2011 Registration Document - Valeo

1 Presentation
PAGE 32
of Valeo and its businesses
Presentation of Valeo
is updated on a regular basis. The Group also produces an
Insurance Manual, updated yearly, providing comprehensive
information on risk coverage and managing Group insurance
programs.
To achieve these objectives and bring risk levels down to
zero, continuous visibility is necessary. Each site therefore
undergoes regular external audits covering the environment,
health and safety at work, as well as the protection and
safety of the facilities. These audits are carried out by external
consultants, in accordance with local obligations, Group
policy and good practice. They provide useful and detailed
information, especially related to environmental issues, site
activity, the surrounding area and its natural environment such
as geology, seismic risks, flood risk areas, etc. Actions to be
undertaken and related action plans are established on the
basis of these audits.
A risk management tool is used to track changes to site
action plans resulting from external audit recommendations
and also enables the HSE functions of the Business Groups
and the Risk Insurance Environment Department to carry
out real-time controls of the actions implemented or to be
implemented by the sites. A self-assessment tool, in the form
of a roadmap, allows each site to assess its own performance
and compliance with the Group’s procedures. It also allows
Business Group HSE managers to monitor the progress
made by the sites to meet the requirements set out in the
Group’s procedures.
The Business Group HSE managers and the Risk Insurance
Environment Department also use a reporting procedure to
measure the performance of reporting sites. This performance
is measured by means of a rating based on objective and
factual criteria. Risks that might impact Valeo’s business are
set out in Chapter 2, section 2.1.2, page 54.
Each site HSE manager is responsible for implementing the
Group’s risk management policy.
The country HSE manager, who is also the HSE manager of
a site of the country that he/she represents, coordinates the
initiatives related to risks specific to the country concerned.
This manager is also in charge of providing information and
training to all new HSE managers who join a Valeo site in the
country concerned. In addition, this role involves ensuring
that experience is shared among the HSE managers within
the sites of the country concerned.
The HSE manager of each Business Group ensures that
the policy established at Group level by the Risk Insurance
Environment Department is disseminated, and contributes to
the continuous improvement of risk management within the
Business Group by offering technical expertise.
Environment
Environmental protection is based on a number of initiatives
which are, by definition, long term. Valeo has been committed
2011 Registration D ocument - VALEO
to this effort for over 20 years in terms of both product
innovation and the management of its industrial sites.
The objective is of course to prevent environmental pollution,
but also to protect the environment and biodiversity through
a consistent sustainable development policy, notably by
reducing consumption of energy and natural resources
(water and raw materials), lowering greenhouse gas
emissions, particularly CO , decreasing or even eliminating
2
the consumption of dangerous products, reducing waste
and achieving maximum recyclability of all products, as well
as offering an industrial environment that is both safe and
pleasant to work in.
In 2011, Valeo expanded the scope of the indicators
reported by each of its sites taking into account the
new French regulatory requirements from the Grenelle
environmental measures and the requirements from the
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The GRI is a non-profit
organization that provides companies with sustainable
development guidelines to help them improve the quality
of their environmental reporting.
Valeo always incorporates an environmental approach
into all the stages in the life of its products and processes:
design, production, use and end of life management.
Since 1998, a group of experts in environmental matters
and Research and Development from different Valeo
Business Groups has been working towards reducing
the environmental impact of processes and products
over their entire lifecycle. This research group meets
regularly to discuss specific topics, such as the
elimination of banned and regulated substances, the
use of recycled plastics, or compliance with the REACH
regulations (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and
Restriction of Chemicals). This research involves listing
the chemicals purchased or produced by the Company,
assessing the toxicological risk associated with their use
and, where relevant, requesting a license to put them
on the market.
Valeo has also created a reference database of substances
that are banned or restricted in the automotive industry.
Updated in 2011 and scheduled for further reviews in
2012, this database details the regulations applicable
in the different countries where Valeo operates and the
requirements of its automaker customers concerning
those substances used in the composition of parts and in
manufacturing and repair processes.
In 2011, Valeo published a manual of good practices
to help all Group sites conserve resources and improve
energy efficiency. These good practices are organized by
topic and are based on feedback and experience from
Valeo “Excellence Centers”. They provide ways to reduce
energy consumption by using efficient methods that are
not costly.
To fulfill its progress objectives, Valeo bases its
environmental policy on performance and also on the
establishment of a management system leading to