BIC - 2020 Universal Registration Document

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY

Our societal commitment

Awareness and coaching actions 3.6.2.2 In the learning process, writing by hand is a basic skill that helps structure the thought process. For this reason, writing instruments are indispensable tools for advancing the improvement of learning conditions. In recent years, BIC teams have taken action to support and facilitate handwriting and promote its importance in children’s development, especially through: the development of activity sheets and workshops for teachers ● on various themes such as motor development, coding and writing exercises; the assistance brought to parents, teachers and children in ● many countries during the closure of schools due to the health situation (Covid-19) thanks to the creation of activity manuals, organizational advice and donations of products; animation operations and workshops in schools such as ● awareness raising on the importance of education and writing, production of writings or thematic coloring contests for the youngest. and its subsidiaries The philanthropic actions of BIC and its subsidiaries can take three forms: the donation of products, monetary gifts and volunteer work/skills sponsorship. BIC and its subsidiaries favor operations that benefit local populations near its sites. Each year, BIC develops and markets charity-linked products, some of which are useful in education. For the consumer, these products offer the possibility of spending the same amount of money while making a humanitarian gesture, because part of the purchase price is donated to a charitable organization. The organization in turn can diversify its funding sources and benefit from additional publicity. And for BIC, it is an opportunity to underline the Group’s civic commitment and boost sales. BIC Oceania is a partner of the “Children’s Charity Network” (CCN), which aims to improve the literacy of children across Australia. The charity has two main focuses: providing writing and drawing workshops for children in underprivileged communities with the support of professional authors and illustrators who volunteer their time, and facilitating the Young Australian Art & Writers Awards, an annual competition open to any school-aged children. Works are published in a quarterly magazine and judged by a panel of volunteer experts, culminating in the presentation of category winners in November each year. BIC’s partnership provides financial support – approximately 15,000 euros in 2020 – that enables CCN’s volunteers to visit rural and remote communities. BIC also donates products to local communities that often cannot afford basic school supplies, in order to facilitate the writing and drawing workshops and enable the children to continue in-classroom and at-home learning. Philanthropic actions by BIC 3.6.2.3

At the end 2020, BIC estimated the number of children whose learning conditions have been improved through direct actions with children or through actions with teachers and parents at 118 million since 2018.

118 million children whose learning conditions have been improved between 2018 and 2020.

Examples of projects backed by the BIC Corporate Foundation in each of its main fields of action in 2020:

Le Bal The photo-documentary exhibition center Le Bal hosts a pedagogic program entitled La Fabrique du Regard that offers children the opportunity to learn through imagery and photography. The BIC Corporate Foundation sponsored the implementation of the program at a middle school in Clichy (France), in a class for non-French-speaking immigrant students. The children discovered the world of photography and learned how to use it to portray their view of the world and their life stories. The goal of these workshops is to help these children regain an interest in education and feel more at ease with the French educational system, and to give them the opportunity to express themselves and grow personally. Enactus UK The BIC Corporate Foundation sponsored the “BIC Inclusive and Equitable Education Challenge” based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #4, Quality Education. This challenge consists of inviting Enactus groups of university students working on education-related social business plans to apply for mentorship and seed funding from BIC UK & Ireland. The initiative proved to be very rewarding and motivating for BIC team members, who offered their patronage to the students, and was also an opportunity for them to develop valuable soft skills. It was also the Foundation’s first immersion in skills-based sponsorship, a target for the future mandate. Le Projeto Uerê Projeto Uerê is a school that provides a complementary curriculum for children living in a violent favela in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The NGO has developed a unique pedagogy recognized by UNICEF as an effective methodology for helping children who live in violent contexts to overcome trauma and continue developing. Uerê is characterized by a holistic curriculum proposal focusing on the development of soft skills through music, dance, art and sports, but also including academic support courses.

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• BIC GROUP - 2020 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT •

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