Edenred is a socially responsible company that aims to promote the principles of corporate social responsibility in its internal practices. Edenred is convinced that corporate social responsibility is the glue that motivates and unites Group employees, and it wants to reinforce its support for local initiatives in this area by providing useful tools and advice to countries who need them.
From July 2010, Edenred will be subject to a number of new regulatory constraints (report on the social and environmental impacts, responses to questionnaires from non-credit rating agencies, etc.) Launching a new name is a also a good time for the Group to take stock of what has been achieved in the area of corporate social responsibility over the last two years. This is why the year 2010 will be dedicated to redefining the policy of corporate social responsibility.
Corporate Social Responsibility will be at the heart of Edenred’s strategy and validated at Executive Committee level. A dedicated team is already in place at head office to manage Edenred’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy on a daily basis. A pilot committee will be set up with representatives from operations to define the new strategic direction of the CSR policy.
AIDS Prevention
More than 33 million people in the world live with AIDS and 90% of those who are HIV positive are unaware of it. To combat this scourge, Edenred has become involved in the fight against AIDS by organizing awareness campaigns among its employees. On World AIDS Day in 2008 and 2009, 29 countries were involved in setting up prevention campaigns that ranged from holding conferences on the disease to screening tests.
In India, following the success of the national awareness campaign conducted as part of World AIDS Day in December 2008, Edenred was chosen to participate in a public/private consortium to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Entitled India-Country Coordinating Mechanism (India-CCM), this body aims to coordinate the allocation of subsidies from the Global Fund to fight against these three diseases. Alongside four other companies, non-governmental organizations, and government representatives, Edenred is contributing to the debate and to the implementation of practical initiatives to fight against these epidemics in India. Edenred is also using the opportunity to encourage prevention within the Group.
Environment
The preservation of the environment is one of our priorities, by taking into account issues of sustainable development in our internal practices. Although its business has little impact on the environment, the Group is nevertheless committed to reducing it and to improving its environmental performance in all the countries in which it operates.
ECO-Design of our products
Today, the Group’s products are still mostly produced on paper, although the use of new electronic media is increasing. In 2009, the printed medium represented around 68% of the total volume issued by Edenred, against around 32% for new electronic media, mainly in the form of magnetic cards with magnetic stripes or chips. The Group estimates that the transition to paperless products on electronic media is likely to increase over the next few years, because it makes its products more flexible and helps to reduce the consumption of paper.
For tickets printed on paper, Edenred encourages the use of recycled paper or paper carrying the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label, which certifies sustainably managed forests that are harvested in a reasonable manner.