FReD is based on the three sets of standards established by the business lines (i.e. the three CSR pillars: economic, social and environmental) to create a framework for their entities’ actions:

• FIDES for the economic segment: respect for customers, with the programme launched in 2005 to promote awareness and train people in compliance matters;
• RESPECT for the social segment: respect for employees, with the charter signed by the Group at end-2009;
• DEMETER for the environmental segment: respect for the planet, with the working group on environmental issues set up in 2009.

Each of these themes is associated with 20 progress areas. Entities must choose five areas for each set of standards and organise at least 15 projects.
Action plans are drawn up once the priorities have been set. To be operational, they must have five characteristics: a governance structure, a deadline, a budget, an indicator, and quantified targets. FReD is more than just a support tool; it is also a yardstick designed to assess and monitor the progress of each project. Action plans are divided into five stages to simplify progress assessment

One progress point is earned when the plan moves to the next level. Because FReD was conceived to be objective, it assesses progress rather than absolute values. Year after year, the average of each entity’s self-assessments will be used to compute the Group’s overall progress on the FReD Index.

20 progress areas