BIC - 2019 Universal Registration Document

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY

Environmental responsibility concerning our operations [NFPS]

3.3.1.3

Actions taken to reduce our operations’ contribution to climate change (scopes 1 and 2)  [NFPS]

Energy efficiency programs at Group sites also included the installation of more efficient production machinery, the optimization of lighting towards more efficient solutions and the awareness-raising among team members. For the past several years the Group has been pursuing a program to replace its hydraulic injection machines with more energy-efficient electrical machines. Since the main BIC offices are equipped with servers, the sustainable development approach adopted by the IT support departments has a direct impact on the sites’ environmental footprint. After several years of effort on this issue: the virtualization of the Group’s internal and external servers ● has now reached the optimal level of about 80%. In 2019, the number of physical servers at the Clichy site was further reduced by 25%; the specifications for the renewal of the workstations ● incorporate two sustainable development guidelines: the quality of the suppliers’ sustainable development approach and the energy efficiency of the equipment. The difference in energy consumption between the old and new workstations is estimated at approximately 20%; since 2019, the Group has been reconditioning and reselling ● its replaced equipment. Obsolete equipment that cannot be reconditioned is destroyed, according to accepted practice, by an expert service provider, which ensures the proper processing of each material; since 2013, in the Europe and Middle East-Africa zones, 100% ● of the team members who use a computer (some 6,800 in all) have been equipped with Skype for business, a set of solutions for remote collaboration. In 2019, BIC logged nearly 3,000 routine meetings via Skype. BIC has been responding to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for more than ten years. In line with the good performance of previous years, in 2019, BIC received an A- rating in the Climate questionnaire and was awarded “Leadership Level”, which recognizes companies that are leaders in the effort to fight climate change. BIC also received an A- rating in the “Supplier Engagement Rating” for its supply chain actions. The 2016 study of the main causes of greenhouse gas emissions related to the Group’s operations and consumption of goods and services (covering factories and offices, excluding Cello Pens) was based on a carbon footprint study of the Clichy headquarters (France) and two factories (BIC Amazonia in Brazil and BIC Rasoirs in France) using the ADEME Bilan Carbone ® method. The study demonstrated that in addition to direct emissions (scope 1) and indirect emissions (scope 2), the main sources of other indirect (scope 3) emissions are: the purchase of products and services, upstream and downstream transport, and product end of life. Direct (scope 1) and indirect (scope 2) emissions plus these three main causes of scope 3 emissions account for more than 80% of the Group’s total GHG emissions. Studies are being conducted to include a greater perimeter to calculate the scope 3 emissions. Measuring the effect on climate change of other significant sources of GHG emissions 3.3.1.4

Using renewable energy 80% of the electricity that BIC uses will be from renewable ● sources by 2025, as a step toward its long-term vision of achieving 100% renewable electricity. This commitment is a key part of the Group’s strategy as part of its “Writing the Future, Together” program. As of 2019, BIC’s percentage of renewable electricity stood at ● 76%, a significant proportion that reflects the Group’s commitment to fighting climate change. BIC estimates that its use of renewable energy will allow it to ● reduce its GHG emissions by nearly 50% by 2025 in comparison with 2015. This will enable BIC to promote the development of renewable energy sources in the countries where it has operations, and to reduce its indirect, so-called “market-based” (scope 2) emissions. In 2019: with the adoption of a renewable electricity supply by the BIC ● (Nantong) Plastic Products factory in China, 100% of the Group’s lighters factories are now powered by “green” energy; in the United States, the purchase of renewable wind energy ● certificates (U.S. RECs), which has covered the energy needs of the Shelton head office and the Milford factory since 2012, was expanded to 6 sites, bringing the coverage to 100% for BIC’s American factories. In addition, BIC has continued using renewable energy sources adopted in recent years: in Brazil, the Manaus site has been using wind energy since ● 2018 through the purchase of iREC certificates. This factory produces about 1 billion products per year for the South American market, covering all three BIC ® product categories; in Spain, the BIC Iberia and BIC Graphic Europe sites have ● been using renewable electricity through the purchase of certificates (GoO) since 2018; in France, BIC buys renewable electricity certificates ● (Guarantees of Origin, or GoO) for all of its factories plus the Clichy headquarters. This means that the BIC ® products manufactured in France are produced using renewable electricity; in Greece, the purchase of GoO certificates has covered all of ● the BIC Violex site’s electrical consumption since 2016; in India, the roof of one of BIC’s eight factories is equipped ● with photovoltaic solar panels (15 kW). Optimizing energy consumption +3.8% energy consumption per ton of production between 2019 and 2018. This increase is sometimes due to machine maintenance or other requirements such as heating. Some factories also have molding machines which consume energy. Some sites also use diesel during power cuts, or activity transfers.

89

• BIC GROUP - 2019 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT •