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Biodiversity

For a number of years now, the Group has been committed to reduce as far as possible the pressure its activities exert on the environment and to promoting biodiversity through specific actions (conservation gardens, wildlife shelters, maintenance of wetlands, etc.).

THE ACT4NATURE INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENT

In 2021, the Group strengthened and formalised its commitments in this area by joining the Act4nature international initiative (a voluntary commitment to biodiversity aimed at French international companies).

act4nature


The Group has set itself ambitious objectives, quantified and sequenced in the near future, based on four priorities:

  • Combat pollution: in its fight against the various forms of pollution (water, air, soil) the Group is committed to limiting waste production and eliminating all plastic packaging from its products in order to limit the impact on ecosystems ;
  • Preserve natural resources: Groupe SEB is committed to a circular economy by reducing the pressure on resources by integrating more recycled and recyclable materials, by designing durable and repairable products and by integrating the biodiversity impact study right from the product design stage ;
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Groupe SEB is committed to contributing to global carbon neutrality by 2050 via its commitments validated by the Science Based Target initiative;
  • Develop biodiversity-friendly projects: the Group plans to support ecosystem preservation and reforestation projects.

A FOREST IN BURGUNDY

This last commitment will take effect from 2022, Groupe SEB will make a local commitment to its home region of Burgundy by planting more than 19,000 trees with the Coopérative Forestière Bourgogne Limousin (CFBL), to help reforest a spruce forest destroyed by bark beetles, insects which ravage spruce trees. A number of species are being planted to replant this stand: Douglas fir, sessile oak, larch, fir, Atlas cedar and sycamore maple. A few melliferous species have also been planted to increase the diversity of the forest.

The forest has also been awarded the "Low Carbon Label", helping to reduce the Group's greenhouse gas emissions. Adopted from 2019 to meet the climate targets of the National Low Carbon Strategy (SNBC), the Low Carbon Label is the first voluntary climate certification framework in France. It guarantees that carbon reduction or sequestration projects carried out in France make a correct and transparent contribution to achieving the targets, using credible and verified methods for accounting for greenhouse gas emissions.

jardin vavilov

GOOD PRACTICES AT OUR SITES, WORLDWIDE

In 2019, the Group carried out a global review of its sites' biodiversity conservation practices based on a questionnaire organised by major theme (wetlands, pollinating insects, birds, wooded areas, etc.). The most significant and replicable initiatives have been compiled in a booklet for all sites worldwide. The Group encourages all its entities to take action to promote biodiversity. In particular, it is committed to eliminating the use of phytosanitary products for the upkeep of green spaces at 100% of its sites by 2025. This is already the case at the Group's head office: the SEB Campus banned the use of this type of product several years ago.

The Campus is also home to a 300 m2 conservatory garden, created in 2016 with the Vavilov Institute in Saint Petersburg, the oldest plant gene bank in the world. Groupe SEB joined the network of Vavilov gardens with a view to maintaining biodiversity and developing healthy, responsible food. This garden brings together varieties created in the Rhône-Alpes region between the 19th and 20th centuries, old Russian varieties and a collection of wild species. Campus employees can sign up for themed gardening workshops from March to November.
 

tour hirondelles

Several sites have created flower meadows, including Emsdetten (Germany) and Is-sur-Tille (France). The latter has also installed a swallow tower, which has enabled a colony of swallows to be created and maintained in an area where they were not previously found. Between 50 and 150 young swallows take to the wing each year. A tower of this type has also been set up on the SEB Campus. Other initiatives include beehives on the Rumilly site (France), ponies mowing the lawns at Erbach (Germany) and an aquatic biodiversity area with rainwater recovery at Canonsburg (USA), as well as on the SEB Campus. Many sites have also planted trees, often fruit trees (Egypt, India, Colombia, China, etc.).