On 1 October 2021, Rate A Company, in partnership with Euronews, brought together public institutions and private decision-makers for a business breakfast. Entitled Spearheads of Commitment: CSR, Transparency and Stakeholders, this meeting gave the region’s players the opportunity to sort fact from fiction on environmental and societal impact and to get ahead on these widespread concerns.
At the Euronews headquarters in the Confluence district of Lyon, Rate A Company gathered representatives of the Lyon Metropolitan Authority, the City of Lyon, the CPME, the Medef and the Chamber of Commerce to let them set out their expectations regarding not only environmental but also social and economic initiatives. Opposite them, a panel of representatives from different sectors of the economy took the floor to illustrate what can be done in terms of commitment, and the reasons that led them to do it.
The benefits of CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility – in terms of image and economic returns no longer need proving. Marketing teams and CSR departments are redoubling their efforts to showcase the project that will strike an emotional chord with their customers and project the image of a next-generation employer to future candidates. Yet according to the 2020 BVA survey, 64% of managers and senior professionals believe that companies are not sincere when they commit to society and the environment.
According to the same survey, 78% of French people expect real proof of commitment. Numerous labels and certifications are appearing, adding to the confusion. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, 75% of consumers in France and Germany do not fully trust the brands they buy.
SMEs and mid-sized companies, for their part, hesitate to launch ethical initiatives, having fewer human resources. Unfamiliar with the regulatory framework, the existing tools, their obligations and the penalties they face, the leaders of these human-scale companies remain sceptical despite the urgency and the nudges from public institutions. Although management in smaller organisations is often praised, few managers in turn join this race towards sustainability.
To restore transparency and understanding, and to include everyone in these social and environmental initiatives, Rate A Company takes an innovative and fully inclusive approach. Through its digital platform, Rate A Company invites all of a company’s stakeholders to say which ethical approaches they consider most appropriate and to take part in the company’s CSR success. Through this neutral intermediary, customers, employees, suppliers, service providers, partners and everyone who feels concerned by a company’s activities can take part in this new ethical turn.
As a guarantor of companies’ good faith, this mechanism also falls within the regulatory obligations of the Sapin 2 law, which requires companies with more than 50 employees to set up an anonymous channel for reporting breaches of regulations.
Rate A Company has featured in the trade and general press:
Our first round table was made up of:
Cyril Amprino, Secretary General, CPME Rhône-Alpes
Camille Augey, 11th Deputy Mayor, in charge of Employment, Sustainable and Local Economy, Integration, Trade and Crafts, City of Lyon
Thibaut Bannière, Impact and Innovation Project Manager, Responsible Development delegation, Lyon Metropolitan Authority
Philippe Valentin, President of the Lyon Métropole Saint-Étienne Roanne Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Nicolas Walionis, Managing Partner, AWITECH, representing the direct members of MEDEF Lyon-Rhône
Our second round table, representing CSR initiatives in different sectors, was made up of:
Lucio Campanile, President of the Geiq Regional Committee (Integration)
Jacques Grégoire, Member of the Strategy Committee and the CSR Committee, FC Grenoble Rugby (Sport)
Simon Mirouze, Head of Development and Deputy Director, Envie Rhône-Alpes (Circular economy)
Maxime Robineau, CSR & Project Manager, EUREA group, Gamm Vert (Agriculture and Retail)
