2 Strategy The Group’s environment SAINT-GOBAIN UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2021 39 The Group’s environment 1. Major challenges and opportunities 1.1 Climate change, depletion of natural resources, urbanization and demographic growth, digitalization, changing lifestyles: the world is facing considerable challenges. Saint-Gobain’s responses Decarbonization of the construction and industrial sectors Reduction of material extraction, accelerated movement towards a circular model Solutions for renovation, construction and mobility Acceleration in innovation, collection and use of data Solutions adapted to new uses, adaptation to new demands Megatrends and challenges Climate change Depletion of natural resources Urbanization Digitalization Changing lifestyles These challenges are doubly important for Saint-Gobain: they offer immense growth potential and give the Group the opportunity to make a difference by having a positive impact on the planet and on the lives of all. These are long-term trends, which are mutually reinforcing, and whose effects are made more visible by the occurrence of an economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. activity. In October 2021, Saint-Gobain thus anticipated an increase in its energy and raw materials costs of around €1.5 billion in 2021 compared to 2020, of which €1.1 billion for the second half alone (1). The effects of the latter are still being strongly felt, at the end of 2021, through phenomena such as the disruption of supply chains, the increase in raw material prices, the dynamics of consumption, inflation and, more generally, seesaw effects (sharp falls and recoveries) on economic In general, the pandemic makes it more difficult to forecast in the short and medium term, due to the great variability of its impact from one country to another, as well as the uncertainties that persist on the outcome of the health crisis. However, there is a rebound in growth in 2021 that is greater than the drop in GDP observed in 2020 (2). Growth rate of global GDP, 1990-2026 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2019 (1) Press release, November 6, 2021. (2) International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, October 2021.
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