corporate social responsibility complete report France ... - Orange

54“preserveincreasing customer awarenessThe only way we can reduce the environmentalimpact associated with the use of our products andservices is with the involvement of our customers.That is why we have undertaken several initiativesaimed at making our customers aware of what is atstake in terms of environmental protection . forexample, we encourage them to return theirelectronic equipment at the end of its life cycle (seep. 46) or to adopt electronic billing (see p. 48).In France, the strategic partnership signed betweenOrange and the WWF includes a specific componentfocusing on public awareness of this issue.In 2009, we plan to bolster our customers‟ awarenessof environmental challenges, for example, byencouraging them to keep their mobile phoneslonger.Jérôme DupuisStrategic Partnership UnitManager, WWF FranceThe WWF is one of the largest environmentalprotection organizations in the world. What setsus apart is our willingness to work with allcontributors of solutions: the general public,local governments, public authorities,businesses, etc. It is in this spirit that in March2008 we signed a strategic partnership withOrange in France. In 2008, our efforts led firstto the handset environmental displaymechanism. As I am fond of saying, greatsuccesses come from bold decisions. For adistributor such as Orange, which does notmanufacture products directly, this approachdid not seem to fit at first. However, we‟re veryglad we made the decision. This solution ishighly relevant from an environmental point ofview because it displays multiple criteriacovering the entire product life cycle. Thissolution meets a definite need amongconsumers, who wish to have clear informationon the environmental impact of the productsthey buy. It meets one of the commitmentsmade by the Grenelle de l‟Environnement*,which is to steer consumers toward productswith a lower impact on the environment.We have also teamed up with Orange on otherprojects such as eco-friendly store renovationsor making the public aware of usageprecautions associated with electromagneticwaves. We hope they will be carried out withthe same energy.”our 2008 achievementsFrance: ecological product labelingAs part of the partnership signed in March 2008,Orange and WWF-France have started a systemfor assessing products in terms of environmentalperformance. Since October 2008, consumershave been seeing ecological labels on some fixedand mobile phones throughout the Orangedistribution channel. Each product is assessedaccording to five key indicators representative oftheir environmental impact throughout their lifecycle:- CO 2 assessment- Energy efficiency- Preservation of natural resources- Limiting hazardous substances- Waste reductionEach product‟s environmental performance isassessed compared to the performance ofproducts in its class; for example, one mobilephone is compared to another mobile phone.Product ecological profiles are available atwww.orange.fr and will soon be displayed atstores.This ecological display, which is a worldwide first inthe telecommunications sector, will be extendedprogressively in 2009 to all the products marketedby Orange in France. To find out more: see the press release atwww.orange.com.