CDC Climat - 2011 Sustainable Development Report

CDC Climat is the Caisse des Depots (CDC) subsidiary that is dedicated to combating climate change. Its activities aim to support the transition towards a low resource and low greenhouse gas emission (GHG) economy, through services that are cutting-edge, pro table, and in line with CDC's public policy goals. Through its corporate purpose, CDC Climat embodies the CDC's commitments in the sustainable development field. CDC Climat supports the implementation of public GHG emission reduction policies, primarily through emission trading schemes at the European and international level. Since it was founded in 2010, and throughout 2011, its strategic priorities have consisted in: - developing a long-term policy for investing in carbon credits generated by environmental initiatives, as part of the project mechanisms set up by the Kyoto Protocol, and used in the European Emission Trading Scheme; - supporting the development of its investments in carbon finance operators, like BlueNext, the European carbon exchange, for instance; - broadening the scope of its research into climate economics, which is supported by CDC and available to everyone, in order to serve the public and private players concerned. Its teams have supported French and European governments, international organisations and the United Nations, and various NGOs in their work and thinking on the future of tools for combating climate change. They have specifically contributed reports based on their research and operational feedback. When it was founded, CDC Climat was closely linked to public policies aimed at combating climate change via allowance and carbon trading mechanisms. The difficulties encountered by international negotiations, together with the effects of the economic and financial downturn in Europe, have resulted in a very pronounced fall in the price of carbon assets on these markets since the summer of 2011, with no prospect of recovery for several years. This environment is calling some of the targets set into question, especially the amount of emissions avoided in carbon equivalent tonnes thanks to the carbon initiatives in which CDC Climat invests. 2011 nonetheless enabled the company to pursue this goal, achieving a saving of 5.82 mtCO2 eq. In this area, CDC Climat selected credits from projects where the environmental quality has been proven (renewable energy, energy efficiency, small-scale hydropower, waste recovery, and biomass, etc.), and which are mainly in areas where current coverage is low (Mediterranean, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and France). CDC Climat has entrusted the planning and management of its investments to CDC Climat Asset Management, its specialist subsidiary, within the framework of a mandate. Aside from the GHG emission reductions that these credits represent, CDC Climat Asset Management has drawn up investment and management rules in order to ensure that the projects reviewed are fully compliant with international standards, and to avoid major environmental, social, or governance (ESG) risks in the implementation of the actual projects. CDC has begun to diversify its strategy since 2012, in order to: - support SMEs in the services sector that are actively involved in reducing GHG emissions, energy efficiency, and adapting to climate change; - allow CDC entities investing in SMEs that are developing technologies supporting energy transition and the green economy to benefit from its expertise; - respond to requests for advice from governments that want to implement systems to combat climate change; - offer new schemes to finance energy efficiency, primarily in the industrial sectors that issue significant amounts of GHGs. Other additional focus areas will be specified during the year, within the broader framework of Caisse des Depots' strategy in these areas. CDC Climat is a service company with a staff of some 50 people. Its environmental impact is mainly the result of its activities, namely combating climate change. The company is nonetheless mindful of its operating impact. A Sustainable Development Committee, which brings together staff members from the various teams, meets regularly, issues proposals, and ensures the implementation of practical measures in the environmental and social fields. Its human resources policy, which is in line with the favourable employee framework that comes with the fact that it belongs to the CDC Group, is characterised by strong commitment from management, which is responsive to employees' concerns, communicates regularly and directly with all members of staff, promotes dialogue with employee representatives, and ensures that the main challenges are actually taken into account Where governance is concerned, two independent directors reinforce the role of the Board of Directors and its specialist Committees, and enlighten them with their opinions, in addition to all the thorough formal procedures implemented in accordance with CDC policy regarding its subsidiaries. A Stakeholder Committee has been set up and met in 2011. It enables CDC Climat to take account of the questions asked by various members of civil society, and by experts, a process that is made all the more necessary by the fact that the company's area of activity is in the public policy field, and raises questions, and sometimes even controversies. After over ten years of astute investments in the combat against climate change, CDC has in CDC Climat a subsidiary that displays flexibility in supporting the transition towards a low-energy economy