BIC - 2018 Registration document

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY

Responsibility concerning our products [NFPS]

Perspectives ❯ Combining all of these parameters, the Group plans to launch the BIC® Flex 2 in emerging markets starting in 2020.

improve their compensation by increasing their social benefits, for example offering healthcare protection or access to micro-credit loans. A similar system was launched in Madagascar in May 2018, and had already begun to achieve encouraging results by the end of the year. Perspectives ❯ In 2019, the Group will launch three inclusive distribution pilot projects in different countries. Goals will be defined for each project in terms of both economic viability and social impact, in order to implement a system for marketing profitable, and therefore long-term, products. Challenges, risks and opportunities ❯ BIC Group seeks to offer safe products that meet all standards and consumer expectations. This entails the integration of consumers’ health and safety concerns in the design and production of its products. Consumers want to be assured that the products they buy are free of certain substances and safe for their health and the environment. BIC Group also strives to strictly comply with all regulations and the increasingly stringent, constantly evolving restrictions concerning product usage and chemical substances. The “Product safety and consumer health-safety” risk is one of the major CSR risks  (1) identified by the BIC Group. Policies, approach and measures implemented ❯ The topics of product safety and the protection of consumer health are of strategic importance for the Group. With the primary goal of offering safe, standard-compliant products, BIC Group integrates regulatory compliance and risk management concerning product safety into its strategy through a body of documents defining its commitment, and through strict processes conceived to ensure that it markets only safe, compliant products. As a result, each day, BIC supplies millions of products while maintaining consistent quality, checked through a vast array of tests and in compliance with national and international safety requirements. The BIC policies for product safety The Product Safety Policy, introduced in 2001, specifies the 10 commitments adopted to ensure that the products developed and manufactured by BIC are safe for human health and the environment. They include: a systematic program of pre-market product qualification ● testing; a global approach, resulting in products that often exceed the ● safety requirements of local markets; expecting BIC suppliers to comply with safety standards; ● PRODUCT SAFETY 3.2.3.

Experimenting with innovative 3.2.2.3. alternative distribution modes

through a Social business initiative

Challenges ❯ The expression “bottom of the pyramid” (BOP) designates the lowest-income populations, for whom most consumer goods remain unaffordable, primarily because they are designed for more affluent populations at the “top of the pyramid.” Today it is estimated that more than three billion people in the world live on less than three U.S. dollars per day. In keeping with its vision of offering “simple, inventive and reliable choices for everyone, everywhere, every time,” BIC Group explores ways to make products available that meet the needs of BOP populations. Its longstanding commitment to sustainable development and the BIC ® brand’s reputation for offering high-quality products at an affordable price is among the Group’s key assets for playing an active role in these markets. Approach ❯ BIC Group created the position of BOP and Social Business Director in 2016, and then in 2017 it defined its roadmap for 2025. First, the meaning of the term “BOP” within the BIC Group was clarified in order to be able to provide precise responses for the target populations. Then the possible strategies were analyzed to define an action plan. To this end, an internal qualitative study was conducted among the Group’s key employees. It showed that apart from a few niches, BIC ® products are mostly well-suited for the widest possible public, and that BIC employees are convinced that inclusive distribution is a useful leverage point for meeting the needs of consumers at the bottom of the pyramid. The Group plans to launch nine financially viable inclusive distribution projects, with the aim of identifying three to be maintained over the long term. To that end, three essential priorities have been defined: the strengthening of existing internal initiatives, partnerships with inclusive business structures, and partnerships with major companies that have established their own distribution modes. In 2018, after exploring the latter two priorities, BIC turned its focus to the first one. The Group set out to perpetuate an inclusive distribution system that had been established by its subsidiary in Senegal in 2015. Under this system, sales representatives visit owners of traditional stores, within a perimeter that can be reached on foot, to offer five BIC ® products in three categories, thus covering the entire country. In this way, they create new inclusive distribution routes, making these hygiene, personal care and writing products affordable to populations who live far from the conventional distribution networks. The BIC Group hopes to Progress made in 2018 ❯

The main CSR risks related to the activities and use of BIC Group’s goods and services are presented in the chapter “Risks” on pages 44 to 48. (1)

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• BIC GROUP - 2018 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT •