BIC - 2020 Universal Registration Document

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY

Our products [NFPS]

Perspectives An extension of the EMA tool for evaluating BIC ® products is underway for packaging. Making it possible to evaluate new packaging in order to optimize it and reduce its environmental footprint, this tool will be used by the packaging development teams in their everyday decision-making process. The BIC ecosystem, promoting the circular economy In the past several years BIC has joined forces with key players to facilitate its progress toward the circular economy: in 2019, BIC became a partner in the Circular Economy 100 ● initiative of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation . Its various programs will enable BIC’s teams to expand their knowledge, develop their skills, build a network and collaborate with key organizations on topics related to the circular economy; in 2020 the BIC Group also joined the Plug & Play network, ● the world’s largest innovation ecosystem. This will give the Group easy access to the right partners and the best startups on the market in order to speed up the research and development process for the creation of new pertinent solutions and sustainable products that meet the ever-changing needs of consumers; with its partners TerraCycle, Govaplast and Plas Eco , BIC is ● driving an innovative new channel to promote the circular economy, exploring plastic recycling techniques in order to improve the state of the art; Packaging is needed at several stages in the life cycle of BIC ® products: for their protection, shipping, storage and sale, and for promotional support. BIC’s packaging consists primarily of boxes and cases made of plastic, paper and cardboard. This packaging has an environmental impact during its manufacturing and shipping, and at its end of life. Historically, BIC promotes selling products without consumer packaging or in value packs. In Europe, 77% of writing products are packaged in boxes, trays or pouches of at least 10 products (81% in North America), 79% of lighters are sold in trays of at least 50 (64% in North America) and 81% of shavers are marketed in pouches of five, 10 or more (72% in North America). Following up on its actions undertaken over the past several years, BIC has launched multiple Group-wide initiatives in keeping with its “4 Rs” philosophy. A few examples are given below. The “4 Rs” ‒ Reduce the consumption of materials BIC Group actively seeks to reduce the weight and volume of its packaging through multiple targeted actions around the world in accordance with local distribution models. Plastic consumption has been reduced by decreasing the thickness of plastic pouches and blister pack shells (by 15 to 20%) and by eliminating plastic trays for bulk shipping. Implemented in 2020 at the Athens (Greece) and Saltillo (Mexico) sites, this type of initiative saved 150 tons of plastic for the year. 3.2.3

since 2019 the BIC Lighters division has backed the Tara ● Ocean Foundation , whose oceanographic research vessel sails the world’s oceans, uniting scientists in an effort to understand the dynamics of the degradation of plastic objects at sea. This research program also documents the impact of plastic wastes on the oceans, with the long-term goal of identifying substitute materials; BIC has joined Bio-speed , a consortium for the purpose of ● accelerating the emergence of a biomass economy. It unites a number of groups, including Danone, Faurecia, Lego, Michelin, L’Oreal and Quicksilver, with the goal of reducing fossil fuel dependency and the environmental footprint of manufactured products by promoting the conversion of non-food biomass into polymers; in R&D on alternative materials, over the years BIC has ● cultivated more than 100 strategic partnerships in research and development with startups, companies at the forefront of innovation, universities, research institutes and external laboratories, playing a leading role in a community with which it pursues long-term prospective and development programs. For example, the Group works closely with a number of French startups, like Pilibio and Inofib , specializing respectively in the production of inks from microorganisms and in natural cellulose fibers. Since 2012, the Group has also been a member of the " Matériaux Chimie, Chimie Verte" competitiveness cluster that backs innovative projects in materials, chemistry, green chemistry and sustainable development. The projects sponsored by the cluster concern multifunctional, eco-designed and bio-sourced materials, high-efficiency processes and clean technologies. The Group seeks to reduce its cardboard consumption by: eliminating cardboard packing inserts . For example, in 2020 ● the elimination of cardboard inserts for the Velleda markers and of some shipping wedges made it possible to save 13 tons of cardboard; using lighter weight cardboard . In 2020 the grammage of the ● blister pack cards for the shaver range was reduced by 12%, thus saving nearly 50 tons of cardboard. The “4 Rs” ‒ Use Recycled or alternative materials In Mexico and Brazil, trials are being conducted with various suppliers of recycled PET as a replacement for virgin PET. In the United States, recycled PET is now used instead of virgin PET for blister packs, representing a quantity of nearly 500 tons. In 2020 the transition from virgin to recycled plastic began for the 50-lighter trays, with the goal of using 100% recycled plastic. The BIC Group estimates that as of end 2020: 48.9% recycled materials are used in BIC plastic packaging; ● 97.3% of BIC paper and cardboard packaging comes from ● certified and/or recycled sources.

APPLYING THE “4 RS” PHILOSOPHY TO PACKAGING

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• BIC GROUP - 2020 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT •