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2015 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC98
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
2SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC, AN ECO-CITIZEN COMPANY
5.2 The Schneider Electric Foundation
Approach
Under the aegis of Fondation de France, Schneider Electric works
on a daily basis to implement solutions to reduce the energy gap
that affects underprivileged people the world over.
By developing training and entrepreneurship programs in the
energy sector in emerging countries and supporting families that
are affected by fuel poverty in the most developed economies,
the Foundation is active in the fi eld and seeks to serve as many
people as possible. In supporting symbolic, inspiring projects, such
as Refuge du Goûter, or as part of COP21, it also demonstrates a
positive vision and is committed to helping to create a better future.
The Foundation’s mission: share energy between those who have it
and those who do not.
This means being able to intervene effectively and methodically
under all circumstances, including in times of crisis or natural
disaster.
It means benefi ting from the involvement more than 30,000
employees, 900 volunteers, and 100 delegates to create positive
relationships with the local communities and partners in every
country where Schneider Electric operates. It means imbuing all
our ecosystems with our energy to work together to build concrete
solutions.
With a EUR4million annual budget, the Schneider Electric Foundation
contributes to partnerships given more than EUR7 million in support
from Schneider Electric’s entities; employees are also involved in
these partnerships. In total, more than EUR11 million are invested
to help local communities.
Organization
The Schneider Electric Foundation focuses on the involvement of
company employees in all the actions it implements. It carries out
its work through a network of 130employee volunteers, known as
delegates. These volunteers, covering 75countries, are responsible
for identifying local partnerships in the areas of vocational training
in the energy trades and tackling energy poverty, presenting them
to employees in their units, and to the Foundation and tracking
projects once they are launched. Each project proposed is subject
to a review process based on administrative and fi nancial data by
the Schneider Electric Foundation and by Fondation de France
before funds are released.
The Foundation’s network structure is an original and very suitable
means for engaging local, human and lasting sponsorship. It also
reinforces the energy of the people involved. In each site, the
choice of delegates is made based on recognized and formalized
participation via a letter of engagement signed by the head of the
site and that of the Foundation for a duration of two years.
The delegates also organize local events adapted to the country’s
culture, to better boost employee morale, and inform them of
Foundation activities at their site.
Finally, they coordinate the organization of the Schneider Electric
Foundation’s annual campaign for international mobilization called
Communities days. This week took place in October2014 and was
an important time in the Foundation and Company’s history, with
local partnerships taking center stage at an international level. They
also engage in campaigns organized following natural disasters.
Each year, around 35,000 employees in 50 countries take part in
these campaigns.
Governance
A legal connection to the Fondation de France
The Schneider Electric Foundation was created in 1998 under the
aegis of Fondation de France.
Fondation de France is a nonprofi t organization that, since its
creation in 1969, has been promoting relationships among donors,
founders, and fi eld structures in order to support projects in a range
of general-interest areas. Fondation de France supports more than
9,400 projects annually with the donations it receives. In addition,
it supports other foundations (more than 775 in 2014), whose
operations are governed separately from Fondation de France
but that are legally part of it. It is responsible for ensuring that their
actions comply with its bylaws and the legal framework of the
sponsorship. The Schneider Electric Foundation has an Executive
Committee that determines the major focuses of its actions and
the projects it supports. The committee then informs Fondation
de France of its decisions, and Fondation de France verifying the
projects’ compliance and implements them (by approving and
signing all the agreements with the partners, by paying funds to
the benefi ciaries after checking the documents that prove the
proper functioning of their organizations and their eligibility for
the sponsorship, by inspecting the communication tools of the
Schneider Electric Foundation, etc.).
The Executive Committee
The Schneider Electric Foundation’s Executive Committee meets
once to twice a year. It is made up of members of Schneider
Electric, employee representatives and other qualifi ed individuals.
The current composition of the Schneider Electric Foundation’s
Executive Committee is as follows:
•Chairman: Henri Lachmann;
•Members: Charles Bouzols (external expert), Guy Dufraisse
(Schneider Electric), Michel Crochon (Schneider Electric), Xavier
Emmanuelli (external expert), Annie Hery (staff representative,
Schneider Electric), Jean Kaspar (external expert), Cathy Kopp
(external expert), Jean-Pierre Rosenczveig (external expert),
François Tarricone (staff representative, Schneider Electric),
Jean-Pascal Tricoire (Schneider Electric).
An operational team and a selection committee
The members of the operational team are: Gilles Vermot Desroches,
General Delegate; Patricia Benchenna, Director of Programs;
Leslie Zambelli, Commitment and Fuel P overty P roject M anager;
Morgane Peloille, Administrative Assistant. The selection committee
is made up of three members: the Foundation’s General Delegate,
the Foundation’s Program Director and Director of the Access to
Energy Vocational Training Program. It meets once per month.