Vilmorin & Cie - Annual report 2017-2018

ANNUAL REPORT Vilmorin & Cie 124 2017-2018 Social, environmental and societal INFORMATION 4 In order to reduce its energy consumption and its impact on climate change, Vilmorin & Cie has invested more than 2 million euros since 2015 in more than 100 actions. The replacement of conventional lighting equipment with new devices incorporating LEDs is a way of reducing consumption that is often implemented, as at Seed Asia in Thailand, at Limagrain Europe's sites in Chappes, Rilland and Rosenthal, at Hazera in Brazil and Israel, and finally by HM.CLAUSE in La Bohalle. In France, the Energy Transition Law for Green Growth made it mandatory on January 1, 2018 to implement a Mobility Plan for companies with more than 100 employees at the same site. Its objective is to propose alternative solutions for business trips. HM.CLAUSE SA has signed a partnership agreement with Valence- Romans-Déplacements, in order to benefit from personalized support and turnkey awareness actions. In 2017, HM.CLAUSE SA launched a survey to analyze the trends in home-to-work and professional transport for employees in France, and ask them about their desire to test “soft” transport modes. The analysis of these results and the resulting action plan were carried out with the Health and Safety Committee (CHSCT) : Carpooling stand (with the presence of the IDVroom ) in April 2018, Bicycle stand (with the presence of Valence-Romans-Déplacements ) in May 2018, Participation of the sites in Drôme, France in the Mobility Challenge on June 7, 2018. Successful participation for this first challenge with 80 participants and a “Coup de cœur” prize awarded by Valence-Romans-Déplacements . Since business trips constitue one of the major energy consumption items, a tool to facilitate internal carpooling for business trips was launched in 2017. This tool, called Carpooling , is accessible to all the group's employees in France. From April 15 to July 15, 2018, a challenge was organized by Limagrain Europe SA to encourage its employees to use Carpooling . The carpooling trips made during these 3 months avoided the emission of 3,125 kg of CO 2 , which is equivalent to the emissions of an average car for one year. Finally, and much more significantly, the replacement of the Tuitjenhorn research center in the Netherlands by a new unit located in Warmenhuizen is an important step in the modernization of Hazera's research sites: it also contributes to limiting the environmental impacts of the group's activities, thanks to the new equipment and technologies implemented in its greenhouses and research facilities, particularly with regard to energy. Water Vilmorin & Cie addresses the issue of water in two categories: the quality of discharges into water and consumption. The group's Risk Management Guidelines provide for the analysis of all Vilmorin & Cie's water discharges and their treatment if necessary. Most of Vilmorin & Cie’s sites are equipped with appropriate equipment to minimize the risk of pollution, in particular by means of water treatment ponds. Furthermore, a global environmental management system will be deployed during the course of the next fiscal year. Water is primarily used to irrigate greenhouses and for domestic purposes (sanitation). Given the specific nature of their activities, the group’s companies use water from the urban distribution network (18%), borehole water (73%), surface water (6%) and rainwater (3%). Breakdown of water consumption in 2017-2018 by activity In fiscal year 2017-2018, Vilmorin & Cie’s consumption of water is estimated at 1,917,807 m 3 , a decrease of 22% compared to 2016- 2017 (2,461,780 m 3 following restatement for comparable scope). Variations in the climate are very important factors on the evolution of Vilmorin & Cie’s water consumption. For example, nearly 40% of this decrease (200,000 m 3 ) is due to Hurricane Irma, which hit Florida in September 2017 and destroyed autumn crops. The remaining decrease is due to investments made in recent years, amounting to nearly 1.5 million euros since 2015. For example, drip irrigation systems are now widely deployed in the group. They are used to transport the water directly to the plant’s root system and are the most economical technique used for water today. Drip irrigation also facilitates fertilizer input directly to the plant. This technique also limits the consumption of input* to a strict minimum. Furthermore, most companies have set up specific, more economical irrigation systems in order to control and limit quantities of water used: soilless crops, open field mulching, a layer of sand for greenhouse crops to avoid evaporation. For example, in Chile, HM CLAUSE optimizes water use by using meteorological tools to measure the right amount of water needed by crops. Regular leak detection work is also done to eliminate waste. 4.3. Conducting activities in an ethical, sustainable and effective manner 0.1 % 0.1 % Garden Products Holdings 83.6 % Vegetable Seeds 16.2 % Field Seeds