranet where it reports the progress of environ-mentally friendly projects. The plan is to communicate more on the rubbish policy and the role employees can play in this. In 2005, correct waste material modules will be put in place at all SNS REAAL Group loca-tions so that everyone will have the oppor-tunity to separate garbage.


Where do we go from here?

Ad Brits, Chairman of the Steering Committee CSR

Making plans and implementing them‘SNS REAAL Group wants to be the favourite financial retail specialist in the Netherlands. We are convinced that conducting business in a socially responsible way is a precondition to achieving this goal. The social themes of transparency, accessibility and integrity remain leitmotifs for the way in which we give expression to this sense of social responsibility.

This first annual sustainability report not only reveals where we stand in terms of CSR, it also outlines the steps we still need to take. What we still could do to great effect is to embed CSR in the heart of all our business activities. This calls for concrete and measurable CSR goals that we will incorporate into the regular planning cycle. In the planning letter from the Board of Managers for 2006 we will describe our ambitions in terms of CSR. In the operational plans put forward by the company branches and staff departments these ideas will be translated into concrete plans and campaigns for 2006 and beyond.

It is heartening to see that many initiatives have already been taken within the company branches that are in keeping with the CSR themes of accessibility, transparency and integrity. A number of these initiatives can easily be adopted by the entire SNS REAAL Group. The steering Group has also started projects, for example in the area of volunteer work. We’ve formulated a CSR credit policy and we’ve communicated in detail on corporate social responsibility. This first sustainability report is a good example of this. It is in keeping with the attitude of SNS REAAL Group that it is not enough to bandy good resolutions and fine words about. We must show we are socially responsible for real, through our behaviour and actions. To put it in a nutshell, we must think together and act together!’

Report on the statutes of SNS REAAL Group

In this annual sustainability report we have given account of our responsibility towards our stakeholders. The report has been drawn up with this in mind. In choosing which subjects should be treated, we consulted the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative and the appendixes to this publication that are specific to the financial services sector. The pages on which the various subsections of the guidelines can be found are indicated in this GRI Index.

Our reporting on socially responsible ventures is in evolution. We strive continually to improve the clarity, consistency and precision of our reporting by expanding our internal information systems in this area and by actively requesting feedback from our interested parties.

The quantitative information contained in this report has been assessed by DHV Advice group on sustainable enterprise for plausi-bility and reliability.

SNS REAAL GROUP sustainability report 2004

GRI INDEX

VISION AND STRATEGY1.1 Vision and strategy 10-171.2 Declaration of the Chairman of the Management Board 4-5

PROFILE2.1 Name of organisation (COVER)2.2 Products and/or services 92.3 Operational structure 9, 12 (F)2.4 Organisation structure 12 (F)2.5 Country branches 10 (F)2.6 Legal form (F)2.7 Markets 9, 16 (F)2.8 Company size 9 (F)2.9 Interested parties 10 (GV)2.10 Contact person(s) for report (COVER)2.11 Report period (COVER)2.12 Previous report (F)2.13 Range of report 17, 772.14 Organisational changes (F)2.15 Joint ventures (F)2.16 Comparability (NG)2.17 Application GRI-guidelines (APPENDIX)2.18 Criteria/definitions adopted (NG)2.19 Changes in measuring methods (NG)2.20 Policy and internal regulations 772.21 Independent verification (NG)2.22 Supplementary (COVER)

STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE3.1 Management structure 11, 12 (F)3.2 Independence (F)3.3 Experience of members of the Board of Management (F)3.4 Processes at the level of the board of Management (F)3.5 Remuneration for the top layer of management (F)3.6 Employees in key positions 17, 77 (F)3.7 Corporate governance 11 (F)

INTERESTED PARTIES3.10 Nature of consultation/dialogue 16, 17 (GV)3.11 Results of consultation/dialogue (GV)3.12 Use of information (GV)

POLICY AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM3.13 Explanation of preventive approach 14, 173.14 Non-compulsory external guidelines 26, 30, 40, 673.15 Most important memberships 40, 633.16 Policy for negative effects 66-753.17 Management of indirect effects (NG)3.19 3P Performance 14-17, 773.20 Status of certification (NG)

APPENDIX: GRI GUIDELINES

SNS REAAL GROUP sustainability report 2004

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

ECONOMIC INDICATORSEC 1 Turnover (F)EC 2 Geographical specification of markets (F)EC 3 Volume of purchases (F)EC 4 Percentage contracts paid in conformity with the conditions (F)EC 5 Total personnel costs (F)EC 6 Payments lenders (F)EC 7 Increase/ decrease in withheld profits (F)EC 8 Total tax per country (F)EC 9 Received subsidies per country (NG)EC 10 Donations to society 58-61, 63

ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS1

EN 1 Consumption of materials 66-70EN 3 Direct energy consumption 70-72EN 5 Water consumption 72EN 11 Amount of refuse 73EN 17 Total commercial transport in kilometres ( (NG)

SOCIAL INDICATORSLA 1 Personnel 46-48LA 2 Employment 47LA 3 Collective Labour Agreement 49LA 4 Participation in decision-making 51-53LA 5 Accidents at work and work-related illness 57LA 6 Health and Safety 56, 57LA 7 Sick leave 57LA 8 HIV/Aids policy (NG)LA 9 Education 54, 55LA 10 Equal Opportunities 48, 51LA 11 Male/female ratio 48

HUMAN RIGHTSHR 1-7 Policy, investments/suppliers, results, anti-discrimination, freedom from association, child labour, forced labour 17

SOCIETYSO 1 Contributions to local communities 58-62SO 2 Bribery and corruption 11, 28-32SO 3 Political lobbying (NG)

PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITYPR 1 Policy for the safety and health of clients (NG)PR 2 Product information 24-26PR 3 Privacy of clients 24-32

1 Environmental indicators that are not applicable to SNS REAAL Group have been omitted. These are EN2, EN4, EN6-10, EN12-16.F Financial annual report 2004. (Also available online at www.snsreaalgroup.nl).NG Not reported because details are not available or are not relevant.GV Described in the whole report.


Masthead Concept and design

VBAT, Amsterdam

Photography

Jaap van den Beukel, Rotterdam

Hans van Ommeren, Woerden

Lithography

DE SCHUTTER’NEROC, Capelle a/d IJssel

Print

vanGrinsven drukkers bv, Venlo

Publication

SNS REAAL Group

Croeselaan 1

P.O. Box 8444

3503 RK Utrecht

The Netherlands

Paper

This annual report has been printed on environmentally friendly paper

Maatschappelijk jaarverslag 2004

CorporateRegister.com 22/10/2005

thinking acting together

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