Annual report 2014

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy

Societal, Social and Environmental Information

knowledge sharing contributes fully to the exercise of human rights

as stated in Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the

European Union (2000) on freedom of expression and information, and

by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015); and

protecting personal data is recognized as a fundamental right in

various legal instruments, including the Charter of Fundamental

Rights of the European Union (Article 8), the OECD Guidelines for

Multinational Enterprises and the Council of Europe’s convention.

1.1.2.

Vivendi’s Eight Priority Issues

The four strategic issues listed above for the media sector (the “core”)

are part of Vivendi’s eight priority CSR issues, which take into account

the group’s economic, societal, social and environmental performance:

promotion of cultural diversity in content production and distribution;

empowerment and protection of young people in their use of digital

media;

knowledge sharing;

valuation and protection of personal data;

vigilance in business conduct;

social and professional empowerment of employees;

local economic, social and cultural development; and

respect for the environment in the digital era.

The group makes its commitments clearly visible to all its stakeholders:

customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, government, artists,

and civil society as a whole. These eight priority issues are presented

in detail under the CSR heading on Vivendi’s website

(www.vivendi. com). Th

is heading also includes all Vivendi’s non-financial indicators for

fiscal year 2014 as well as the cross-referencing tables for the various

references used: Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and its Media Sector

Supplement (MSS), the French Grenelle II Law, OECD, United Nations

Global Compact.

The group renewed its listing in the main SRI (Socially Responsible

Investments) indices: the FTSE4Good Global and FTSE4Good Europe

(FTSE), the Ethibel Excellence (Ethibel) investment register, the Thomson

Reuters CRI Europe ESG Index (Thomson Reuters) and the NYSE EuroNext

Vigeo World 120, Eurozone 120, Europe 120 and France 20 (Vigeo) indices.

Vivendi still ranks number four among the French companies of the

Global 100 as announced at the opening of the World Economic Forum in

Davos on January 21, 2015. Out of 4,500 global variables, the Global 100

identifies the 100 companies with a “best in class” CSR approach and

strong financial performance. Vivendi was also ranked second among

the European companies in the media sector by the non-financial

rating agency Vigeo. In 2013, Vivendi was positioned third in the latest

ranking of the companies in the CAC 40 in relation to taking into account

the “Children’s Rights and Business Principles”, established in 2012

by UNICEF, the United Nations Global Compact and Save the Children.

By including its CSR objectives in the group’s governance (please refer to

Section 1.1.3), Vivendi is able to enhance its global performance through

societal value created by the company.

1.1.3.

An Integrated Reporting Approach illustrating the Creation of Shared Value

Driven by a desire to better assess the CSR contribution to the results

obtained by the group in carrying out its various activities, Vivendi

has initiated an integrated reporting approach. This exercise gives the

stakeholders a summary grid where they can read the group’s financial

and non-financial performance, its growth drivers, and the value it

generated.

This approach provides an illustration of the materiality of the CSR

issues linked to the group’s activity, which exerts a human, cultural

and intellectual influence over millions of customers and citizens. It is

a fact that societal priorities top the list of the company’s concerns and

commitments. In a highly competitive international environment, it is

therefore important for Vivendi to demand the utmost in innovation, not

only in its ability to discover and empower talent, in services offered and

its musical, cinematographic or audiovisual content, but also in its vision

and responsibility to society. The media and cultural industries sector,

while contributing to the revitalization of the economy, also contributes to

global harmonious development and to learning to live together.

Launched in 2013, the pilot project, devoted to cultural capital, has been

widened to an international scope in accordance with the commitments

made. The results show that producing musical, cinematographic and

audiovisual content reflecting rich cultural diversity is in the public

interest (societal value) and gives the group an edge over its competitors

(financial value) (see Chapter 1, Section 1.4.4 p. 18).

The Management Board and the General Management raised the profile

of this pilot project by introducing it into the company’s integrated

management (see pp.16 and 17). This momentum is expected to be

sustained in the coming years.

Annual Report 2014