26 / 330
WWW.SAINT-GOBAIN.COM
2
ONE AMBITION: TO IMPROVE THE WELL-BEING OF ALL
1. The Group and its environment
26
SAINT-GOBAIN
- REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2016
THE CHALLENGE OF POPULATION GROWTH AND URBAN
1.3
DEVELOPMENT
for housing and infrastructure, particularly in currently
mid-sized cities that are destined to become megacities
(1)
.
population was living in towns and cities, a figure that will
have almost doubled by 2050
(1)
. The rural exodus today is
concentrated in Asia and Africa, resulting in growing demand
Since 2011, the global population has exceeded the 7 billion
mark and is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050
(1)
. This
demographic growth is accompanied by rapid urbanization.
In 2014, there were 17 countries where more than 90% of the
DEMOGRAPHIC GROWTH AND URBANIZATION
(1)
1910
1950
1980
2013
2050
1.7
bn
2.5
bn
4.5
bn
40%
7.2
bn
52%
9.5
bn
65%
WORLD POPULATION
RATE OF URBAN
DEVELOPMENT
20%
30%
purchasing power of the people and with increasingly high
comfort requirements.
In developing countries faced with the persistence of slums,
access to housing is a major social and economic challenge
that calls for appropriate solutions. At the same time, the
emergence of a vast middle class, including in Africa, is
stimulating new demand in conjunction with increased
THE CHALLENGE OF THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
1.4
with their stakeholders (customers, staff and suppliers).
to avoid new intermediations. For differentiation, it is no
longer just the company’s product that counts, but the
services that go along with it. Digital technology is reshaping
the competitive balance and the way that businesses interact
early 2000s. China, which became the world’s largest market
for B2C online sales in 2015, is catching up quickly in the B2B
segment
(2)
. The low cost of investment to launch an online
commerce platform has reduced barriers to entry, while
asymmetry of information between sellers and customers is
falling. Companies must now be closer to their end customers
Digital technology is redefining trade, with a very high annual
growth rate for e-commerce throughout the world since the
Digital technology is also revolutionizing the way that
factories are organized and is producing a major, gradual
change in production methods, by providing real-time access
to a wealth of information on industrial facilities that are now
interconnected and enabling extensive analysis of these data.
Progress can thus be seen on two fronts: on the one hand, in
Industry 4.0 opens the doors to mass customization, which
relies in particular on locating assets as close as possible to
end customers.
the increase in productivity that results from reductions in
stock, breakdowns, lost time and scrap material and on the
other, in improved flexibility of production processes.
World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, Highlights - United Nations.
(1)
Unlocking the Potential of e-commerce for Developing Countries, 2015 Information Economy Report, United Nations Conference on Trade and
(2)
Development (UNCTAD), 2015.