In this respect, situations at Group level are rather diversified. This partly reflects the degree of environmental awareness in the various countries which, at times, is expressed by specific regulation or tax relief.

All Group companies are committed to various degrees to applying the most suitable practices in their work, making a concrete contribution to protecting the environment. The Group has chosen to deal with the following aspects:

• management of buildings and company structures: this task is increasingly aimed at minimising negative impacts on the environment and continually improving operating comfort for members of staff. It normally falls to representatives from the company’s main technical offices, dealing with the management of buildings and systems, safety, health and purchases. Eco-compatible criteria are used whenever possible in building renovations, as well as new constructions, paying special attention to energy saving, curbs on carbon dioxide emissions and the materials used;
• electrical energy consumption, water and paper: suitable procedures were implemented throughout the Sustainability Report area to enable future monitoring and data collection for electrical energy, water and paper consumption. In many cases, data are already available and will be used to identify consumption reduction policies, taking into account specific local circumstances.

Environmental externalities

• Waste: in countries for which data is available, waste is to a large extent recycled. Selective collection systems are generally implemented for plastic, glass, aluminium and particularly for paper. Hazardous waste – such as hospital or chemical waste, batteries, etc. – and toners are collected and disposed of in accordance with current legislation in the countries where the Group has operations by specialist companies. In 2007, German companies met their target of reducing residual waste to a minimum. In Switzerland, products that can be refilled are preferred (e.g. printer cartridges) to limit the quantity of waste produced.
• Carbon dioxide emissions: district heating or electricity are widely used as a means to reduce emissions produced by heating systems. Energy-saving and eco-compatible technology is also used for air-conditioning systems: this includes closed circuits and electricity that do not produce CO2 emissions. In order to reduce environmental pollution deriving from trips for work purposes, the Group follows a number of guidelines, such as: increasing the use of web conferencing, promoting the use of public transport, encuraging the car pooling, implementing the e-learning forms of training.