85 GL EVENTS | COMPANY REPORT 2014 | CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

GL events environmental policy is organised around the Think Green programme launched at the end of 2009. It includes sixteen commitments cover- ing the entire lifecycle of an event. With important positions in this industry, GL events has both the possibility but also the responsibility to contribute to this process. The Group s environmental commitments concern many areas: designing events, managing sourcing and logistics, energy consumption, green house gas emissions, producing and managing waste linked to GL events activities.

Introducing new offerings Eco-designing venues and events By integrating the environment already in the design phase for an event or temporary event site, it is pos- sible to reduce its impact in terms of waste and energy consumption. That is why GL events has pur- sued an eco-design approach for venues and events since 2007, addressing the concerns of major prin- cipals/decision-makers: organisers of large events, municipal and regional authorities, major corporate accounts, etc. In 2014, the Group has continued to assist developers and designers by providing them with specific tools. A complete eco-design guide applied to GL events products and services was produced and sent to 50 designers and account managers.

Supporting sales engineers, account and product managers Several tools encourage Group staff to integrate environmental issues in offerings developed for cus- tomers: training modules, a tendering guide, etc.

Integrating the environment into new products Introducing changes in the offering also involves managing inventories and products purchased spe- cifically for events. Work underway since 2009 with the purchasing department (see the specific section on responsible purchasing below) has made it pos- sible to integrate sustainable development criteria in the main consultations carried out by the Group for selecting suppliers.

By closely collaborating with Live business unit managers, an offering of environmentally-friendly products has gradually been developed (reusable, recyclable, eco-label, energy-efficient, etc.).

Improving waste management Waste management, a central environmental con- cern of the Group in light of its activities, has resulted in several areas for study and actions focused on pro- cesses and materials:

Integrating the environment into the man- agement of GL events Venues GL events Venues produces approximately 63% of the volume of waste generated by the Group. ISO 14001 certification (environmental management systems) of the sites of GL events Venues France, obtained in 2012, remains one of the major drivers for improve- ments in waste management (see the section on management systems). The main objectives concern waste sorting and recycling Waste separation collection systems are gradually being implemented at Group-managed sites, includ- ing those outside the boundary of the ISO 14001 certification. Implementing such systems represents a long-term project given the number of parties intervening over the different phases of an event from assembly to dismantling. Within the event cycle, the more significant quantities of waste are produced during the dismantling phases. Raising awareness of staff working at the site is an important priority for guaranteeing the effectiveness of the separation collection process. To support this initiative, targeted information notices are posted at the sites.

ADOPTING AN ECO-CENTRIC APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT

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