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One ambition: to improve the well-being of all Creating great living places

The methodology covers a broad range of topics identified as priorities for stakeholders: energy and climate, materials and circular economy, health and well-being, water and local value creation. In 2017, the methodology was tested in two pilots, in the Construction Products Sector in Sweden and on the exterior wall solutions portfolio of the Flat Glass Activity in Europe. It will help to evaluate the sustainable performance of a product, ensure improvements in overall product performance, and steer eco-innovation. The Multi-Comfort program, demonstrating c) solution effectiveness Innovation is also about new ways of thinking. The Group is leveraging the breadth of its portfolio of Activities to develop new systems and solutions for developing new systems that reinforce building performance and the experience of occupants. The innovation centers enable the design and development – in close partnership with customers and other influencers – of long-term innovations that will shape surroundings and improve quality of life. In addition to its innovation centers, “demo buildings” are constructed to illustrate the Multi-Comfort program and prove that the recommended solutions are not just theoretical, but rather that they function as real buildings. This constitutes indispensable support for the program. The data from the 30 new operational projects refine the understanding of Multi-Comfort and thus the credibility of the approach. These projects cover 19 countries in Europe, North and South America, and Asia, making them representative of the diversity of users’ expectations in response to their culture and subjective perception of comfort. As part of the program, housing building and renovation operations were launched in conjunction with players in the construction industry. Using Saint-Gobain solutions, these test sites make it possible to monitor energy efficiency and comfort levels in real time, on a long-term basis. The Multi-Comfort projects conducted in different countries help the R&D and marketing teams to improve their understanding of buildings’ performance in response to the behavior of occupants and the installed Saint-Gobain products, and to develop new and increasingly effective solutions tailored to local construction methods and to occupant comfort. The Multi-Comfort program is being applied to several market segments, new building and renovation, individual and collective housing, and non-residential building. The tools for assessing the performance of Multi-Comfort implementation have recently been specified: recognized third-party certification, surveys of occupants, and calculation of the environmental impacts and the costs throughout the building’s life cycle. In keeping with this strategy, Saint-Gobain also strives to improve its own buildings. To achieve this, the CARE:4 program has been applied to new buildings and complete renovations since 2008. As symbols of Saint-Gobain’s skills and capacity for innovation, hosting the public, research, training and innovation centers, showrooms, major sales

outlets and headquarters of General Delegations and Activities take priority. These sites, owned or leased by the Group, are “Buildings of Interest for the Group” (BIG). They are intended to become demonstrations of Saint-Gobain’s solutions and know-how. Additionally, in 2017, Saint-Gobain unveiled a new roadmap for the CARE:4 approach, with the aim of including within it all the stages and levels of site transformation. Convincing customers d) Habitat Committees and educational showrooms „ Significant effort has been required in terms of training, explanation and demonstration to redefine the Saint-Gobain value proposition, which is focused on comfort and sustainable development, and this will continue to be the case. For this purpose, since 2015, the Habitat Committees in the Group’s main countries have been tasked with speeding up the development of physical premises where products can be displayed and especially, where their features and impacts can be easily demonstrated to a broad, non-expert audience. Following the Domolab, which opened in Aubervilliers in 2011, and its equivalents in Russia, Italy and Spain, 2016 saw the opening or renovation of a large number of these educational showrooms: in the Capivari R&D center in Brazil; „ in the Chennai R&D center in India; „ at the premises of the General Delegation in „ Copenhagen; at the headquarters of the General Delegation for North „ America; in the Saint-Gobain Innovation Center in central London. „ Large numbers of customers are invited to visit these premises on an appointment-only basis. The venues hold numerous blue printing sessions (see Chapter 3, Section 3.2.1) where solutions for the wishes expressed can be suggested directly. In 2017, several tens of thousands of visitors, customers, architects and investors had a practical introduction to the Group’s products and services for improving the different types of comfort. Training for customers „ The Habitat Committees, coordinating with the Group brands, have introduced training appropriate to the local jobs and markets. The Saint-Gobain teams can thus train students, building companies, trade customers or even a distribution network. General Delegations or Activities in countries have set up training structures such as the Spazio Academy in Italy or the Greenworks Training Academy in the United Kingdom. This training is generally provided on site, but e-learning solutions are being developed by countries such as Italy. Besides the technical training in products and solutions, the teams offer training in specific subjects such as renovation, modern conveniences, air quality or energy efficiency. The distribution networks have developed specific counters for energy performance in certain branches and outlets in France or Northern Europe (see Chapter 4, Section 4.2.2).

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