Global citizenship

We believe that we can have a positive impact on not just our local communities but the wider global community. We share the concern expressed by our customers and employees over global social and environmental issues and in response we have developed programmes to help address these.

Our programmes aim to tackle social challenges facing disadvantaged groups across the world, in an innovative and strategic way. They are designed to deliver positive social outcomes whilst also building brand value.

Globally, Richemont supports Laureus Sport for Good, a charity established by Founder Patrons Daimler and Richemont to help underprivileged individuals around the world through the medium of sport. This and other programmes demonstrating our global citizenship are described below:

Case Study: Officine Panerai’s support for children

Helping disadvantaged children both close to home and on the other side of the world is the focus of Officine Panerai’s charitable efforts. The Maison has supported two very different projects this year but both were selected on the basis that they fitted with the aims of Officine Panerai. These were to support smaller foundations dedicated to helping children, be able to closely monitor and follow up on the impact of charitable efforts and build long-term relationships with the charities.

Instituo Arnando*

Motivated by a deep concern over the situation and the future of children with no biological family, a Swiss manager who previously worked for Richemont, decided to take advantage of his early retirement to move to Brazil and set up an organisation to help them.

Instituto Arandú was born from this idea, and was created thanks to the involvement of his wife and a young Brazilian businesswoman.

The Institute runs a number of projects offering shelter, support and development opportunities to children, screening existing foundations which meet high reliability standards but need support in term of organisation and financing.

Officine Panerai is supporting a specific project known as the “Project of Occupational Therapy” which provides specialist occupational therapists to help with the well-being of children.

As well as providing financial support to Instituto Arandú, Officine Panerai is putting in place opportunities for people working with the Institute to get involved in business activities, such as marketing projects. This will provide invaluable work experience for the children at the end of their studies and will give them the opportunity to develop their skills and confidence in their future world of work.

*“Arandú” is a Guarani word that means memory, wisdom.

De Marchi Foundation
The De Marchi foundation is a hospital offering the most advanced medical therapies to children to fight cancer, leukaemia and hemophilia. It also specialises in providing a supportive environment and emotional assistance to the children and their families, to help them cope in such difficult situations. This year, Office Panerai is specifically financing a project to redecorate the hospital to help create a better family environment.

This year, rather than send Christmas gifts to their clients as is normally the case, Officine Panerai made a donation for the equivalent amount to their two charitable projects.

Case Study: Cartier Pro-Natura project, Amapa region, Brazil

Having a long-term impact on sustainable development is at the heart of the Pro-Natura project that Cartier has committed to supporting for three years. The project is located in the developing Amapa region of Brazil and is run by Pro-Natura, a non-governmental organization that specialises in sustainable development. Established in 1986, Pro-Natura's mission is to conserve biodiversity through an integrated approach in partnership with local communities, public entities, private initiatives, and organized civil society.

Following a feasibility study which took place last year, work has started to develop two towns in the Amapa National Park region. Efforts this year have focused on fostering relationships with the local communities and building the foundations for a small sustainable eco-tourism industry. With their strong association with craftsmanship and jewellery, Cartier is proud to be able to support the craftsmanship classes which are taking place in the Amapa towns, giving local residents the skills to be able to make and sell eco-jewellery using local materials. Cartier regularly monitors the impacts of the project and receives an annual progress report from Pro-Natura.

Case Study: Montblanc - The Power to Write with UNICEF

The ability to read and to write forms the basic building blocks for learning and education is vital to ensuring a better quality of life for all children and a better world for everyone. Helping tackle illiteracy is an obvious cause for Montblanc to support as the power and creativity of the written word is integral to the brand. Since 2005, Montblanc has supported UNICEF in its fight against illiteracy. The company’s work in this area started with a promotional campaign, in which Montblanc approached 149 international celebrities asking them to make a personal statement on what writing means to them. These statements were used as part of a point-of-sale promotion with specially designed artist packs for the legendary Montblanc Meisterstück 149 fountain pen. At the end of the campaign, the statements were sold through a special online auction with proceeds from the entire initiative raising almost US$1 million for UNICEF. In 2007, a second initiative featured another 149 celebrities who spent one day in one of 149 Montblanc boutiques worldwide to sell the famous Meisterstück fountain pen. Every purchase of a specially designed Meisterstück 149 UNICEF edition writing instrument ensured a donation to UNICEF’s campaign.

Montblanc also supports the Princess Grace of Monaco Foundation which promotes cultural events and research into treating childhood disease.

Case Study: Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards

The number of companies established by women is steadily increasing across the globe, providing new market opportunities and creating jobs within local economies. Cartier and the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society joined forces to encourage this trend and in 2006, they launched the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards with the support of McKinsey and Company and INSEAD.

The Awards recognise the work of one up-and-coming female entrepreneur from five regions (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America). The winners are awarded a package of coaching support for a year and US$20,000 to develop their businesses. In addition, they receive the media visibility associated with winning this prestigious award.

The first awards were presented in October 2007 for initiatives ranging from an online ‘marketplace’ for small business owners to educational workshops for children. The presentations were made at Deauville, the stylish French resort which also hosts the annual American Film Festival at which Cartier played a leading sponsorship role.

Case Study: Piaget Action Innocence

Child pornography on the Internet is an issue of global concern. In 1999, Piaget established a long-term partnership of support with Action Innocence to combat the problem by raising awareness of the issues through school visits, and supporting the development of technological solutions.

Action Innocence is wholly funded by private donations and has grown from being an exclusively Swiss charity to operating in France, Monaco and Belgium. Piaget’s annual contributions include sponsorship of high profile glamorous Gala events and a two day charity sale in Geneva. In 2007/08 Piaget’s total support for Action Innocence exceeded CHF200,000.

Case Study: Laureus Sport for Good Foundation

Laureus is composed of three core elements: the Laureus World Sports Awards, the Laureus World Sports Academy and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Collectively they celebrate sporting excellence and harness the power of sport to promote social change.

Laureus was established in 1999 by Founding Patrons Richemont and Daimler (formerly DaimlerChrysler) and represented by their brands Mercedes-Benz and IWC, supported by a global partner Vodafone. Laureus is an apolitical organisation that crosses all boundaries to unite people through the universal power of sport.

The Laureus World Sports Awards are supported by founding partners Daimler and Richemont. They are the premier global sports awards honouring the world’s greatest sportsmen and women each year.

The winners are selected by the ultimate sports jury, the 45 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, the living legends of sport honouring the greatest athletes of today. Recent winners include tennis star Roger Federer, winner of the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award for the fourth time, and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, winner of the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award. In February 2008 the awards ceremony was held in St.Petersburg, the winners collecting their Awards in front of a celebrity audience, which included Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

The Laureus World Sports Academy members also act as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, volunteering their time to visit projects in order to draw attention to the problems afflicting society today.

The ultimate aim of Laureus is to support the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and highlight its mission to utilise the power of sport to address social challenges through a worldwide programme of sports-related community development initiatives, using sport as a tool for social change.

The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation supports over 50 projects worldwide and improves the lives of over 150,000 children through its global foundation and a growing network of eight subsidiary National Foundations in Argentina, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the USA.

The social issues being addressed by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation are: AIDS awareness, poverty, illiteracy, delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, anti-social behaviour, street crime, lack of opportunity/education, truancy, unemployment, teenage pregnancy, physical abuse, mental health problems, depression, social exclusion, gender discrimination, disability discrimination, community integration, at-risk youth, the plight of child soldiers in war zones, landmine risk, (armed) violence, racial and religious discrimination, child soldier rehabilitation and community regeneration, peace and reconciliation, environmental issues, disaster clean-up, trauma issues, segregation between indigenous and non-indigenous communities, obesity, malnutrition, health and hygiene.

For further information, please visit www.laureus.com