BIC_REGISTRATION_DOCUMENT_2017

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY Environmental responsibility concerning our operations

2.3. Environmental responsibility concerning our operations

As an industrial leader in the manufacture of consumer products, BIC is committed to ensuring that its production facilities operate in an environmentally responsible way. BIC Group strives to reduce the impact of its manufacturing operations, optimize the shipping of its products and control the environmental footprint of its sales and support activities. BIC exerts good environmental control over its entire manufacturing chain due to two factors. First, BIC favors in-house production over contract manufacturing (90% of the Group’s net sales are generated by products manufactured in its own factories). Secondly, in the Consumer business in Europe, 85% of the products sold on this continent are also manufactured there.

2.3.1.

OUR FACTORIES

Management systems 2.3.1.1. The Group’s Policy on Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) requires factories to implement pragmatic management systems designed to involve all stakeholders, as well as to drive continuous improvement of operational performance. Every BIC factory has a local EH&S manager in charge of deploying and maintaining these management systems. In addition, the Stationery category, which has the most sites around the world, employs a central EH&S manager who coordinates with local EH&S managers to ensure that all facilities comply with the Group’s Policy and objectives, and to monitor site performance by consolidating, analyzing and communicating the results achieved. The environmental management system helps ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations concerning the environment . This may include periodic audits and controls, to comply with local regulations, that are carried out internally or with the assistance of an independent external company. An action plan is established to correct any identified compliance issues. Within the framework of the management systems, an in-depth review of all aspects of the site’s activities and environmental impacts (water, air, soil, noise, etc.) is performed and action plans are defined to limit these environmental impacts. Simple improvement targets are set for the factories to contribute to BIC’s overall environmental performance while meeting their own specific challenges (production, resources, geographic location, etc.). The environmental management systems deployed in BIC Group’s plants call for contingency plans to deal with pollution accidents . Emergency prevention and response plans have been established in locations where there is an identified risk of an accident with consequences beyond plant boundaries. For example, in France, the two SEVESO plants have emergency procedure protocols ( Plan d’Opération Interne and Plan Particulier d’Intervention ), and a major hazard prevention policy ( Politique de Prévention des Accidents Majeurs ). They have also implemented a Safety Management System.

Challenges ♦ To manufacture its products, BIC uses raw materials (plastics, inks, paperboard, metals, etc.), consumes resources (water, energy) and produces waste. The Group is aware of the environmental impact of its production activity and is committed to minimizing it. While the need for raw materials is determined mainly by the design of the products (see section 2.2.1. Our products’ environmental performance, page 53), the factories that manufacture BIC® products assume the important responsibilities of optimizing their water and energy consumption, as well as reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and waste production. Approach ♦ The Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) Policy , defined in 2005 and signed by the Chairman and CEO, codifies the Group’s commitment to assessing, managing, and improving the environmental and safety impacts that result from our operations, our products and our packaging. The Policy specifies BIC’s dedication to: pollution prevention; ● health and safety risk prevention; ● regulatory compliance; ● continuous improvement; ● awareness and involvement. ● The EH&S Policy is deployed at all production sites. Since 2010, this Policy applies to all BIC Group factories. BIC maintains a formal procedure to review the BIC EH&S Policy to ensure that it remains pertinent and appropriate to the business. This procedure describes a periodic assessment and revision of the Policy to ensure that the Policy is still appropriate for any changes in the Group’s activities and products, including acquisitions and changing stakeholder expectations.

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BIC GROUP - 2017 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT