Environmental and Social responsibility at Société Générale Consumer Finance /Franfinance
Objectives :
- Pursue its responsible lending and CSR governance policies,
- Canvass new and buoyant renewable energy markets.
- Completion of a CSR self-appraisal campaign within Franfinance,
- Increased awareness amongst employees of the importance of CSR (on both a personal and professional level).
A member of the French association of finance companies (ASF), Franfinance signed a charter with various French consumer associations in December 2006 which defines a basic framework for the out-of-court recovery of debts so as not to alienate customers. Fiditalia, an Italian entity which, alongside Franfinance, is part of the Société Générale Consumer Finance division launched a new product in 2008 called Multipremia. Multipremia is a personal loan which rewards the timely payment of monthly instalments throughout the term of the loan by applying digressive rates per threshold (digressive amortisation). Clients who pay their instalments on time see the interest rate on their loan gradually reduced. ...for renewable energy projects and solutions to optimise the energy efficiency of buildings Following the Grenelle Environment Summit, Franfinance has developed a credit offer that is tailored to the highly-evolving market of renewable energies. Benefiting from a government tax credit, the credit offer provides solutions for partner distributors and fitters of solar panels, ground source heat pumps and automatic wood burning appliances. Thanks to its exhaustive training program and prices that are adapted to the end consumer, Franfinance ranks as a major player in this field. Eco interest-free loan Franfinance launched its new Eco interest-free loan in September 2009. The loan is used to finance projects designed to improve the energy efficiency of customer homes. Customers benefit from a free-of-charge payment facility that does not require any down payment. They decide on the duration of the loan and need only start repayments 3 months after the work is complete. Partnership in renewable energies In August 2008, Franfinance signed a partnership with two Veolia Environnement subsidiaries :
- Proxitherme, which sells boilers,
- Proxia, which sells heat pumps. Franfinance has designed a special loan to assist this company in its strong expansion. whitespacer
Each of these different partnerships rank Franfinance as a leading player in energy financing on individual and business customer markets alike. Backed by major national and global groups, they are proof of the company's quality services and methods and its long-term commitment to the development of first-rate equipment and resources in the fight against climate change. First awareness campaigns and stricter governance in implementing the Group's CSR policy Sustainable development is a core priority in Franfinance's different initiatives to encourage collective innovation and currently represents 20% of the ideas collected so far. In October 2008, the entity's management organised workshops to assist its principal managers in defining the broad strategic bases and a concrete plan of action for 2009. In a customer satisfaction survey carried out at the end of 2008, 83% of participants indicated that they would be interested in supporting Franfinance's commitment to sustainable development.
With more than 150 permanent supervision procedures in place, Franfinance is able to accurately monitor its loans and operating risks.
What is more, thanks to the support and expertise of Société Générale Group, Franfinance has also completed a CSR self-appraisal campaign. The close collaboration between the two means Franfinance has been able to draw up an action plan to serve as a "roadmap" for its CSR policy and strategy. The company's "innovation challenge" which came to an end in December 2009 means the plan will also benefit from the input of its employees on "How to make Franfinance more socially-aware". Just some of the projects underway... Individual customers have been able to subscribe for electronic statements since October 2008. At the end of January 2009, 9 818 customers had opted to receive their statement in PDF format compared to 4 900 one month earlier. These initiatives to replace paper documents by electronic formats were launched by the marketing departments and systems analysis teams. Over the course of 2008, Société Générale's Human Resources Department invested heavily in an e-learning training program on compliance intended to ensure compliance with the regulations in force, assess learning needs and develop in-house skills. This training tool reduces the need for business travel. In fact, close to 800 employees across more than 40 sites were able to complete their training in situ.
Over the course of 2009, a green charter called "Mes 10 gestes au quotidien" (10 ways I can help each day) was drawn up and led to the distribution of biodegradable mouse mats.
2010 began with the organisation of an operation in support of the French charity association, Restaurants du Cœur, which, thanks to donations by Franfinance employees, the participation of company caterers Avenance and Franfinance itself and the campaigns in partnership with American Express and its service providers Eurest and Neo Security, collected 2 tons of food products, i.e. the equivalent of 3 000 meals.