HERMÈS - 2018 Registration document

Corporate social responsibility communities: stakeholders and local integration

s s accesstoruralenergy toreducedeforestation.InKenya,the“Hifadhi” project equipped 60,000 households with improved wood-burning cooking stoves that significantly reduce wood consumption, thereby reducing pressure on forests, firewood collection time for families, and exposure to the toxic fumes generated by old stoves. In Burkina Faso, with the support of the Tiipaalga NGO, 30,000 improved stoves were installed by inhabitants in their villages, in an effort to secure their use over time in a Sahelian zone. With financial support of the AFD, an agroforestry component has been added to this project. In Peru, the ITYF project (taken from the name of the Instituto Trabaja y Familia NGO) has installed 30,000 improved wood-burning cooking stoves and hygiene kits to families in extreme poverty in the Peruvian Andes. At the same time, the project brings training and awareness on health (reduction of toxic fumes, importance of boilingwater, basic hygiene gestures, etc.), and will naturally have a significant impact against deforestation. In 2018, the above nine projects impacted the lives of more than onemil- lion people, and helped replant more than 130 million trees, an area equivalent to five times the size of Paris. They also equipped 120,000 Maroquinerie de la Tardoire, a breath of fresh air for Montbron In 2015, Hermès chose this Charente municipality of 2,200 inhabitants, located near Angoulême, to set up its new Tardoire leather goods production unit. For Montbron, the opening of the site has resulted in the creation of 300 direct jobs over the past three years. In this former cradle ofmanufacturing for Charente slippers, the unemployment rate had climbed to 15% in the late 1990s, following the difficulties encountered by the local textile and felt industries. Even though the problems have not all been solved, the jobs created

families with improved cooking stoves, which reduces deforestation and preserves women’s health, for a total of 10million tons of CO 2 equivalent captured or avoided (projects last between 10 to 20 years). Thus, they help to offset Hermès’ carbon emissions, on a voluntary basis. In December 2017, during an event bringing together more than 800 people at Hermès in the Jean Louis Dumas building (Pantin), sharehol- ders, NGO partners and friends of Livelihoods celebrated the 6 th anni- versary of the fund, praising the quality of the model and the results for the beneficiary communities. The investment model developed by Livelihoods has shown that it is possible to succeed in large-scale pro- jects that link large corporations committed to climate change actions and communities facing the consequences of this change. The results obtained prompted Livelihoods’ shareholders to launch a second carbon fund in 2018, operating on principles similar to the first fund, with an investment target of €100 million to improve the lives of more than 2 million people and avoid or capture more than 25 million tonnes of CO 2 over the next 20 years. Hermès is participating in this second fund, which is an ambitious long-term project linked to its arti- sanal roots.

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by Hermès have provided a breath of fresh air, as confirmed by Mayor Gwenhaël François. Indeed, after two decades of business closures

and the loss of one class in the local school every four years, positive effects are being felt. Families are returning, a new preschool class has been opened, and local shops and associations are flourishing once again.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE UN’S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)

No. 4: Quality Education s s 4.4 “Increase vocational skills”

2.7.3

Through its local relations with schools and training centres, and via the payment of the apprenticeship tax, Hermès contributes to skills development. For its part, the Fondation d’Entreprise Hermès (Hermès Foundation), contributes through its programmes to the trai- ning of artisans. No. 8: Decent work and economic growth s s 8.1 “Sustain economic growth” Our business development, and that of the new facilities helps to create local value. Over the last four years, the Group has opened five new production sites and created more than 3,240 jobs.

The actions that were taken in relation to our “stakeholders” and in terms of “local integration” refer to the following SDGs (the numbers refer to the UN’s official typology): No. 1: No Poverty The Hermès distribution subsidiaries, as part of a Group policy, take part, at their level, in many local actions in favour of disadvan- taged communities. Through its contribution to the Livelihoods Fund, Hermès also helps to reduce poverty and hunger in countries where it does not operate. The various projects supported by the Fund improve the living conditions of communities in Africa, Asia and South America, with an impact on almost one million people.

2018 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT HERMÈS INTERNATIONAL

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