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INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONSTO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

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2015 is crucial for the environment. In December, leaders from around the world will come together at the COP21 Conference in Paris to adopt a global agreement to fight climate change.

Global economic development, urbanisation and changing lifestyles are driving unprecedented demand for transport services, connectivity and judicious management of natural resources. But climate change is having a serious impact on the planet, threatening the lives of its inhabitants.

Our technology-driven society faces new environmental challenges - energy efficiency, air quality, noise pollution, biodiversity and climate change - which all need to be addressed by governments, city authorities, businesses, the scientific community and citizens themselves.

Today, we believe environmental responsibility and engagement in the fight against climate change are more crucial than ever before.

TRANSPORT: RECONCILING SECURITY, GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

07 AIR TRANSPORT08 Energy Efficient Flying09 Weight: a critical factor10 Towards all-electric aircraft

13 RAIL TRANSPORTATION14 More environmentally responsible metros 15 Eco-driving on mainline networks15 More rail traffic and faster trains throughout Europe

REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF CITIES 19 COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION, DATA AND TRAFFIC: OPTIMISING FLOWS TO MAKE CITIES SMARTER AND SAFER20 Cities: fertile ground for innovation23 Green IT

25 IMPROVING THE PASSENGER EXPERIENCE

OBSERVING THE EARTH TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ENVIRONMENT

32 OBSERVING THE EARTH FROM SPACE33 COPERNICUS, the European earth observation programme33 Monitoring greenhouse gases34 Meteorology36 Oceanography

38 OBSERVING THE EARTH FROM THE SKY38 Unmanned systems on the look-out39 EARTHLAB: a global network of environmental monitoring centres

A COMMITMENT TO INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP

42 ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS43 CLEAN SKY, SESAR, NEXTGEN, CRIAQ44 CORAC, SHIFT²RAIL, GALILEO AND EGNOS, COPERNICUS

45 ELABORATION OF STANDARDS45 ETCS45 Environmental footprint standard

REDUCING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT

49 REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS

50 REDUCING CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

51 LIMITING DISCHARGES AND REDUCING WASTE

52 PROTECTING NATURAL SITES AND PRESERVING BIODIVERSITY

55 DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY

Thales is a global company with operations at 160 locations in 56 countries. For more than 15 years, we have been actively protecting the environment, and environmental responsibility is one of the core ethical principles of the company. In addition to having introduced a far-reaching strategy of at source reduction of CO2 emissions, we are involved in a number of programmes and joint technology initiatives designed to support the emission-reduction objectives of our customers and society at large.

Our customers around the world all face the same environmental issues: understand the environment, prepare for the future of air travel, meet the need for sustainable mobility and smarter cities, and reduce their environmental footprint at the same time. Every day, they draw on our technical expertise and capacity for innovation to step up to these critical challenges.

Patrice CAINEChairman and CEO, Thales

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

Contents

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TRANSPORTRECONCILING SECURITY, GROWTH

AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

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Air pollution, fuel consomption, noise pollution… Air transport is frequently singled out as one of the most polluting modes of transport - although it contributes to only 2% of global man-made CO2 emissions. Yet, the industry continues to grow with over 3.4 billion air passengers in 2014. Worldwide, 52 aircraft now take off every minute.

In the context of a global average traffic growth of around 5% per year, generating economic development, all aviation actors have embarked on an ambi-tious environmental policy based on increasing the energy efficiency of the sector, while improving safety and efficiency.

As the only global aerospace company with leadership positions in both onboard equipment (flight control systems, in-flight entertainment systems, etc.) and ground equipment (radar, air traffic management systems, etc.), Thales is on the front lines, using its research capacity to develop innovative operational solutions that address the major challenges facing the civil aviation industry: safety and security, growth in traffic volumes, and better energy efficiency from gate to gate.

DID YOU KNOW?• Our Integrated Modular Avionics concept, adopted for the first time on the Airbus A380 programme, has reduced the weight of the avionics hardware by 15-20% and boosted onboard computing capacity at the same time.

• Today’s in-flight entertainment systems weigh 40% less than the equipment that was being installed 10 years ago.

AIR TRANSPORT

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Avionics is all of the electronic, electrical and computer equipment that helps to control a fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter during every phase of the flight.

Thales brings to the table more than 30 years of experience and expertise in designing and developing complex, intelligent flight management systems. We are constantly developing new functions for these systems, making aircraft safer and reducing their environmental impact.

An intelligent Flight Management System determines an aircraft’s optimal trajectory in order to reduce noise, emissions and energy consumption during all phases of a flight (take-off, climb, cruise, descent and arrival).

Flight controls access weather data to avoid sudden changes to flight plans and longer flights. They also keep air traffic flowing smoothly and reduce unnecessary wait times above airports.

OPTIMAL TAKE-OFF AND CLIMBAs part of the European Clean Sky programme, Thales has led the development of a new way for aircraft to take off. This procedure automatically adjusts speed, altitude and thrust to reduce noise levels for local residents as well as helping airlines to save on fuel costs.

4D FLIGHTThales is participating in ongoing experiments as part of the SESAR I-4D flight programme. Flight paths are currently calculated and managed using the three dimensions of altitude, longitude and latitude. Adding the fourth dimension - time - makes it possible to manage aircraft separations more efficiently in any given sector.The new solutions being developed today significantly reduce congestion and delays in terminal airspace to avoid unnecessary fuel burn and improve the passenger experience.

CONTINUOUS DESCENT ARRIVALContinuous descent arrival is a flight technique designed to achieve better fuel efficiency and quieter landings compared with the normal step-down arrival procedure. The aircraft descends on a constant slope with the engines at idle or minimal power settings, and airframe noise is reduced by the delayed deployment of flaps and landing gear. Introduced in 2010, the new approach concept should be widely adopted when regulatory approval procedures are complete.Continuous descent arrival can economise 100-200 kg of the 2,000 kg of fuel carried by an A320 on a short 45-minute flight.

LANDING AT ANY AIRPORTThales is developing a new type of approach known as Localiser Performance with Vertical Guidance (LPV) and based on the EGNOS satellite navigation systems for Europe.Aircraft equipped with LPV can land at any airport, even when ILS (Instrument Landing System) systems are not available, limiting the need to install additional equipment on the ground. Another major benefit of LPV is that an aircraft can land at the nearest airport if it suddenly needs to change its flight plan instead of having to fly hundreds of miles to the nearest airport equipped with ILS.

WEIGHT: A CRITICAL FACTOR

The heavier an aircraft is, the more fuel it consumes. Thales researchers and engineers are constantly investigating new materials that could make onboard equipment lighter while maintaining or even improving performance levels. An ideal illustration of this effort is Thales’s Integrated Modular Avionics concept, which reduces the number of equipment items installed on board aircraft and makes them less complex. First implemented on the A380 programme, this type of electronics architecture optimises onboard computing resources, cutting the weight of

hardware components by 15-20% while increasing computing power and extending equipment lifetime.Simpler onboard systems can bring major benefits during the service life of an aircraft. On the A320 programme, for example, Thales redesigned the onboard computers that had been used for 20 years. Without changing the form factor to minimise the impact on the aircraft’s other systems, Thales developed new, more powerful computers that weigh 70 kg less - the equivalent of one additional passenger per aircraft.

Air crews require a lot of paper documentation every time an aircraft takes off, so Thales has developed a digital alternative to paper documentation in the cockpit.

The innovative TopWings solution comprises hardware and software subsystems that incorporate aerial maps and other data, allowing aircraft to exchange information with flight dispatchers in real time.

Less paper on every flight

ENERGY EFFICIENT FLYING

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TOWARDS AN ALL-ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT

All-electric commercial aircraft may still be a pipe dream, but «more electric» aircraft are already a reality. On the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, for example, the proportion of electrically powered systems has more than tripled compared to the previous generation of aircraft. Planemakers like what they see. Their new aircraft offer better fuel efficiency, a smaller carbon footprint and fewer nitrogen oxide emissions — and they’re also more reliable and less costly to maintain. Thanks to innovative solutions from Thales, a number of hydraulic or pneumatic aircraft systems have now gone electric.

For example, incorporating electric motors in aircraft wheels could allow them to taxi without using their main engines, offering fuel savings of around 4% for a short or medium-haul aircraft. In another area, many aircraft systems processors, navigation instruments, flap controls, lighting, ventilation and in-flight entertainment systems, for example - are already electrically powered. New applications like engine starting are now going electric on modern aircraft. Thales also offers power-conversion solutions to power the various electrical networks of an aircraft. These solutions are now fully certified and in service on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and A350 XWB.

Finally, Thales’s electronics architecture to power all types of electrical load on an aircraft incorporates a new intelligent power management function that dynamically combines demand and pools resources as needed.

On average, electrical systems cover one-quarter of an aircraft’s energy needs today. Tomorrow, there will be a need to significantly increase the power of electrical generation and conversion systems to power all of an aircraft’s systems, on the ground and in flight, while continuing to make systems lighter, more compact and easier to maintain.

Thales is already working to meet these challenges.

Thales’s new helicopter simulation system consumes 10 times less energy than the previous generation of simulators. This boost in performance is the result of an innovative motion system called Hexaline®, which is no longer based on a hydraulic system but on electrical energy, making it more energy-efficient and eliminating waste and pollution. The new system also consumes half as much energy as comparable electrical movement systems produced by competitors. This major innovation also benefits customers by considerably reducing both waste and operating costs.

Wind turbines interfere with radars used for civil aviation, defence systems and weather forecasting, masking aircraft in radar images and triggering false alarms. The issue has led several countries to postpone wind energy projects.

Thales has developed a new material that absorbs broadband radio frequencies. The Radar Cross-Section (RCS) of objects coated with the new material is reduced significantly - up to 99% in the case of wind turbine - thereby reducing interference or eliminating it completely.

This system complements an existing solution consisting of a series of algorithms that enable radars to determine whether a radar echo is an aircraft or a turbine to reduce false alarm rates for air traffic controllers. Thales demonstrated the performance of this system at Scotland’s Inverness Airport, which is surrounded by 141 wind turbines.

An eco-designed helicopter simulator that reduces actual flight hours and cuts energy consumption

Living with wind turbines

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DID YOU KNOW?Thales’s Seltrac© CBTC solution reduces metro network energy consumption by up to 15% and transports 3 billion passengers a year.

In today’s increasingly urbanised world, creating sustainable conditions for urban mobility and intercity travel is an important way of reducing CO2.

For over 30 years, Thales has been helping city authorities and large-scale transport network operators to meet increasing demand for more efficient travel. The challenge is clear: to convince committed motorists to switch to other, more efficient modes of transport by offering them options that are cheaper, quicker and more comfortable.

RAIL TRANSPORTATION

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MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE METROS

ECO-DRIVING ON MAINLINE NETWORKS

MORE RAIL TRAFFIC AND FASTER TRAINS THROUGHOUT EUROPE

Each year, metro and urban rail networks transport over 40 billion passengers worldwide, with less of an environmental impact than cars.

Optimising electricity consumption is a critical issue for mainline transport networks. Thales’s train traffic management systems reduce electricity consumption by up to 10% by smoothing out wasteful braking and acceleration cycles. For example, through better anticipation and management of train traffic, a train that needs to let another train pass when approaching a signal box will be able to slow down rather than stopping completely. The driver’s instrument panel is constantly updated with messages about traffic optimisation, and algorithms take rolling stock and track geometry data into account to adjust the train’s speed and maximise energy savings.

Getting more passengers to choose trains over cars is a key environmental goal that can be met by increasing network capacity, reducing travel time and making European networks more interoperable.

Given the high financial and environmental costs of building a new rail network, adding capacity will mainly involve renovating existing networks and using them more efficiently. Europe’s answer to these challenges is the European Train Control System (ETCS), which also ensures the interoperability of rail networks across national borders.

ADJUSTING TRAFFIC TO MEET PASSENGER NEEDSThales’s Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) technology for metro lines reduces the time and headway between trains, allowing operators to vary traffic levels according to user needs and making urban rail systems more efficient. The capacity of the London Underground’s Jubilee line, for example, was increased by 20% to accommodate visitors during the 2012 Olympic Games. The CBTC system was also deployed in Mecca for the 2010 pilgrimage, transporting up to 72,000 passengers an hour when demand was the highest. The ability to transport large numbers of passengers during peak times is key to meeting the mobility needs of densely populated cities.

REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY UP TO 15%Reducing energy consumption is a top priority for metro operators. Thales’s Seltrac© CBTC solution reduces metro network energy consumption by up to 15%. It uses sophisticated algorithms to limit energy-intensive stop/start cycles and switch

off power at pre-determined locations so that trains can coast on their own accumulated power whenever possible.This solution protects the environment while reducing operating costs. For an average metro line, the solution cuts CO2 emissions by around 14,000 tonnes a year, the equivalent of taking 6,000 cars off the road.

REDUCING TRACTION ENERGY Traction energy consumption can be significantly reduced over an entire network by controlling train speeds (slowing trains down when scheduling permits) and optimising timetables in real time to match the number of trains to the level of passenger traffic. By synchronising train departures and arrivals at stations, the braking energy from an arriving train can help a departing train to accelerate.

OPTIMISING ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN STATIONS Thales’s metro command and control systems help optimise electricity consumption in stations

through the real-time management of services like lighting, elevators and escalators, which can be turned off or put into sleep mode depending on user needs.

Thales’s AlTrac ETCS system optimises train power through real-time movement authorisations. Each train follows an individual speed profile that is constantly updated throughout its journey. In Austria, for example, the solution has reduced travel times on the Salzburg-Vienna by 23 minutes, allowing 30% more trains to operate each day.

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REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF CITIES

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DID YOU KNOW?City managers use Thales solutions to pull together information from multiple sources - water and energy consumers, subscribers to public and private services, transport users, etc. - to improve citizens’ quality of life.

By 2050, cities will be home to 70% of the world’s population and will generate 80% of all CO2 emissions. Already faced with growing pressure on space availability and transport systems, cities are revisiting their strategic priorities and planning for a model of development that is more sustainable, smarter and more creative.

New information and communication technologies are at the centre of these strategies, improving city management by collecting and analysing key data (traffic monitoring, pollution measurements, etc.) and facilitating decision-making processes.

Thales is at the heart of the transformation process. The Group has been working with some of the world’s largest cities for several decades, helping to build more functional, collaborative and interconnected urban communities where technology is used to improve the quality of life.

COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION, DATA AND TRAFFIC:OPTIMISING FLOWS TO MAKE CITIES SMARTER AND SAFER

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CITIES: FERTILE GROUND FOR INNOVATION

Cities are a nexus of resources and skills, providing unique opportunities for different stakeholders to come together and share ideas and making them a fertile ground for innovation. Thales is a trusted partner of governments and major companies, working with them to design and develop the solutions that will shape the cities of the future.

POOLING DATA TO IMPROVE DECISION MAKINGSmart cities make use of the masses of information available to them to deliver high-quality services to their citizens - from security and transport to energy, sanitation, water and healthcare.

Today cities must tap into the huge volumes of data generated every day to better manage services and anticipate user needs in an increasingly complex environment. With a more joined-up approach to city management and a wider choice of services available, local authorities can enhance the quality of life of their citizens, attract new businesses and drive sustainable economic growth.

Thales’s Smart City Platform is a modular solution that smoothly integrates all of a city’s services. Its intuitive interface offers operators a comprehensive picture of situations using diverse data from different systems so they can coordinate their teams better, anticipate actions and make faster, more informed decisions. It allows them to work together to manage daily

operations and crisis situations and is a valuable tool for long-term urban planning.

Big data technologies also offer major benefits for citizens by mining the enormous quantities of data produced by connected cities. Smartphones, public lighting, transport systems, billboards and displays, access control systems in public places and CCTV cameras are just some of the ever-increasing number of connected urban objects managed by different types of information systems. According to some projections1, there will be 50 billion connected objects by 2020. With a world population of 7.6 billion, that’s seven objects per person, compared to just 0.03 in 2003.

Thales’s expertise covers the full spectrum of Big data technologies, from data collection to storage, analysis and visualisation. These technologies will allow urban policy-makers and stakeholders to work more closely together to understand and anticipate the needs of city dwellers and respond to their expectations.

By pulling together information from multiple data sources - water and energy consumers, subscribers to public and private services, transport users, etc. - city managers now have powerful tools at their fingertips to know what citizens want and set up the appropriate channels of communication (websites, mobile apps, etc.).

Thales is working with cities around the world to develop these new tools and discover the untold treasures lying in today’s huge silos of underused data. Big data is the new El Dorado for smart cities. It’s the key to their ability to provide citizens the services they expect - and some they never even dreamed of!

The Unité Mixte de Recherche en Sciences Urbaines (UMR-SU)*, which opened in Quebec in 2015, is an innovation hub combining the experience of academic and industry experts, city planners and city managers.

Managed by Thales Research & Technology, the research centre - the only one of its kind in the world - aims to develop the city planning solutions of the future, addressing issues such as sustainable mobility, water and wastewater management, electricity, urban spaces, infrastructure and more.

A full-scale urban laboratory in Quebec Researchers at the centre have access to a full-scale laboratory. The city of Quebec provides access to its information systems so they can use real data to design and test intelligent solutions for the cities of tomorrow.

1 Cisco IBSG survey published in 2012

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Terra Dynamica is a French cluster collaboration project (Cap Digital - Advancity) sponsored by Thales and its partners to create a 3D simulated city platform brought to life by artificial intelligence.

The programme can show up to 30,000 «intelligent» urban actors (pedestrians, cars, etc.), each with its own «personality» that allows it to behave autonomously. By simulating flows of people and automobiles in a city, Terra Dynamica helps city stakeholders find the best

Terra dynamica: a living citysolutions for urban development, road traffic optimisation and pedestrian traffic management. With 3D visuals and sound, users can understand a situation from a technical or conceptual standpoint and actually experience proposed changes firsthand. The programme is a valuable tool for stakeholders, who can precisely determine, for example, the quietest place to build a childcare facility or how to ensure the safety of pedestrians walking to an exhibition centre.

The tool was developed in time to play a role in several projects under way as part of the Grand Paris project. Terra Dynamica can be used, for example, to show the public the inside of new train stations, how passengers will move around, outdoor facilities, their urban surroundings, etc.

GREEN IT

Since the late 1990s, Green IT has raised its profile, and sustainable ICT2 is now a key component of the sustainable development strategies of organisations everywhere.

GREEN IT 1.0A continuous improvement process that aims to reduce the environmental impact of IT throughout the life-cycle of hardware and software, including design, use, pollution and waste management.

Thales designs and transforms its datacentres - and its customers’ IT infrastructure and datacentres - to continuously reduce their environmental footprint by improving the performance of electrical installations and climate control systems.Thales’s information systems are eco-designed to limit their environmental impact throughout their life cycle.

Thales’s cloud computing services use resources more efficiently and optimise loads to enhance the overall performance of IT infrastructure.

GREEN IT 1.5A continuous improvement process that aims to improve the environmental footprint, economic performance and social responsibility of an organi-sation through ICT, for example by reducing travel, switching to fully electronic data exchange or using sustainable development information systems to measure and simulate environmental footprints (including carbon accounting, software for rating suppliers’ environmental performance, CSR mana-gement and reporting tools). With its eco-designed cloud computing solutions, Thales designs collaborative information systems, podcasting and videoconferencing systems (e-learning, conference, briefings, etc.) that allow customers to cut down on travel needs.

GREEN IT 2.0A continuous improvement process that aims to improve the environmental footprint, economic performance and social responsibility of a pro-duct or service through ICT, for example by adding an eco-driving function to GPS, using smart grids, optimising energy use in buildings, developing e-commerce, promoting smart management of mobility and transport systems, and helping to plan and develop smart cities.

The state-of-the-art solutions described in this document all apply the principles of Green IT 2.0.

2 Information and Communication Technology

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A smart city is a city that runs more smoothly, is more intuitive and strives to create the condi-tions for sustainable mobility. By improving the passenger experience on public transport sys-tems, cities around the world are addressing the major issues of fighting air pollution and reducing traffic congestion.

For nearly 40 years, Thales has been designing intelligent systems that allow operators to provide better service to passengers, helping cities to reduce their carbon footprint.

IMPROVING THE PASSENGER EXPERIENCE DID YOU KNOW?

Thales’s road traffic management solutions deliver measurable results:

• 20% reduction in travel times • 5% reduction in emissions• 60% reduction in traffic jams during peak travel times• 70% reduction in accidents at toll booths due to reduced queues.

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EASING CONGESTION

MAKING ACCESS EASIER

Thales’s urban traffic control systems allow operators to regulate traffic flows and address black spots on the roads in real time in order to make traffic flow smoothly by optimising traffic light sequences, for example. As a result, drivers spend less time in their cars, reducing their fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Thales deployed this type of system in Strasbourg, one of the first cities in France to make environmental issues a priority. The automatic traffic information and control system (SIRAC) can also manage pedestrian areas and available parking spaces. It uses more than 800 control points to deliver real-time traffic metrics at individual junctions and crossings, allowing controllers to prioritise public transport vehicles, improve traffic flows and cut congestion.

In Seine-Saint-Denis, near Paris, the GERFAUT system regulates more than 600 traffic lights, with the aim of limiting pollution due to road congestion and improving the traveller experience. The solution prioritises intermodal mobility - all public transport vehicles (trams and buses) are given right of way at traffic lights - and helps to

Thales has deployed high-tech fare collection systems in countries known for their commitment to environmental protection, including the Netherlands, Denmark, New Zealand and Canada. These systems allow passengers to use a single ticket to travel on different modes of transport in a given region or even across an entire country.

Thales replaced all the fare collection systems in the Netherlands with a single ticket system based

manage traffic at peak periods around Le Bourget for the Paris Air Show, for example, and around the Stade de France when a big game is scheduled. A network of traffic sensors, traffic video and weather stations provides constant updates on travel conditions, while signs provide roadway and public transport users with up-to-date information.

Thales also deploys traffic information systems that provide drivers with near-real-time data on traffic conditions and advises them how to avoid traffic jams. In the United Kingdom, for example, Thales developed the National Traffic Information Service for the Highways Agency.

Innovative urban toll collection systems designed by Thales regulate vehicle flows coming into cities. In Brisbane, Australia, journey times are reduced and road safety is improved thanks to Free-Flow Tolling, a latest-generation electronic toll system from Thales.

This tolling technology is unlike any other on the market. It authorises contactless payments, eliminating the starts and stops required by traditional toll systems, increases the capacity of

existing roads and reduces operating costs while cutting carbon emissions. The system also helps to keep drivers safe, having reduced the number of accidents on the Brisbane toll road by 70%.

Thales recently equipped the ring road around Mexico City with a high-performance electronic toll system based on RFID technology that also helps traffic flow more smoothly as drivers enter and exit the roadway.

Satellite navigation systems, such as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), also help to optimise road traffic flows.

The DreamGate automatic fare collection system represents a step change in safety and security for operators and passengers, boosting operational performance and reducing environmental impact. It is smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient, and features a 3D camera and smart actuators to reduce the number of components needed and make it easier to install and maintain.

DreamGate, an environmentally responsible automatic fare collection system

on contactless technology. Passengers can now use the same ticket for any type of journey, and the system allocates revenues from ticket sales to the country’s different transport operators. The solution has been deployed in 12 provinces and 16 major cities and brings together the systems used by 17 transport operators.

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Fare collection systems generate large volumes of data on passenger travel and profiles, making them ideal applications for Big data technologies.Since the end of 2009, travellers in the Greater Toronto area have been using a state-of-the-art system called Presto, designed and developed by Thales, to ride trains, buses and the metro system with a single contactless ticket valid across the entire network. About a dozen different public transport operators have adopted Presto.

The system’s Business Analytics functions use a network of fixed and handheld ticket validators to determine mobility patterns across this huge metropolitan area, stretching more than 200 km along the shore of Lake Ontario. Based on the results, new services can be developed and tailored to actual needs. For example, areas with fewer passengers can be better served by using smaller buses, creating line detours, combining modes of transport, etc.

In addition, an entire transportation network can be modelled by combining this ticketing data with information from signalling and supervision systems — another area where Thales is a world market leader. This makes it possible to predict the consequences of a service disruption caused by

maintenance work or bad weather, for example, and plan alternative forms of transport for passengers.

The possibilities are endless. Thales brings to the table a range of expertise and an in-depth understanding of transport operators’ business processes. We are therefore in an excellent position to choose the best Big data technologies and the best analytics and visualisation tools to extract as much relevant information as possible and present it in a way that operators can understand. All of these solutions make cities run more smoothly, consume less energy and improve citizen well-being.

Thales has designed a real-time transport calculator that allows smartphone users to plan their journey by using a combination of all available modes of transport. The prototype app is powered by data from transport operators, car-sharing and car-pooling services, as well as road traffic information systems. It is designed to track 41 million journeys every day throughout the Paris region and will support up to a million real-time queries. The app helps passengers to use public transport more efficiently by giving them a specific indication of how much time they are saving.

Multi-modal transport in a single app

Thales designed the EcoNet© application to monitor electric car charging networks in Spain. The application covers all types of charging (slow, semi-fast and fast) at a variety of locations, such as service stations, car parks, local communities, vehicle fleets, etc.

Thanks to EcoNet©, administrators can optimise charging based on electricity prices, manage pricing depending on various criteria (location, date, time, etc.) along with user consumption and billing, monitor the condition of all charging stations, track maintenance needs, etc.

EcoNet© optimises the use of electric carsA dedicated portal for desktop computers, mobile phones and tablets allows users to locate charging stations on a map, find the closest station, view a station’s availability, display their car’s consumption history, calculate the optimal time and type of charge or reserve time at a charging station. The EcoNet© solution is already being used by the Technology Park of Andalusia in Malaga and IBIL (a joint venture between the Basque Government and the energy company Repsol), the largest network of charging stations in service in Spain.

IMPROVING SERVICE THROUGH DATA ANALYSIS

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OBSERVING THE EARTH TO BETTER UNDERSTAND

THE ENVIRONMENTTo protect the environment, we need accurate information about how the natural environment is changing and how human settlement is affecting it. Satellites can provide reliable and highly accurate information over long periods of time and on a global scale, even in regions where there is no human presence but where the effects of human activities can be measured - so satellite data is a perfect complement to measurements taken on the ground. Observation of the Earth from space is crucial to defining and implementing responsible environmental policies at local, national, regional and international levels.

Thales Alenia Space3 works with governments, scientists and industry stakeholders to support environmental monitoring programmes. For over 30 years, the company has been a leading supplier of European Earth observation satellites, the Meteosat system - a global standard in geostationary meteorological monitoring - and Poseidon radar altimeters, which have paved the way for operational oceanography.

By developing climate models that provide an idea of what the world of the future may look like, satellites play a vital role in monitoring and understanding climate issues. Thales is proud to contribute to their success.

3 Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%)

Copyright ESA/NASA (2015)

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OBSERVING THE EARTH FROM SPACE

COPERNICUS, THE EUROPEAN EARTH OBSERVATION PROGRAMME

MONITORING GREENHOUSE GASES

Thales plays a major role in the European Copernicus programme4, which combines data from environmental satellites and on-site measurement instruments to produce a comprehensive overview of the state of our planet.

The programme’s space component uses the Sentinel constellation of satellites. Sentinel 1’s mission is to monitor the planet using radar sensors, in all types of weather, day and night. The satellite is tracking changes in the polar ice caps, monitoring marine pollution and oil spills, mapping ground movements, improving emergency services and studying the planet’s forests, water and soil. The Sentinel 1A satellite was launched into polar orbit in 2014.

Monitoring greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, is a major challenge that involves identifying human sources of emissions and studying carbon sinks and how they are evolving as a result of climate change.Two complementary Earth observation initiatives - the French Microcarb programme and the European Carbonsat programme - are working together to meet these objectives.

As a first-tier partner of various international agencies (ESA, Eumetsat, CNES, ASI, NASA, etc.), Thales contributes to nearly all of Europe’s climate missions.

Sentinel 3 will monitor the conditions of oceans (currents, marine life, etc.), ice caps and coastal areas (pollution, currents, etc.). These measurements will allow us to better monitor the impact of climate change (melting ice, rise in sea level, etc.), enhance maritime security and make weather forecasting more accurate by helping to understand interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere.

The data from Sentinel 3 will be compiled for a global vegetation monitoring mission to determine the current status of the Earth’s natural resources and help to plan future development.

4 Formerly Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) a joint initiative of the European Union and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Copyright ESA/NASA (2015)

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METEOROLOGY

For 30 years, millions of people have been getting daily weather updates based on images taken by Meteosat, a family of satellites developed by Thales Alenia Space for the European Space Agency (ESA) and Eumetsat5.

These satellites have brought vivid images of highs and lows, low-pressure systems and cloud cover right to our television screens and smartphones.

Data collected by Meteosat satellites is not only used to generate daily weather forecasts but is also critical to anticipating abrupt weather events, such as hurricanes, storms and floods, and monitoring long-term climate change.

With a launch date in July 2015, MSG-4 - the final second-generation Meteosat satellite (see box) - is the 10th meteorological satellite developed by Thales Alenia Space to be placed into orbit since the late 1970s. With the new satellite, weather forecasting will take a giant step forward, with significantly better short-term reliability. The satellite’s mission is also being expanded thanks to an additional instrument that will analyse gases in the atmosphere.

DID YOU KNOW?Every day, over half of the world gets weather forecasts from satellites built by Thales Alenia Space.

On 24th January 2015, Meteosat-7, the 7th and last of the 1st generation Meteosat satellites, became the longest-serving Eumetsat satellite ever, at 17 years, 4 months and 23 days. Launched in September 1997, the satellite had a contractual life cycle of 5 years and is still operating above the Indian Ocean.

Meteosat-7 served as the transition between the 1st six Meteosat satellites and the four second-generation satellites, all developed by Thales Alenia Space for ESA and Eumetsat. The last European meteorological satellite (MSG-3, second-generation Meteosat, 3rd model) was launched in 2012. It was joined in 2015 by the 4th and final second-generation model (MSG-4).

Meteosat: a long line of weather satellites

5 The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.

Thales Alenia Space is also the prime contractor for the Meteosat Third-Generation (MTG) satellites, developed in partnership with OHB of Germany. In addition to significantly improving the satellite’s imaging performance, the MTG will be the first satellite to conduct a hyperspectral sounding mission from a geostationary orbit.

Information based on imagery of the globe and hyperspectral sounding of the atmosphere will also deliver unprecedented volumes of data on water vapour and temperature profiles. The increase in the amount of historical data available will help climatologists better understand how the climate is evolving.

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Edisoft, a Thales joint venture in Portugal, has developed and supplied products and services for Earth observation and especially oceanography for more than ten years.

The company was chosen by the European Maritime Safety Agency to contribute to the CleanSeaNet programme. CleanSeaNet analyses satellite images on behalf of EU member states in order to identify illegal or accidental oil spills in territorial waters. The programme uses data sent by satellites such as Envisat, Radarsat-1 and -2 and Sentinel 1, the first Copernicus satellite, to the Santa Maria ground station in the Azores.

CleanSeaNet

THE FUTURE OF OCEANOGRAPHY HAS ARRIVED

6 Large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by temperature and salinity fluxes in water masses.

7 Jason is a joint CNES-NASA mission.8 In collaboration with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

THE POSEIDON REVOLUTIONThales Alenia Space has been the world leader in operational oceanography since the early 1990s with its Poseidon radar altimeters. Poseidon technology, developed in partnership with CNES and tested on the Topex satellite beginning in 1992, revolutionised the world of oceanography. Its accurate measurements identified the mechanisms of the thermohaline circulation6 of the world’s oceans - a driver of the Earth’s climate - and showed the rise in sea levels due to climate change.

All satellites in the Jason mission7, which followed the Topex-Poseidon mission in the early 2000s, are equipped with Poseidon radar altimeters.

Jason-3, which will be launched in 2015, will focus on measuring sea levels to provide data for climate change monitoring and projection models.

In January 2015, Thales Alenia Space was selected to develop8 the new Surface Water & Ocean Oceanography (SWOT) oceanographic satellite for the French space agency CNES and NASA in the United States.

Scheduled to launch in 2020 for a three-year demonstration mission, SWOT will collect both oceanographic and hydrological data.

As part of its oceanographic mission, the French-American satellite will allow researchers to determine ocean surface and wave levels, with a better resolution than the Jason satellites. This information will be used to analyse and understand the effects of coastal circulation on marine life, ecosystems, water quality and energy transfers, providing a better understanding of the relationship between oceans and the atmosphere.

The satellite’s hydrological mission will involve measuring changes in water levels in wetlands, lakes and reservoirs and the flows of rivers on continental land masses.

OCEANOGRAPHY

In the planet’s climate system, the interaction between oceans, ice caps and the atmosphere is critical. The balance between these three systems controls the Earth’s climate, but today that balance is being affected by climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

Oceans were, for long, the least understood part of the planet. They were once believed to be static, until satellites proved otherwise. Space oceanography is a relatively new discipline: Seasat, the first satellite entirely dedicated to ocean science, was launched in 1978. Satellites are the only way to obtain a comprehensive picture of the oceans. They continuously collect data on sea-surface height with an accuracy of within 1 cm - critical to understanding ocean phenomena and verifiable thanks to onboard radar sensors - and measure winds, currents, eddies, salinity, etc.

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UNMANNED SYSTEMS ON THE LOOK-OUT

EARTHLAB - THE FIRST GLOBAL NETWORK OF ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING CENTRES

Missions that were once carried out by aircraft or helicopter - forest fire monitoring, radioactivity measurements, marine pollution detection, etc. - can now be conducted by unmanned air systems (UAS) at lower cost and with greater accuracy. Created in 2010 at the initiative of the Aquitaine regional council (Western France) and Thales, the high-skilled network for UAS development and operations known as the AETOS cluster brings

OBSERVING THE EARTHFROM THE SKY

together 80 of the region’s aerospace companies and research laboratories. The network has already produced operational UAS applications such as forest monitoring solutions, which have been tested by firefighters in the densely forested Landes region of France.

Other ongoing R&D projects include high-precision reconnaissance for vineyards, monitoring everything from soil conditions to the health

of the vines, automated aerial surveillance of underground gas and oil pipelines, and maritime surveillance, including pollution detection, for coastal areas.

Unmanned systems do not provide the same perspectives as manned aircraft or helicopters. They can add to the immersive experience and provide valuable additional information. Ideal for conducting routine surveillance of industrial and natural sites, these systems have yet to reach their full potential, and many new applications are in the pipeline.

The EarthLab Galaxy programme was created in response to the environmental challenges facing our planet. Initiated in 2013 by Telespazio*, the EarthLab programme combines research centres and dedicated operational service units.

The international EarthLab network is being deployed at local level all over the globe, leveraging

all available Earth-observation assets and digital technologies to better understand and monitor the environment.

Ten EarthLab centres are planned around the world.Three are already up and running, in France (Bordeaux), Gabon (near Libreville) and Luxembourg. These centres provide operational monitoring of the environment through both space-based (optical and radar) and aerial (unmanned aerial systems, microlights, etc.) sensing platforms to deliver data that enable EarthLab to conceive and implement solutions matching the exact needs of industry, farming, oil companies, shipowners and other sectors, working closely with users from the early stages of design through to the operational phase. Created in 2013, EarthLab Aquitaine is the original nucleus of the EarthLab Galaxy and is developing a range of end-to-end digital remote-sensing services for viticulture, silviculture and coastal and shoreline monitoring.

The EarthLab centre in Gabon is focused on monitoring of forests, land occupancy, preventing marine pollution and tracking shipping traffic.

In Luxembourg, the EarthLab centre offers a new generation of industrial and environmental riskmonitoring services. These geo-information services are geared towards natural and industrial risk assessment, risk exposure for public and private insurance companies, strategic economic assessment and asset management.

EarthLab’s ambition is to help through remote sensing and dissemination of digital tools to foster a new development model that more closely combines economic, social and environmental factors.

LandAgriculture - Vineyards

Agriculture - Field cropsAgriculture - Orchards

ForestsCoasts

Land use

OceansMaritime traffic

FishingOffshore operations

Sea ice

SecurityIndustrial sites

Natural disastersEpidemiological risks

HackingSporting event tracking

ClimateWater management

Air qualityBiomass

EARTHLAB: OVER 20 AREAS OF FOCUS IN 4 MAIN FIELDS

9 A Finmeccanica/Thales joint venture

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Thales is a key stakeholder in major national and international programmes aimed at managing and coordinating research and technological development projects to improvethe environmental footprint in transport.THALES,

A COMMITMENT TOINTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMMES

CLEAN SKY SESAR CONSORTIUMFOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN AEROSPACE IN QUEBEC (CRIAQ)

NEXTGEN

Thales is a founding member of Clean Sky, one of the largest European research programmes ever. The objective of this public-private initiative is to speed adoption of new greener design practices by an industry which traditionally has long design cycles and product lifetimes.

The environmental goals for the Clean Sky initiative, which need to be achieved by 2020, have been set by ACARE, the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe:• 50% reduction of CO2 emissions through significant reductions in fuel consumption• 80% reduction of NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions• noise levels reduced by 50%• a green product life cycle (design, manufacturing, maintenance and disposal/recycling).

Thales is coordinating one of the six main research topics, «Systems for Green Operations», which aims to reduce aircraft energy consumption through trajectory management, notably during take-off and approaches. It is also coordinating Clean Sky’s «Technology Evaluator», a simulation tool to assess the environmental impact of the programme.

Thales is also a major player on the SESAR programme launched by the European Commission in 2004. One of SESAR’s key objectives is to reduce the environmental footprint of the civil aviation sector.Several specific targets have been set:• By 2020, reduce CO2 emissions by 10% per flight (against a 2005 baseline)• Reduce aircraft noise emissions by 20 dB during take off and landing• Increase the influence of local environmental

regulations on air traffic management decisions.

Thales is also partnering a project led by the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec (CRIAQ), a non-profit organisation established in 2002 to increase the competitiveness of the aerospace industry. Now in its second phase, this project is currently focusing on new wing architectures in an effort to reduce drag and in turn bring down fuel consumption. Such advances will also shorten take-off and landing distances, since aircraft will be able to take off and land at slower speeds.

To achieve their environmental goals, aircraft manufacturers must improve aircraft designs, with more fuel-efficient engines and lighter, more aerodynamic structures. With aircraft life cycles of 30 years or more, these changes will not happen overnight, but considerable progress has already been made. In 1969, the Boeing 747 consumed nearly 12 tonnes of fuel per hour, and the Concorde consumed 20. Today, an Airbus A320 consumes around 5 tonnes an hour and a Boeing 747-8 consumes less than 10 - and both can transport many more passengers than their predecessors. The future has arrived!

The NextGen project (Next Generation Air Transportation System) is the American equivalent of the SESAR programme. Currently under deployment, this project aims to shorten routes, save time and fuel, reduce traffic delays and increase capacity.

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ETCSENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT STANDARD

The European Train Control System (ETCS) was developed in 1996 based on European Union Directive 96/48 on the interoperability of the trans-European rail system.

The ETCS makes trains easier to drive with smartersignalling for optimum operational safety. The system is being deployed by the European Railway Agency (ERA), with technical specifications proposed by UNISIG.

Thales played a key role in defining and implementing this European standard and now offers fully compliant solutions. Thales is the current chair of UNISIG.

Beyond the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from its own activities, Thales encourages its partners to adopt a responsible attitude. Since 2009, Thales co-chairs the working group «Carbon» of GIFAS (Groupement des Industries Aeronautiques et Spatiales) and participates in the working group on Greenhouse Gas of IAEG (International Aerospace Environmental Group) to define international standards. Thales is also involved in partnerships with other manufacturers, research laboratories and government agencies.

ELABORATION OF STANDARDS

CORAC

GALILEO AND EGNOS

SHIFT2RAIL COPERNICUS

The French civil aviation research committee CORAC was created in 2008 following commitments made at that year’s environmental summit (Grenelle de l’Environnement). Thales is coordinating one of the platforms set up to develop extended modular avionics that will optimise flight paths during the cruise phase and should generate fuel savings of 5% and reduce the aircraft’s noise footprint on landing.

Galileo is a European global positioning system project that will end Europe’s dependence on the American GPS system. EGNOS aims to make GPS more accurate and also offers a Safety of Life Service that can be used in civil aviation and other fields.

Thales has been a key player in both of these programmes since they were started. Thales played a major role in launching these programmes, and is now developing receivers and services to maximise user benefits in terms of efficiency and environmental performance.

Following in the footsteps of the Clean Sky and SESAR programmes set up for the aerospace industry in the 2000s, SHIFT2RAIL was launched in July 2014 in a major effort to make the European rail transport sector more competitive. Thales is one of eight founding members of this 1 billion euro programme. The programme’s name is a clear indication of its environmental goal of shifting a large portion of users from the roads to rail. The initiative is a response to Europe’s political resolve to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050 in line with the goals of the 2011 White Paper on Transport.

The SHIFT2RAIL programme also aims to make railtransport more attractive to users and integrate railmore closely with other modes of transport. Key objectives include: • 100% increase in European rail system capacity (in network equivalent)• 50% improvement in reliability (in particular reduction in delays)• 50% reduction in life cycle costs.

The Copernicus programme, formerly known GMES(Global Monitoring for Environment and Security),aims to provide Europe with an autonomous capacity of observation and Earth monitoring. This programme aims to provide Europe with continuous, independent and reliable data in the fields of environment and security, namely the monitoring of the marine environment, atmosphere, land and climate change, and support to emergency and safety procedures.

The Copernicus programme is the European component of the GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems), a global program of Earth observation initiated by the EU, the US, Japan and South Africa.

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REDUCING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL

FOOTPRINT

The Group is committed to reducing the environmental footprint of its activities by analysing their impact and the associated risks for people and the environment. Alongside technical and organisational measures, the most effective ways of delivering performance improvements are to share best practices and support behavioural changes.

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REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONSThales is responding to the major issue of climate change in ways that are directly relevant to its business activities. As well as implementing a strategy of at-source reduction of CO2 emissions, the Group is helping to raise awareness of climate-related issues through a number of programmes and partnerships, while promoting products and services that support the emission-reduction initiatives of its customers and society at large.

Since Thales introduced indicators of CO2 emissions and set emission-reduction targets several years ago, awareness of the impact of Thales’s activities on climate change has grown, and a number of new opportunities have been identified. For example, refurbishing and renovating certain buildings to more stringent ecological standards and changing equipment and consumption habits are just some of the measures taken to improve energy efficiency and in turn reduce CO2 emissions.

Ozone-depleting substances mainly used in refrigeration systems are being monitored and reduced under specific plans, particularly those cited in the Kyoto Protocol. Of these, SF6 accounts for more than 57% of Thales’s CO2 emissions linked to Protocol substances. This gas, used in a specific industrial process to insulate electronic tubes during high-voltage tests, has a very high GWP (global warming potential). The few sites that use SF6 have implemented ambitious plans, such as eliminating it altogether from tube manufacturing processes, or modifying installations that operate using the gas. This enabled emissions to be reduced by 67% between 2007 and 2014.

Thales has also stepped up initiatives to reduce emissions from business travel (by road, air and rail). Efforts have continued to encourage the use of videoconferencing and teleconferencing, car sharing, hiring vehicles with lower fuel consumption, etc.

Thales is one of ten French companies ranked as performance leaders in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Climate Performance Leadership Index 2014.This international non-profit organization is supported by 822 institutional investors managing assets of $95 billion worldwide. Its aim is to assist investment decisions taken by its members by informing them of the effects of climate change on companies.In 2014, the CDP identified 187 performance leaders at global level (out of a total of almost 2,000 companies assessed).

Find out more: www.cdp.net

Fighting climate change: Thales among the best performers

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REDUCING CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

LIMITING DISCHARGES AND REDUCING WASTE

Thales has been developing a natural resources strategy for several years and has introduced various programmes aimed at controlling and reducing consumption. These programmes focus on areas such as energy efficiency of buildings and industrial processes and optimisation of water use.

After reducing its energy consumption by 12% between 2008 and 2012, the Group continued its efforts by achieving a further cut of 5% between 2012 and 2014. The percentage of electricity

In general, Thales’s activities do not generate atmospheric discharges, with the exception of those linked to site operations (in particular heating). A few sites do generate industrial discharges to the atmosphere, which are collected and treated where necessary by means of air filters, gas scrubbers, etc. and are regularly checked.

Together, the Group’s Australian facilities account for 91% of total emissions.

Thales’s activities generate little in the way of industrial wastewater discharges. 90% of

from renewable sources now represents 18% of electricity consumption. New energy-efficient buildings help to reduce energy consumption. Green IT is also used to reduce the environmental footprint of IT equipment and of information systems in general. For example, the use of new-generation inverters and the optimisation of IT equipment have helped reduce energy consumption by over 10% in some cases.Water is a fundamental resource that needs to be preserved.

such discharges originate from just six sites. Despite increases in production at certain sites, wastewater discharges have fallen by 5% since 2013 as a result of ongoing plant optimisation and modernisation measures.

As part of its waste targets, Thales aims to reduce the quantity of waste it produces, as well as improving the recycling rate.

Having reduced the quantity of non-hazardous waste produced per person by 30% between 2008 and 2012, Thales went even further in 2014 and

achieved an additional 6% reduction by introducing various waste sorting measures, finding optimum waste treatment streams and changing behaviours (for example through the introduction of a new printing policy, and the re-use of cardboard and other packaging to reduce waste production and improve waste treatment).The recycling rate for non-hazardous waste stood at 51% in 2014. The Group focuses heavily on hazardous waste, which it manages using dedicated collection and storage areas. As a result of measures taken since 2007, 82% of all waste is now recovered.

The Group’s programme launched in 2000 to reduce water consumption continues to deliver results (34% reduction between 2007 and 2014).

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PROTECTING NATURAL SITES AND PRESERVING BIODIVERSITYPreserving species and their habitats, for example areas containing native flora, and protecting our natural and historic heritage must be a part of our day-to-day efforts to help protect the environment.

The Group has been working to address this major environmental challenge for many years, having drawn up an initial inventory of French sites located in or near protected areas containing rare or endangered flora, fauna and habitats in 2006. It also evaluated the impact of its activities on biodiversity at certain sites, and the extent to which the company is dependent on the «ecosystem services» provided by nature.

At the same time, as part of a macroscopic approach, Thales mapped biodiversity risks at 140 sites in 26 countries in order to obtain a cohesive overview of Group sites located in areas with the highest biodiversity risks.

Although the overall impact of the Group’s activities on biodiversity is low, flora and fauna

are of particular concern at a number of sites, and Thales encourages employees everywhere to preserve and promote biodiversity.

Inventories of species are carried out at certain sites, either on a volunteer basis or in partnership with the authorities or local biodiversity protection organisations, and tailored habitat management measures are put in place. Other sites will focus on outdoor projects to preserve the natural habitat and protect fauna (including bird boxes, feeders, species survey by an expert, etc.) or re-establish native plant species, thereby providing a reasonably safe, protected haven for a huge variety of plants, fungi and animals.

For sites with large areas of open grassland or forest, particular precautions are taken to protect fauna and flora by using natural, low-impact mowing and grazing methods. At other sites, employees are made aware of biodiversity issues through a range of initiatives, including photographic exhibitions devoted to the forest

and to agroforestry or to species present on the site, beekeeping demonstrations, registers of local species and biodiversity blogs.

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DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY

DYON, Thales’s innovative hybrid-energy solution, automatically switches between a vehicle’s auxiliary generator and lithium batteries to power onboard systems in military vehicles and containerised defence systems. Solar panels can also provide additional power.

This system for managing energy production, storage and consumption reduces the logistical footprint of convoys - less fuel to transport, requiring fewer vehicles - cutting CO2 emissions by tens of thousands of tonnes and adding numerous operational benefits such as increased battery life, less noise, fewer emissions and no heat signature.

Reducing the environmentalimpact of military vehicles

For a number of years, Thales has been conducting research and development work on gallium nitride (GaN), a new material with unique properties that can help reduce the environmental impact of electrical and electronic equipment.Gallium nitride is a real technological breakthrough. Its thermal performance offers exceptional potential for reducing energy consumption, and fewer components are required to deliver the same level of power.

RADARS: LESS POLLUTION, BETTER DETECTION AND LESS INTERFERENCE WITH WIND TURBINES

Thales has introduced a number of innovations in its latest generation of radar systems, reducing energy consumption, cutting emissions and using less of the radio spectrum while also improving performance. Examples include the use of gallium nitride and low-consumption multi-layer processors, and the elimination of the moving parts that consume large quantities of energy.

For Thales, innovation goes hand in glove with environmental stewardship. New solutions to prevent wind turbines from interfering with radar systems are a prime illustration. These solutions ensure that operational radar data is reliable and that governments around the world can meet their renewable energy objectives by

expanding the wind energy sector. All categories of radars are affected by wind turbines: air traffic control, defence systems, weather radars, coastal surveillance systems and naval radars operating in littoral waters.Thales innovations include tools that analyse and predict wind turbine effects, then define appropriate mitigations for both. Thales radar processing algorithms can then be updated to meet the needs of both civil and military applications. Thales’s technical expertise is key to the ability to quantify the potential impacts of renewable energy programmes, propose efficient solutions, and engage in constructive dialogue with all the stakeholders to find appropriate solutions.

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