2008 Registration Document - Rexel

− promotion days at branches or at exhibitions dedicatedto products contributing to energy savings or usingrenewable energy;− specific offers (catalogues, dedicated spaces in branches,specialized vendors, etc.);− developing an advisory activity with respect to the controlof energy consumption in certain countries. As an example,the Rexel Group has developed, in the U.S., expertise inthe field of low-energy consumption solutions; in 2008,the advice provided to two of its customers (an operatorof casino hotel and a supermarket network) allowed suchcustomers to significantly reduce their annual electricityconsumption (by 65% and 35%, respectively).The table below shows the impact of the actions referred toabove on the sales of lighting sources.Breakdown of units sold by type of lighting sources2006 2007 2008Filament lighting sources 49% 48% 47.5%Low-consumptionsources51% 52% 52.5%5.2.2 Impact on regional developmentThanks to its local presence (a network of over 2,400branches in 34 countries), the Group contributes to thedevelopment and economic activity in regions where itoperates, including:− by contributing to the direct activity of its professionalclients,− by contributing to the economy of regions and countrieswhere it is established through direct and indirect taxes,− by employing almost entirely local labor (the Rexel Groupemploys approximately 33,000 employees in total).5.2.3 Charity and patronageSocietal projects primarily focus on the economic andcharity issues of importance to and in partnership with localpartners; the charity policy of the Rexel Group is based ona strong tradition of the autonomy of each country. Thus,the Rexel Group encourages its entities to develop theirnetworks and local social contacts.The following are examples of local patronage and charityinitiatives:− Solidarity project in China: in the aftermath of theearthquake in the Sichuan province, the Rexel Groupsupported the local population by raising funds from itsemployees with help from the head office and the Asia-Pacific region.Each employee donation was matched 1 yuan for 1 yuanby Rexel China, 1 yuan for 2 yuans by Rexel Asia-Pacificand 1 yuan for 4 yuans by the Rexel Group. The totalamount collected (€30,000) was donated to the RedCross in order to help the victims and their families.− Educational partnership in France: Rexel France is apartner of the IUT in Nîmes not only by providing electricalmaterial to the educational institution, but also in truescholastic collaboration with the goal of developing areference training center.− Tutoring of students from disadvantaged areas of France:the Rexel Group financed, in 2008, 5 tutorials for studentsraised by the Institut Télémaque. Each of these studentsis supported and monitored, from middle school to theend of high school, by two tutors: a “scholar tutor” (fromthe student’s school) and a “business tutor” (a Rexelemployee). The goal of this double tutor system is to givethese children every chance to succeed, to the extentthat they each deserve it.For 2008, the total amount of Rexel Group donationswas €264,000. These donations were mainly made tosupport medical research, charitable organizations for theunderprivileged (children in difficulty, the handicapped,victims of natural disasters, etc.) or educational programsor sporting events in which employees sometimesparticipate.5.3 ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATIONIn the scope of its sustainable development policy, theRexel Group has performed environmental reporting forseveral years, in order to:− comply with external reporting requirements, in particularthe obligations pursuant to the 2001 French law knownas the “NRE” law (Nouvelles Régulations Economiques)and reply to the requests of stakeholders (customers,investors, ratings agencies, etc.);− facilitate the sharing of information and the implementationof best practices at the Rexel Group; and− feed the dashboard of the Department of SustainableDevelopment, in order to steer the implementation of thisapproach.REXEL 2008 | PAGE 59