Annual report 2014

Key Messages

Societal, Social and

Environmental

Information

Section 4

Environmental Information

4.1. Key Messages

4.1.1.

Reliability of Environmental Reporting

Apart from the initiatives taken by the business units to raise the

environmental awareness of employees, the group’s employees are

bound by two inter-company policies: the reporting requirement and the

certification process.

The Reporting Requirement

Vivendi has continued to raise awareness of contributors to

environmental reporting. The group’s shift in focus to media and

content has slightly modified the key themes. Hence a decision

was made to stop monitoring water consumption and quantities

of hazardous waste, as those indicators were no longer relevant

after the disposal of Maroc Telecom group and SFR. However, the

group has increased the accuracy and stepped up monitoring of

purchases of the plastics and acrylics used in the manufacture of

products intended for sale. Special attention has been paid to the

Canal+ Group’s African subsidiaries, with increased emphasis on

the awareness of local correspondents of environmental issues,

especially energy consumption and management of electric and

electronic waste (hereinafter, “WEEE”).

This year, the audits carried out in connection with the verification

by the Statutory Auditors of the data reported in the Annual Report

concerned new companies such as Canal+ Senegal and nc+ in

Poland. Those audits gave Vivendi an opportunity to assist its

subsidiaries in this auditing process, and briefings were organized

by Vivendi’s CSR department.

Once it is completed, the auditing work is discussed at feedback

meetings. These meetings provide a special forum for discussing

the main areas of progress with the auditors, the business unit

representatives and the CSR department. They also enable

Vivendi’s General Management to decide on any recommendations

to implement.

The Certification Process

Committing to a certification process allows the company to evaluate,

structure and report on its environmental policy, and also to meet

with its employees and other stakeholders to discuss common

objectives. Several of the group’s sites and head offices have been

involved in environmental certification processes for a number of

years.

The site where all the Canal+ Group’s free channels are located is

certified BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method), the

world’s most widely used method of assessing the environmental

performance of buildings.

This year, the headquarters of Universal Music Group in Santa

Monica received the Energy Star certification issued by the US

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the eighth time. This

distinction is reserved for top-ranking businesses recognized for

their energy performance at national level. The Green Business

certification was also renewed by the city of Santa Monica.

Registration of Vivendi’s headquarters as part of the EU’s Eco-

Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS regulations) with the

French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy

was maintained, in accordance with an annual follow-up audit.

EMAS is a management tool for Vivendi’s headquarters. Decisions

on initiatives to reduce impacts on the environment are made by

the “Green Team” Committee. This committee, which is led by an

EMAS coordinator, brings together approximately ten members from

different departments: administrative services, IT support, human

resources, finance, communications, CSR, and internal audit, as well

as the service provider in charge of maintenance for the site. The

strength of the Committee lies in the motivation and expertise of its

members.

4.1.2.

Better Control of Energy Consumption

As a result of an improved environmental reporting process, key indicators

have been developed that are better suited to the activities of the various

business units. In order to control the forms of energy consumption that

are the chief sources of the group’s CO

emissions, several measures

have been adopted, as described below:

managing the energy consumption of facilities:

special

attention has been paid to air-conditioning as a source of high

electricity consumption. The facility comprising all the free channels

of Canal+ Group is equipped with free cooling generators that use

air from outdoors to cool film sets and equipment, leading to energy

savings of 13% a year, the equivalent of 100 tons of CO

More work has been done to improve the insulation of buildings

by Canal+ Overseas (a subsidiary of Canal+ Group in charge of

international affairs and the French overseas departments and

territories), helping to reduce energy consumption through air

conditioning.

Some of the buildings housing UMG offices located in South America

use low-reflection windows to reduce the indoor temperature and

limit the use of air conditioning. A number of UMG and GVT facilities

have also actively sought to reduce their electricity consumption by

installing LED technology to replace conventional lighting, and use

automatic motion detection systems or timers to light offices during

Annual Report 2014