sain t-gobain annu al report 2008 annual report
sain t-gobain annu al report 2008 annual report
sain t-gobain annu al report 2008 annual report
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74<br />
INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE FOUNDATION<br />
“SAINT-GOBAIN INITIATIVES”<br />
In addition to these loc<strong>al</strong> initiatives, Saint-Gobain<br />
has created a corporate foundation to enhance<br />
the consistency of its non-profit programs.<br />
As leader in the construction market, Saint-Gobain<br />
believes that it has the responsibility to support the work<br />
of non-profit organizations in areas that are <strong>al</strong>igned<br />
to the strategy of the Group. Establishing the internation<strong>al</strong><br />
corporate Foundation “Saint-Gobain Initiatives” is one way<br />
in which we can meet this objective.<br />
Created in late <strong>2008</strong>, the Saint-Gobain Initiatives<br />
Foundation supports projects proposed by employees<br />
in three focus areas:<br />
• Youth integration through work in the housing sector,<br />
• Construction, refurbishment or renovation of soci<strong>al</strong><br />
housing for gener<strong>al</strong> interest purposes, and<br />
• Energy efficiency and environment<strong>al</strong> protection in soci<strong>al</strong><br />
housing.<br />
Supporting loc<strong>al</strong> economic development<br />
In most host countries, Group companies nurture a close<br />
relationship with profession<strong>al</strong> organizations and loc<strong>al</strong><br />
authorities, while the Gener<strong>al</strong> Delegations actively<br />
participate in industry associations and chambers of<br />
commerce (or similar bodies), and are in regular contact<br />
with nation<strong>al</strong> government agencies.<br />
In addition to these basic community outreach programs,<br />
Group companies help to develop their loc<strong>al</strong> employment<br />
catchment areas, thereby fostering a favorable economic<br />
environment.<br />
Relations with loc<strong>al</strong> communities are the most highly<br />
structured in France, where our presence is densest.<br />
This is primarily due to Saint-Gobain Développement,<br />
which supports loc<strong>al</strong> development and the revit<strong>al</strong>ization<br />
of employment catchment areas.<br />
Its contribution to the loc<strong>al</strong> economic fabric is multi-faceted,<br />
from forging partnerships with sm<strong>al</strong>l- and medium-sized<br />
enterprises (SMEs) to participating in region<strong>al</strong> events<br />
and providing support to loc<strong>al</strong> development networks<br />
and organizations.<br />
• To support growing SMEs, Saint-Gobain Développement<br />
offers a comprehensive range of solutions, such as<br />
unsecured, low-interest participating loans, expertise<br />
sharing and skills transfers, as part of a long-term<br />
“manufacturer–entrepreneur” partnership. In <strong>2008</strong>,<br />
Saint-Gobain Développement signed 127 agreements<br />
involving more than €1 million in loans, thereby helping<br />
to fund the creation of 482 jobs in our host communities.<br />
Most of the loans were first granted to companies<br />
involved in the environment.<br />
In addition, Saint-Gobain Développement offers SMEs<br />
the services of a skills transfer speci<strong>al</strong>ist, who supported<br />
54 companies in <strong>2008</strong>, sometimes with input<br />
from Group employees on specific issues.<br />
Saint-Gobain Développement <strong>al</strong>so continued to extend<br />
its work outside France through its Partenariat France<br />
initiative, which supported the import/export projects<br />
of three SMEs in the Czech Republic, China and Belgium<br />
in <strong>2008</strong>. Our extensive presence in these countries<br />
meant that our loc<strong>al</strong> operations could provide assistance<br />
and house the company’s VIE interns.<br />
• In a commitment to strengthening its corporate citizenship<br />
outreach and forging ties with loc<strong>al</strong> economic development<br />
stakeholders, the Group takes part in a number of programs<br />
to support loc<strong>al</strong> and region<strong>al</strong> development in France:<br />
- The Alizé Loc<strong>al</strong> Intercompany Initiatives in Employment<br />
Areas enable large corporations and government agencies<br />
to pool their technic<strong>al</strong> and financi<strong>al</strong> resources to support<br />
business development in a given region. Saint-Gobain<br />
Développement has participated in these programs<br />
for sever<strong>al</strong> years now and is particularly active in the regions<br />
of V<strong>al</strong>enciennes, Dieppe and Savoie.<br />
- A nation<strong>al</strong> network of region<strong>al</strong> centers for technic<strong>al</strong><br />
support and innovation, known as Creati, brings together<br />
government agencies and large corporations in a given<br />
region to support SME innovation projects and contribute<br />
the necessary capabilities. Saint-Gobain is involved in Creati<br />
centers in the Ile-de-France, Picardie and Aquitaine regions.<br />
- We are <strong>al</strong>so active in economic development networks<br />
and participate in the <strong>annu</strong><strong>al</strong> meetings of loc<strong>al</strong> economic<br />
agencies in our host regions.<br />
LAUNCH OF THE CREATI NETWORK IN PICARDIE<br />
In <strong>2008</strong>, Saint-Gobain was the impetus behind the creation<br />
of the Creati Partech network in Picardie.<br />
Offici<strong>al</strong>ly launched in April, the network brings together<br />
large corporations, such as Arcelor Mitt<strong>al</strong>, Vinci Energies<br />
and EADS/Airbus, and research institutions, like<br />
the Centre Technique des Industries Mécaniques (CETIM),<br />
the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP), and the Laboratoire<br />
département<strong>al</strong> d’an<strong>al</strong>yse et de recherche de l’Aisne.<br />
Saint-Gobain has led the network since launch,<br />
with a projected budget of more than Ð1.3 million.<br />
Saint-Gobain - <strong>2008</strong> Annu<strong>al</strong> Report