BIC_REGISTRATION_DOCUMENT_2017

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY Responsibility concerning our products

collected and €400,000 in donations made. This program enables BIC Group to gain a better understanding of the way its products are used by consumers and to promote the sorting of waste. A partnership with Govaplast and Plas Eco for the design, manufacture and distribution of Ubicuity TM products. Used pens collected by the BIC-TerraCycle program are sorted and shredded by a recycler. The plastics selected for the production of outdoor furniture are shipped to Govaplast, which converts them into recycled plastic boards. The boards are in turn shipped to Plas Eco, which designs, manufactures, distributes and markets the products of the Ubicuity™ line. France’s first line of outdoor furniture made from recycled pens, Ubicuity™ offers seven models: benches and standing seats for secondary and high schools, benches and educational planters for schools, picnic tables and tree seats. Made entirely from recycled plastic, these products are themselves recyclable, resistant to rot, ultraviolet radiation and graffiti as well as very durable (guaranteed 10 years). They thus offer a smaller environmental footprint than virgin plastic along with excellent value in use and very low maintenance costs. As part of the continuation of its partnership with TerraCycle, BIC has developed a teaching module entitled Halte aux Déchets (“No More Waste”) on recycling for elementary school teachers, combining all of the necessary pedagogical material. The pupils are encouraged to learn about waste and recycling through fun and engaging lessons and exercises, and to recycle the pens they use in school. The module is distributed through the website EDD-Primaire.fr and a demonstration is available at www.bicworld.com and on the TerraCycle site. Waste prevention and management at BIC factories and other sites More than 79% of the waste in BIC factories is recycled or reused in other ways (see page 69). For more than 13 years now, the waste tracking indicators have shown a constant reduction in the proportion of non-recycled waste per ton of production (-23% between 2004 and 2017). In 2017, BIC set the goal of “zero waste to landfill in our industrial facilities” by 2025. Although the fight against food waste is not a major issue for BIC, the Group holds regular awareness events for employees in its company restaurants, especially in Brazil. Approach for the sustainable use of resources Resource optimization measures are implemented at various stages in the products’ life cycles for which BIC has the means to take effective action: The three-part approach to eco-design: economy of materials, ● integrating alternative materials and developing refillable products, described on pages 53 to 57; The RecyBIC project to increase the production capacity for ● pencils in the Evolution® line using recycled materials (see page 54); The approach for reducing the environmental footprint of the ● Group’s packaging through the use of certified or recycled fibers, described on page 62; The approach for reducing water consumption and the numerous ● water-saving actions implemented in the factories every year, described on page 65;

LCA AT BIC D

A Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a method for assessing a product’s total environmental impact in each successive phase in its life: the extraction and transportation of the raw materials used to make it, the manufacturing processes, transportation to the consumer, product usage, and finally, end of life and waste processing. BIC Group often uses the simplified method of the life cycle approach, which is similar to Life Cycle Analysis except that it does not include the final independent verification phase. LCA is a comprehensive, multi-criterion method. Unlike carbon footprint analysis, which focuses on measuring a product’s impact on climate change, the LCA method takes all environmental aspects into account: water, air, soil, waste, human health, etc. From the very beginning of its Sustainable Development Program, BIC Group has been committed to the life cycle approach to verify that it is making steady progress in all pertinent areas. Challenges ♦ BIC Group is committed to eco-design, the efficient use of resources and waste reduction, with the aim of continuing to use a minimal amount of materials and to experiment with alternative, especially recycled, materials. BIC also seeks to understand all issues concerning the end of its products’ life cycles, exploring their recyclability and experimenting with recycling systems. Approach and progress made in 2017 ♦ BIC initiates an innovative circular economy model The first line of outdoor furniture made in France from recycled pens, Ubicuity TM was launched in October 2017 upon the initiative of BIC Group. It is the result of a successful collaboration between partners of an independent recycling channel that proposes a circular economy model unique in France. With Ubicuity TM , BIC is testing a long-term recycling channel that aims to: Fund the extension of the collection program for used pens (see ● below); Show citizens and schoolchildren the concrete results of their ● waste sorting: by collecting used pens, they participate in their transformation into benches, tree seats, etc., which are sold for use in city streets and schoolyards; Encourage post-consumer waste recycling, especially for plastics. ● This experiment relies on two innovative partnerships: BIC’s partnership with TerraCycle for the collection of used writing instruments: since 2011, the BIC-TerraCycle program has been offering the collection and recycling of used writing instruments in Europe. A pioneer in this field, the program allows users of these products to organize at their consumption sites the collection of all types of writing instruments, whether BIC® branded or not, to be recycled. For each instrument collected, one euro cent is donated to a charity or non-profit association of the organizer’s choice or, in the case of schools, directly to the school to finance an educational project. As of the end of 2017, more than 25 million pens had been BIC Group’s contribution to the 2.2.1.3. circular economy

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BIC GROUP - 2017 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT