More than 95% of the workforce of the Crédit Mutuel group is located in countries where the HDI is higher than 0.85 (very high), and more than 94% of NBI is generated in these areas.

By virtue of its business and the location of its sites, the group is not directly affected by the issue of eliminating forced or compulsory labour or child labour. It is, however, aware of the commitments made under the Global Compact and does not make use of either forced, compulsory or child labour in France or at any of its subsidiaries abroad.

The issue of subcontracting and relationships with suppliers, and of taking their social and environmental impact into account, has been gradually integrated into the procurement policies implemented in the groups. Generally speaking, few activities are subcontracted and the Crédit Mutuel group tends to make use of suppliers that are nearly all in France, thus managing the transfer of risk more effectively.

Promotion of and compliance with ILO conventions
By virtue of its business and the location of its sites, the group is not directly affected by the issue of eliminating forced or compulsory labour or child labour. It is, however, aware of the commitments made under the Global Compact and does not make use of either forced, compulsory or child labour in France or at any of its subsidiaries abroad. Social responsibility has also been implemented in purchasing, which mainly takes place through the group’s business supply centres, such as Euro Information, Sofedis and CM-CIC Services. The latter, which is responsable for logistics, incorporates a CSR aspect into its calls for tenders from suppliers of general resources, with a particular focus on undeclared work, and asks contractors at every account review (at least annually but usually every half-year) about their CSR practices.

An ambitious social policy underpinned by mutualist values
The men and women who make up Crédit Mutuel are the cogs of the economic machine and therefore merit special attention. The group’s 78,230(2) employees (a workforce of 83,658 natural persons) enjoy favorable pay agreements in terms of social policy and specifically social protection, holiday and vocational training (see the above table showing the breakdown of employees by country - Order 2014- 158 of 20 February 2014). Thanks to the training policies in place and the quality of human relations within the group, mutualist values are implemented both in the day-to-day and in the commercial offering. The group’s general labour policy is based on Crédit Mutuel’s mutualist and cooperative values, and gives rise specifically to a non-commission-based remuneration system and an incentive and profit-sharing scheme for employees.

1. A company that cares about the working conditions of its employees

The group’s human resources policy prioritizes developing the prevention and monitoring of occupational illnesses and the health and safety of employees. Absenteeism and workplace accidents are recorded (see SOCs 38, 39, 40, 43 and 44) and published in quantitative tables. A workplace health and safety committee has been established in each of the group’s entities with fewer than 50 employees, helping to protect worker health and safety and improve working conditions. No agreements relating to occupational health and safety were signed in 2014.

The following took place in 2014, affecting many group companies: – implementation of the action plan to reduce stress at work continued (e.g. CIC, CFCM and ACM). The topics covered notably included the set-up of workstations, the intranet, using messaging, the role and training of managers and training and support for employees. – Charters relating to preventing and combating harassment were adopted and appended to the internal regulations (e.g. CM Arkéa and CIC). Information leaflets entitled «Preventing acts of harassment and violence at work» were distributed to employees; – training (executives and managers) was delivered in psycho-social risks and compliance with trade union laws; – training was delivered in how to manage anti-social behaviour at work (e.g. CIC and CM); – internal audits were carried out (e.g. the internal survey by CMO of 1,646 employees and 1,064 elected directors on what marks the mutualist system out as different); – economic and social databases were established (single database).

2. Employment, training policy and career advancement

The commitments made by the group’s managers include combating all forms of discrimination (SOC69) and respecting professional gender equality (SOC56). They appear in the intranet publication entitled “Managers: good practice”. The organization of working time is addressed via indicators SOC29 to SOC31. Furthermore, because most of its operations are within mainland France, the elimination of employment and professional discrimination outside France (SOC64) has little or no relevance for the group. Managing Crédit Mutuel’s human resources sustainably means not only rising to challenges regarding diversity and skills development, but also encouraging autonomy and career advancement. A number of initiatives to this end have already been implemented, relating to vocational training as a vehicle for skills development and career advancement, diversity in recruitment and increased attention to equality. However, other drivers, such as age management and the integration of disabled people, must be further developed and strengthened.
Career advancement throughout the various levels of responsibility of the regional groups is based on continual and substantial investment in training (63.2% of employees attended a training course in 2014, representing a week’s training on average per employee) and significant periods of self-study time (particularly using intranet tools).

It is also based on strong industrial relations and non-centralised organisation that fosters autonomy and collective recognition. This policy thus increases the mobility of employees, who can, for example, move from support roles to more commercial ones in supervision or management. Supporting employment, promoting the work of teams and boosting their loyalty, diversifying recruitment and promoting equal opportunities are all key. Employment does not constitute an adjustment variable but remains a strategic objective.

Many groups (e.g. ACM, CIC, CMNE and CMN) have signed diversity or equality charters, implemented mainly in recruitment and career development, in France, Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, etc.. )

On 7 April 2014, an action plan for the generation contract was presented, designed to combat intergenerational discrimination (between young people and seniors). Measures for seniors were implemented, with the majority of group entities undertaking to keep them in work by maintaining the percentage of seniors employed at the level registered at 31 December 2012 throughout the three-year duration of the plan.

The Crédit Mutuel branch signed a new agreement on professional gender equality on 9 December 2014, which updated the agreement of March 2007. Between these two agreements, the majority proportion of women increased by four points.

In this context, the new agreement describes a need for the monitoring by gender of five indicators relating to headcount, three indicators relating to part-time working, two others measuring hires and departures, two indicators relating to branch benchmark jobs, two others relating to training, one indicator measuring access to the management classification for men and women and one indicator relating to average annual remuneration by benchmark job.

The group respects the right to free association and to collective bargaining:
At all of its locations, the group respects the right to free association and to collective bargaining: the group’s entities regularly meet with their staff representatives (works council, health and safety consultative committee and workforce delegates). None of the company representatives of the entities within the scope of the indicators has been convicted of obstructing employee representation. The texts relating to trade union freedoms within the CM group (branch agreement and company-level versions) were updated in the second half of 2013 and were therefore fully applicable in 2014.

Diversity and skills development
Managing Crédit Mutuel’s human resources sustainably means not only rising to challenges regarding diversity and skills development, but also encouraging autonomy and career advancement. A number of initiatives to this end have already been implemented, relating to vocational training as a vehicle for skills development and career advancement, diversity in recruitment and increased attention to equality.

The development of environmental concerns
Sustainable development is a central aspect of our activity. The group is working towards better management of resources, making energy savings and reducing pollution.

1. Reducing the carbon footprint

As a services company, the environmental impact of Crédit Mutuel’s polluting activities is limited. Areas for progress relating to its operations have nevertheless been identified. Many initiatives are in place and areas for improvement have been identified taking account of the nature of the bank’s business (more efficient travel planning and reduced energy consumption: lighting, heating, putting computers in sleep mode, etc.). The main waste management policy concerns reducing paper consumption, stepped up by the large-scale transfer of documents to electronic format, and in second place comes the recycling of office consumables and paper, outsourced to collecting and recycling companies (e.g. Paprec). Office waste sorting policies are implemented at many sites.

A self-study module for all employees of the group on social and environmental responsibility was tested in 2014 and will be rolled out in 2015 (and adjusted to the group’s various companies, prior levels of knowledge, etc.).

Given its business, the group’s activities mainly concern water and paper. The first stage involved defining scopes, identifying suppliers and ensuring the reliability of data collection. Achieving targets for saving natural resources depends on detailed knowledge of consumption.

Measures are also in place to optimize water consumption, including presence sensors, limitations on water flows, water fountains connected to the mains rather than bottles requiring transportation, installation of regulators on taps and automatic watering.

The reflective analysis on the goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (Beges) established in 2012 in all the entities affected by the law continued, with the formalization of automated collection and reporting tools and the setting of shared objectives tailored to each company, mainly according to its geographical location and its buildings.
Most of the group’s companies are currently drawing up emissions reports for 2014, to be better prepared for mandatory data-gathering in 2015 and to anticipate any corrective measures.

Several regional groups have launched initiatives. At CM Maine-Anjou, Basse-Normandie (CMMABN), a CSR dashboard for each local mutual bank was distributed in 2014; it includes in particular the environmental indicators on which the mutual bank can act (e.g. consumption of energy, water and paper and waste recycling). The CM Océan group (CMO) has decided only to publish documents on recycled or sustainably sourced paper and to do the same with cheque printing (a decision already made by CM Nord Europe (CMNE)).

Lastly, the Crédit Mutuel group is, to date, the largest user of La Poste’s “green” franking service (i.e. it does not use air transport or night work), with a penetration rate of 80%

At Euro Information, the supply process takes place under the ISO 9001-certified quality process, monitored and audited by AFAQ (last audit in June 2014). The process is written down and published, and shows the various stages involved in establishing a relationship, contracting and managing supplier relationships. The purchasing department requests the company’s CSR report so that it can find out about its CSR policy. As regards equipment, EI covers the whole chain, from purchasing up to the waste recycling, destruction and recovery phase, in five areas of business: terminals, electronic payment, self-service banking, video and telephony. For the recycling of computer equipment, Euro Information Services uses parts from out-of-service equipment to extend the life of old equipment still in use.

A recycling solution is available for telephones sold to customers. In addition, the process of reducing the number and energy consumption of IT production centres is under way. Euro Information has cut the number of its production centres containing central IT resources (to five sites in 2006). The target of only two centres and a backup centre will reduce power consumption as well as greenhouse gas and air conditioning consumption by cutting the number of server rooms.

2. Participation in the energy transition

For several years, Crédit Mutuel has been offering environmental incentives at local and regional level to adapt to the effects of climate change. It has developed specific products: as well as zero-interest eco-loans, short- and long-term energy saving loans are also on offer. The group plays an active role in the emergence of new forms of housing, grouped under the name of “cohousing”, which could represent a third way between individual and collective housing. The group also supports the development of renewable and alternative energy sources, and in 2014 financed several investments in methanisation (CMO), hydro-electric micro-plants (including at Annonay and Tullins, by CM Dauphiné-Vivarais (CMDV) and the creation of solar farms (two in the US and one in France, financed by CIC) and wind farms (six in France and one offshore wind farm in the Netherlands).

Similarly, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa has supported the development of the start-up 450, which has created a CO2 savings account that enables “low carbon” goods and services (e.g. train and bus tickets) to be purchased with kilos of CO2 saved from daily activities (transportation, heating, etc.) and deposited in the account. Its employees have been encouraged to open a CO2 savings account.
Armorique Habitat (the real estate subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel Arkéa) inaugurated an innovative HEP building containing 14 homes under protected tenancy. The energy produced by the building is used to heat and light communal areas, while surplus power is resold and used to reduce management fees.

The output of the photovoltaic panels at the three equipped sites of Crédit Mutuel Maine-Anjou Basse-Normandie topped 80,000 kWh in 2013 and 2014. A study has been launched to assess the feasibility of extending the covered roof surfaces of the head office in 2015. A target of reducing energy consumption by 20% has been set for new real estate renovations. The aim is to reach an air sealing coefficient of 1.7 m3/h/m2 and achieve the performance targets set by the French 2012 thermal regulations. This is a voluntary renovation as these buildings are not subject to this obligation.

Construction and renovation work on Crédit Mutuel’s buildings is mainly done to the HQE high environmental quality standard (e.g. in Paris and Valence) or intended to achieve low-energy building status (e.g. Nantes and Orléans). Whenever possible, connection to collective heating networks is preferred (e.g. Nantes and Strasbourg). La Française Real Estate Managers continues to acquire real estate, favouring buildings with HQE certification for eight of its REITs. Since 2011, Atlantique Habitations, a social housing subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel Loire-Atlantique et Centre Ouest, has been implementing a strategic, global and structuring CSR policy, which includes an audit phase, a phase for raising awareness among in-house players and a reflective analysis performed during the formalisation of the medium-term plan. A new stage will begin in 2015 and 2016, when this action will be assessed using the EURHO-GR European guidelines. Some entities aim to achieve a qualitative generational target, such as La Française, which, on behalf of its open-ended property fund LFP Immo SR, financed the first positive energy and self-consumption building in France’s service sector: “Le Pantin” has been developed on a total surface area of around 6,000 m2, with 70 parking spaces including dedicated spaces for electric cars.

To increase and preserve biodiversity, measures have been taken to integrate environmental criteria, both when financing major projects (respect for protected areas) and in the investments made by CM-CIC Capital Finance and its subsidiaries.These criteria also apply to the support provided by CM-CIC Capital Innovation to companies whose purpose is the production of gaseous parapetrolic molecules from renewable sources, particularly non-food agricultural resources. The collection, sorting and recovery of clean, dry waste is also financed by CM-CIC Capital Finance. Similarly, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa has become a major shareholder in the Paprec group, which specialises in the collection and treatment of paper waste. Some groups have also invested in remediation funds for contaminated industrial land and venture capital mutual funds financing renewable energy infrastructures.

Under action plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, some car fleets, particularly the company car fleet, have been reviewed using increasingly stringent criteria, including the reduction of vehicle CO2 emissions (vehicles with fewer cylinders and hybrids).

Crédit Mutuel du Sud-Ouest (CMSO) took part in Mobility Week for the first time from 16 to 22 September 2014. This European event, which aims to promote responsable transport, takes place in around 100 French cities, communities and conurbations. CMSO wanted to encourage commuting by means of transport other than solo driving, including cycling and walking, tram, bus and car-pooling. Many employees liked this idea and joined in, taking the opportunity to find out about alternative forms of transport or to enjoy a journey together in a shared car.

The group is not particularly exposed to the consequences of climate change, but has set about high-level research into the management of energy consumption. A reflective analysis and studies by CM-CIC Services Immobilier (which manages many of the group’s real estate assets) have already begun into the application of Law 2013-619 of 16 July 2013, which relates to various provisions for application of the EU law on sustainable development (the “DDADUE” law). This law establishes an obligation to carry out an initial energy audit or achieve compliance with the ISO 5000-1 standard for large corporations by 5 December 2015.
Discussions are under way with the public authorities about the proper application in cooperative groups.

The analysis of the group’s business, measured according to a geographical breakdown of employees and NBI, shows a strong concentration in regions where the Human Development Index (HDI) and Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) are at their highest, i.e. in countries that are generally the most advanced in terms of human rights and anti-corruption.

More than 99% of NBI is generated with 99% of the workforce in areas with a CPI score of more than 50. These figures show that the group has low exposure to the risk of financing projects or states that might be unsuitable in terms of human rights or corruption.