Société Générale is well aware of its corporate and social responsibility (CSR). As a major driver of wealth creation and development, the banking industry makes a significant contribution to economic and social progress. This places us under increased scrutiny, and means that our responsibility to society as a whole is perceived differently from that of other businesses. We know this because we listen to our stakeholders – civil society is becoming increasingly demanding over the extent of our responsibilities, both upstream in our purchasing and sourcing procedures, and downstream in the environmental impact of our financing activities and in our relationships with customers.

To this end, the Group undertakes to offer:

• its customers, a relationship with trained and motivated staff, as well as products and services to match their needs and best meet their requirements;
• its shareholders, high returns on a par with the confidence they have placed in the Group since its privatisation in 1987;
• its employees, sustained improvement of their professionalism, which is a guarantee of good results;
• civil society, its support via the numerous charitable associations and the financing of environmentally friendly projects.

This policy of active engagement with civil society, of ongoing reflection and improvement, is deeply embedded in our corporate culture and forms the basis for our corporate values – professionalism, team spirit, innovation – and ethics. Société Générale has made corporate social responsibility an integral part of its business, addressing account the specific geographical, cultural, social and economic characteristics of each country where it operates.