Ankorstore, Comexposium and WSN sign an unprecedented partnership to combine the best of the digital and physical worlds
Morgan LAVIELLE
Group Communications & CSR Director
Dominique ROYET
Co-founder of Hyssop, CSR consulting agency
What is CSR? Corporate Social Responsibility is a company’s voluntary contribution to sustainability, both in its business activities and its interactions with stakeholders. But how do companies usually do this?
What does it mean for Comexposium?
Morgan LAVIELLE
Group Communications & CSR Director
A graduate of Neoma Business School, Morgan began his career at Unibail-Rodamco where he participated in the definition and deployment of the corporate communication strategy and managed the group’s major events. In 2011, Morgan joined the Carrefour Group to manage the communication of its real estate subsidiary, Carrefour Property, and in 2014 participated in the creation of Carmila, the 3rd largest listed shopping centre company in Continental Europe. Morgan Lavielle joined Comexposium in April 2022 as group communications and CSR director. He supervises the internal and external communications strategy of the Comexposium brand, and monitors the Group’s CSR strategy and commitments.
Dominique ROYET
Co-founder of Hyssop, CSR consulting agency
Dominique Royet is a CSR expert. She made her sustainable transition 20 years ago after leaving the Disney marketing unit by joining the WWF, then Max Havelaar as CEO and co-founding Greenflex, a CSR consulting firm. Today Dominique is co-founder of Hyssop, a global CSR agency, and supports brands to be aligned with their challenges.
In a few words, could you give a definition of CSR?
Dominique Royet : “CSR covers both social, societal, and environmental aspects. It was designed to evolve our development models in order to minimize our environmental impact (waste, carbon emissions, etc.), optimize our societal impact (economic and social performance, positive impact for stakeholders, etc.), while ensuring well-being at work and giving meaning to our activities.”
Is it a communications trend, a duty, or a genuine subject with real depth?
Dominique Royet : ” All three! We are faced with such global challenges that this fundamental issue has become a regulatory tsunami. Moreover, given the strong expectations of stakeholders (customers, suppliers, partners, employees), it is necessary to act and communicate transparently about what the company is doing or cannot do. A company that does not prove it is making progress on these issues will not only be viewed negatively by public opinion but will also lose business, I’m convinced of it, just like many companies today.”
Morgan Lavielle : “That’s right. We can see that our communities are challenging us on the subject, whether it’s on the topic of disability and accessibility for Rétromobile, the decarbonization of the agricultural machinery industry at SIA’PRO, waste optimization at ALLFORPACK, or even employability in almost all of our verticals.”
What steps should a company be taking on CSR?
Dominique Royet : “The first step is to identify the issues, the impacts, and set objectives. At Hyssop, we help companies build ambitious yet realistic action plans, tailored to their maturity and challenges. It’s important to create a roadmap over several years and be credible about what we are doing. The key is to engage all teams so that everyone can take ownership of the topics and learn to do their job differently.”
Morgan Lavielle : “Collective commitment is indeed a prerequisite to achieve this! Obviously, the operations and purchasing teams are driving the subject, working with park managers and event service providers to identify responsible or eco-designed solutions. But other teams practice CSR daily at our events without knowing it, for example by creating employment or training spaces at trade shows, bringing in speakers on environmental or societal issues, selecting exhibitors who offer responsible solutions… All these topics are at the heart of CSR.”
What is Comexposium’s approach?
Morgan Lavielle : “Our ecosystem is finally getting into gear. In France, Unimev (French Union of Event Professions) has published a Commitment for Green Growth. UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has launched a ‘Net Zero Carbon Events‘ initiative: to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Comexposium will be a driving force in this approach. Our commitment must have a virtuous effect on our stakeholders”
Within that, the aim is to focus on all our activities and to think about our overall impact, and not just in terms of the impact of our trade shows. Our strategy is currently being drawn up and will be based on three points, all of which are aligned with our mission as a company:
- To help our communities (visitors, exhibitors, and partners) with their CSR issues (Comexposium as a facilitator of communities)
- To develop more sustainable activities, services, and products (Comexposium as an events organizer).
- Développer une culture d’entreprise engagée et mobilisée autour des sujets RSE (Comexposium en tant qu’employeur) »
Dominique Royet : “One of the main challenges for Comexposium is to have an impact at all levels. It is therefore important to raise awareness and support exhibitors, visitors, and suppliers. This is a key responsibility for Comexposium in relation to society and the environment.”
Morgan Lavielle : “I would add that it’s an exciting challenge on which we can make a difference. CSR can bring us a lot in terms of innovation, perspective, and meaning.”