LEGRAND_REGISTRATION_DOCUMENT_2017

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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)

Limiting our environmental impact

approximately 30% compared with the previous generation of products. The PEP ecopassport ® issued for this series provides details of their environmental impacts. Moreover, with this new design the transformer generates less noise; W RX3 circuit breakers: the adoption of the ecodesign approach by the R&D team in India resulted in a range of circuit breakers that reduce the use of non-renewable natural resources and mitigate the impact of their manufacture and distribution; W “KALANK CS” recessed lights for drywall: the use of more efficient components with 40% less energy consumption and a new compact aluminum shell design made from 50% recycled aluminum have resulted in a more compact product which is easier to recycle. Overall, the environmental footprint has been reduced by around 40% for almost all environmental indicators; W the ecodesign approach also applies to packaging. It enables the ratio of packaging volume to product volume to be lowered. For instance, ‘packaging’ experts have defined best practices which are implemented by all R&D teams. These include using cardboard containing a high percentage of recycled material, printing with water-based inks, using acrylic adhesives which emit fewer VOCs, etc. The new cardboard packaging design of Mosaic and Céliane sockets and switches delivered an annual saving of 39 metric tons of CO 2 equivalent in 2015.

By the end of 2017, priority 1 practices had been implemented by 94% of the Group’s R&D centers (compared with a target of 100%). Already 71% of these teams have adopted priority 2 practices, with a target of 65% by the end of 2017. Life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques that establish product environmental profiles (PEPs) are a powerful tool for designing better products. By challenging the usual technical solutions in the design and industrialization phases, the analysis of environmental impacts is also a remarkable tool for innovation. The following are some examples of ecodesigned products launched by Legrand: W Mosaic and Céliane user interface range: a review was made of the mechanisms used in the Mosaic and Céliane ranges of switches in order to reduce the use of materials with high potential for depleting non-renewable natural resources. The resulting reduction was around 75%. This initiative also led to a significant reduction of some 15% in the amount of energy lost through heating when current is passed, which was achieved by changing the latching inside the switch. This reduction, extrapolated for total future manufacture of these products, is expected to reduce environmental impact by some 57 metric tons of CO 2 equivalent; W the EDM range of transformers: a reduction in power dissipation resulted in a decrease in environmental impacts of

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REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2017 - LEGRAND