Nº 20 | SEPTEMBER 2015 Responding to the social ... · colour for our OSI Letters, Digests and ......

Founded in 2000 as an initiative under the UN Global Compact, the Observatoire Social International (OSI) is celebrating 15 years in operation with a new dash of colour for our OSI Letters, Digests and website.

We’re celebrating the OSI’s birthday, but also the efforts of the hundreds of peo-ple throughout the world who have worked with us for more than a decade, including member companies, social part-ners, experts, academics and other organi-sations. Let me take this opportunity to warmly thank everyone involved.

In the space of 15 years, the OSI has become a prominent laboratory of ideas to firmly embed corporate social responsibil-ity as an essential part of company perfor-mance, thanks to all our partners and a broad multi-cultural approach.

It’s time to look to the future. How do we see the OSI in the next 15 years? We already know the answer.

Because change is all around us, we will continue to examine the pressing issues of the future and our actions on the ground, while remaining faithful to our founding principles. We will expand our international footprint, especially in European bodies, and forge new partnerships. We will address the new challenges of globalisa-tion to further the aim of sustainable eco-nomic efficiency founded on multicultural humanism.

The contents of this Letter reflect the changing world we live in.

Because globalisation continues apace, the column inches in this Letter cover the initiatives of the OSI’s delegations through-out the world, in France, Brazil, Latin Amer-ica, sub-Saharan Africa, Morocco and China. Because the role of management is chang-ing, Arsène Losson, a human resources expert with a 20-year track record working with major international corporations, gives us his views on the “management of the future”. Because social dialogue is evolving, Marc Deluzet, Senior OSI Officer, writes about duty of care. Because business is being transformed, experts debate the rela-tionship between “economic dialogue and the social contract”. This is what we do at the OSI. I hope you will share in reflecting on these important issues and that you enjoy reading this Letter!

15 years examining the issues. The world has changed... and so have we!

Nº 20 | SEPTEMBER 2015 Responding to the social imperatives of globalisation

P 8 DISCUSS THE ISSUES

MANAGEMENT AND CULTURAL PERCEPTIONSHow best to nurture communication, discussion between teams, and intercultural exchange?

P 10 OSI MEETINGS

FROM CSR TO THE SOCIAL CONTRACTHow can we ensure that the economic dialogue addresses social issues, not just in the company but in the wider society?

P 2 TRENDS

DUTY OF CARE AND SOCIAL DIALOGUEInternational agreements are a credible alternative to sanctions policies.

P 3 WORK BY THE DELEGATIONS

OSI-CHINA: FOUNDING FORUM

P 6 WORK IN THE REGIONS

THE OSI TEAMS UP WITH KEDGEThe OSI and KeDGe Business School (a French Grande école) have formed a partnership to promote innovative methods to manage wellness in the workplace.

Muriel Morin, OSI President

WORK CARRIED OUT BY THE DELEGATIONS

On 31 March last in France, the Bill on multinationals’ duty of care to their international subsidiaries and subcon-tractors passed the first stage in the French parliament.

Proposed in November 2013 by a number of Green and socialist members of the French parlia-ment, and supported by many trade unions (CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC and CGT), the vote is one of a raft of international reactions to the Rana Plaza collapse that killed more than 1,000 garment factory workers and left more than 2,000 more injured.

The text of the bill is still being debated and has been roundly criticised by both the corporate world and by groups promoting the bill on the grounds that its provisions have been watered down com-pared to the initial text. This disappointment is a result of the familiar limits of policies based on legal and financial sanctions. While they may seem effec-tive, in reality the burden of responsibility is shared between the international company making the order, the company producing the order locally and the government of the country in which the busi-ness operations are located. This complexity leaves the legislation open to circumvention, potentially reinforced by the complicity of host countries eager to retain jobs, and the prudence of countries of ori-

gin, wary of the risk of the risk of distorting competi-tion for its companies. When all is said and done, the value of sanctions is limited unless determined action is taken to address the causes.

The development of international social dialogue constitutes an alternative and potentially more ben-eficial way forward in the long term. On the one hand, dialogue is based on a commitment by com-panies that choose to enter into global agreements with the social partners and international trade unions that represent the employees of their service provider companies. Such agreements increasingly stipulate that subcontractors must commit to respecting the fundamental rights of the Interna-tional Later Labour Organisation, and recognise that the contracting company’s commitments also extend to its subcontractors. For example, the agreements by Total in January last or by Engie in 2010 are based on this principle.

On the other hand, this approach to the over-arching issue is more stringent, as it is predicated on a budding partnership with local companies and gradually motivating all managers, particularly in purchasing and procurement, to guarantee that subcontractors comply with the company’s human rights commitments. Due diligence is also more effective in the long term, because true partnership that is international in scope and open to monitoring by personnel representatives leads to higher overall performance and greater competitiveness.

Slowed down by partisans of sanctions policies, International social dialogue nonetheless constitutes the only credible and urgent response to the increasing interdependence of the global produc-tion process. 76% of French people think that not holding a company responsible before the law for serious accidents caused by its subsidiaries or sub-contractors is “not justified”

In light of this overwhelming social opinion, international social dialogue is a priority for human resources policy for large and mid-cap multination-als. It is predicated on a policy of training personnel representatives, establishing new forms and new spaces for dialogue, and monitoring of agreements in place.

DUTY OF CARE AND SOCIAL DIALOGUEBY MARC DELUzET, SENIOR OSI OFFICER

«International agreements are a credible alternative to sanctions policies.»

Marc DELUZET, Senior OSI Officer

LETTER No. 20 / SEPTEMBER 2015 2

Three priorities were set out by OSI-China in its May 26, 2014 declaration “Corporate social responsibility and performance”: improve knowledge of best practices, form partnerships to anticipate change and create a shared frame of reference.

OSI-CHINA: FOUNDING FORUM

WORK BY THE DELEGATIONS

The Shenzhen Forum was organized by the OSI China to give concrete form to these priorities, by engaging with major global economic players

across a broad spectrum of activities, including energy, food, automotive, tel-ecommunications and finance.

Convergence is the key concept informing this cross-sector Forum, “CSR: Forward together”, due to be held in October 2015. By convergence here we mean coordinating efforts to promote corporate social responsibil-ity, by transcending competition barri-ers , incorporating extra-f inancial criteria in investment projects, and sharing best practices.

Beyond the enterprise edge, the sustainability of CSR also depends on relays such as NGOs, schools, and col-leges, which play a crucial role in train-ing managers to equip them with an understanding of the importance of CSR for the future.

On a practical level, teams will work on the four main themes of the presen-tations for the Forum:• cooperation beyond competition,• incorporating extra-financial criteria

in investment projects,• converging efforts for better environ-

mental protection,• integrating foundational CSR topics

in manager training.

WHAT IS THE JAC?The Joint Audit Cooperation

(JAC) is an industry initiative by telecommunications companies to promote corporate social responsibility. The founding members in 2010 were Deutsche Telekom, Orange and Telecom Italia. JAC’s main objective is to raise the standards of corporate social responsibility policies of leading global market providers of information and communications technologies (ICT). In the past five years, it has welcomed new members to further its aim of developing responsibility across the ICT supply chain. The initial pioneering group has been joined by Belgacom, KNP, Telenor, TeliaSonera, Suisscom, Vodafone and Verizon, considerably expanding the JAC’s sphere of influence.

The Joint Audit Cooperation is resolutely practical in its initiatives. Members agreed on a set 142 criteria to assess social, health and environmental stewardship and suppliers’ commercial code of practice. This framework is used as the basis for auditing suppliers or for self-assessments by suppliers. The JAC has 148 audits to its credit to date and the 10 members have also drawn up a set of guidelines for suppliers summarising their CSR requirements.

The JAC’s partners-competitors and suppliers alike endeavour to work collaboratively and exchange best practices to promote sustainability, in the knowledge that the challenges of corporate social responsibility eclipse the immediate interests of individual companies and call for a committed joint effort.

The fourth forum in 2014 attracted 150 people representing telecoms operators, suppliers and NGOs. The theme of the meeting was

“Transparency and the Supply Chain”. Participants exchanged best practices on the issues of risk management across the supply chain and discussed the advantages of surprise audits and their results. Providers and NGOs also discussed the benefits of introducing a transparency policy for both their customers and themselves.

The circle has widened in 2015 as the JAC welcomes new members and furthers its commitment to greater transparency in the supply chain. Its first-tier suppliers are encouraged to conduct CSR audits of their own suppliers.

To set up the OSI-China, and in preparation for this Founding forum, we will draw on the work of the Joint Audit Cooperation (JAC) (on issues related to practical cooperation, bring-ing a wide range of stakeholders on board, including competitors, suppli-ers, NGOs, etc.), the common guide-lines charter and effective operational management.

OSI-CHINA: a participatory stance throughout 2015

Chinese and european companies have joined forces with the academic world to share their experiences in preparation for the Forum to be held on 28, 29 and 30 october 2015 in Shenzhen. they operate in a broad range of sectors, including telecommunications, energy, finance and automotive. Many of the working groups are being coordinated by the oSi. their work will focus on the topics cited here and will be based on the active participation by european partners.


Agence Nationale du Service

Universel des Télécommunications

Agence Nationale

de Salubrité Urbaine

FDFPFonds de

développement

ATHENA Conseil

DEKKO Group

SITA

WORK BY THE DELEGATIONSOSI-SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

”It gives priority to economic and social development, wellness, cultural development and corporate values.”

OSI-SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA (OSI-AS) INAUGURAL CONFERENCEThe inaugural conference on 15 January 2015. In Abidjan, Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) was the first official activity of the OSI-AS delegation

The conference was sponsored by the country’s Department of Commerce, Arts and Crafts and SME promotion.

Aïcha Moulod, Chairman of OSI-AS explained the OSI’s missions and the role it could play in the social and eco-nomic development of Sub-Saharan Africa.”The OSI, a laboratory of ideas and initiatives on emerging challenges” was presented to 100 or so partici-pants representing business, including the Bolloré group, the International Labour Of f ice , the Côte d ’ Ivoire employers’ group, Patronat ivoirien, and, representing the social partners, the general workers union, the Union Générale des travailleurs de Côte d’Ivoire (UGtCI).

The event attracted substantial coverage in the local press and much interest in membership

The OSI-Sub-Saharan Africa (OSI-AS) was founded in Abidjan on 22 Octo-ber last to tackle three critical strategic development issues. It gives priority to economic and social development, well-ness, cultural development and corpo-rate values.

To achieve these goals, the OSI-AS will work according to a participatory model, forming working groups to debate and submit proposals.

Mrs Aïcha Moulud cha i rs th is regional branch of the OSI, working closely with Marc Deluzet, Senior OSI-Europe Officer. Please see the OSI website for the contact details of the OSI-AS office in Abidjan-Cocody.


WORK BY THE DELEGATIONSOSI-SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

“Social responsibility to advance development”

The OSI-AS wished to issue a clear founding statement reflecting the concerns of potential partners.

Aïcha MOULOD, OSI-Sub-Saharan Africa Officer, and Marc DELUZET, Senior OSI Officer, OSI-EUROPE

The many challenges for Africa of globalisation include:

• Economic development: how to find a path to growth through the twists and turns of globalisation to build an eco-nomic model in line with its culture, tra-ditions and aspirations.

• Co n t ro l g a l l o p i n g p o p u l at io n growth: find the policies, strategies and systems to reconcile demography and growth.

• Manage its labour force: the challenge for Africa is to shift from unskilled labour to trained, skil led human resources.

• African youth: change the perception of youth from “challenge” to “asset”, by creating opportunities to provide train-ing in line with the needs of national economies.

• Job creation: aim for full employment by youth employment schemes and-transforming the informal economy into a lever for job creation.

• Develop the rural sector: reconfigure agricultural policies to focus more on family farms, agri-business, non-agri-cultural activities, and processing indus-tries to increase employment and provide food security.

Working towards these goals, the OSI-AS will coordinate its work with the combined international efforts of African governments and their development partners operating in specific national contexts to adjust economic and social policies to the needs of the population.

Our organisation has the capability to provide a more realistic approach to sec-tors of the economy and the difficulties they face in member states. It can assist in lobbying government to review poli-cies and schemes aimed at people on the margins of society.

The members of OSI-AS will have a lot of work to do in a spirit of active cooperation between the various sections of the organisation. Agreement must be reached on the priorities that will guide our work in order to produce innovative relevant and effective proposals.

The OSI will aim to be body that can advise government on issues affecting modern African society, as well as an observatory to monitor developments and prevent dysfunction at every level. We can also help to introduce labour relations monitoring to inform politicians and the business world.

For business, our organisation could help to adjust technical and managerial systems within companies and to coordinate external social policies.

The immediate priorities for the work of the OSI-AS were decided during the meeting in Côte d’Ivoire.

The Observatoire Social International - Sub-Saharan Africa is optimistic about its mission and achieving its aims, which are also core concerns for OSI EUROPE, the founder of this innovative social performance concept.

We hold to the firm conviction that the OSI-AS will be supported by institutional partners committed to social causes.

22October 2014Founding of the Observatoire Social International- Afrique Subsaharienne (OSI-AS)


WORK IN THE REGIONS

BORDEAUX, LILLE AND MARSEILLE IN THE SPOTLIGHTThe OSI’s work in the regions has been consistently informed by the imperatives and benefits of aligning our priorities with the concerns of all our local partners. Our work has been centred mainly on initiatives in Bordeaux, Lille and Marseille.

Meetings were organised between repre-sentatives of business, universities, and trade unions. Debate in these initial forums was concentrated on Quality of life at work.

For the OSI, promoting our regional presence means working on local issues to address its part-ners’ concerns directly. We take a novel approach to dialogue with employees, employers and the social partners with a focus on practical initiatives for change. Awareness raising is also part of our remit to ensure that contractors include efficiency and well-being in their calls for tenders.

Last December in Marseille, the OSI held a meeting with local partners who expressed a keen interest in discussing issues such as “the Digital economy and well-being”. Our programme of meetings in the future will continue dialogue on well-being and quality of life in the workplace.

Our partners, DIRECCTE (Regional Directorate for Companies, Competition, Consumption, Work and Employment), which offers a range of admin-istrative services, and LEST (Institute of Labour Economics and Industrial Sociology), provide additional valuable insights to enhance our work in the PACA region.

The Well-being and Work Chair will promote novel and meaningful manage-ment models to serve the needs and interests of all company stakeholders.

The aim of the Chair is to develop responsible management practice by increasing our knowledge, promot-ing research and tra in ing senior management.

Developing academic and teaching excellence is its primary goal.

The Well-being and Work Chair will also include a think tank headed up by Sylvie Brunet(1), in cooperation with the OSI. The think tank will work to deepen cooperation in the network of Business School Chairs and nurture access to innovative ideas

In partnership with the OSI, KEDGE Business School in Marseille founded a “Well-being and Work” Chair.

KEDGE AND THE “WELL-BEING AND WORK” CHAIR

MARSEILLE


WORK IN THE REGIONS

“Engage with stakeholders to innovate and introduce measures as required.”

(1) Sylvie BRUNETFollowing a career as Human Resources Director, Sylvie Brunet is a Professor at Kedge Business School, a member of the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council (she was rapporteur for the study on psychosocial risk prevention in May 2013) and Vice President of the French National Association of HR Directors (ANDRH).

The think tank includes representa-tives of partner businesses and organisa-tions, foremost amongst them being the Observatoire Social International. It will meet regularly to work actively on imple-menting innovative actions and projects to promote well-being in the workplace.

THINK TANK AIMS – determine practical actions and moni-toring indicators for a policy to continu-ously improve quality of life at work, – measure the impact of an effective psychosocial risk prevention policy, – address issues related to well-being in the workplace and assistance to man-age change.

KEDGE Business School was created from the merger of BEM-Bordeaux Man-agement School and Marseille-based Euromed Management, two leading French business schools. It is committed to responding to the challenges of glo-balisation, the digital revolution, and the rise of emerging economies based on the global reach of its research, new teaching models and social engagement.

With campuses in four cities in France (Bordeaux, Marseille, Paris and Toulon), in China (Suzhou and Shanghai), as well as four partner campuses (Avignon, Bastia, Bayonne and Dakar), its reach fits perfectly with the OSI’s international perspective.

KEDGE Business School Campus in Marseille


CONTEXTA French company specialising i n co n s u m e r g o o d s a n d employ ing 1 , 50 0 people

acquired a production facility outside London in 2013.

The company Chairman found it dif-ficult to assimilate the UK team and remarked on the very low level of trust. “We are not on the same wavelength”. He believed that the UK workers were not playing the game and were holding back information. He was determined to turn around a situation that was adversely affecting results and threaten-ing the group’s long-term prospects. He wanted to take a hand personally. He first met with the UK management team to gain more insight into their point of view.

He summarised the meetings, sub-mitted the summary for approval by all, and then presented it to his French team. The main points of this severe assess-ment were:

PERCEPTION OF THE ORGANISATION IN THE GROUPOperating modes are seen as bureau-

cratic, very hierarchical, with each person marking out his own territory. The man-agement lines are not clear and decision-making processes should be explained. It is hard to know who to contact when a

problem arises. Scheduling is not up to par and requests are always last-minute. Meetings are badly managed, they never start on time, and are dogged by fre-quent interruptions to deal with so-called urgent issues. The methods for achieving targets are often confused.

EUROPEAN IDENTITY IN THE GROUPThe group may well be international,

but the UK team does not feel part of this international dimension. According to the employees in England, since they don’t know what the company’s vision is, they find it hard to be part of it. This is a situation they regret and they would like a greater sense of pride in belonging to the group. They are aware of the capital expenditure, the new opportunities offered to the UK plant, and the potential significance of this expanded group.

FRENCH COLLEAGUESThey come across as direct, some

times as abrupt or arrogant, and eager to show their superiority. They like to harp on the fact that the company’s head-quarters are in Paris. They are also described as changable, volatile, and not very pragmatic.

COMMUNICATION IN THE GROUPCommunication style is first and

foremost typically French. Information

OSI PARTNERS DISCUSS THE ISSUES

ARSENE LOSSONMANAGEMENT AND CULTURAL PERCEPTIONSArsène Losson has been a regular contributor to the work of the OSI in the past few years, looking in particular at “Tomorrow’s managers”. He shares his views on management and cultural perceptions.Arsène Losson developed his HR expertise over the course of 20 years working in US, French, British and German companies in strategic and operational roles, at national and European level.

Value differences, establish common rules and shared objectives. Arsène Losson describes his method to promote cross-border cohesion.


OSI PARTNERS DISCUSS THE ISSUES

is rarely provided in English. As a result, the UK teams are ill-informed about the business in France or group strategy. How information circulates would ben-efit from clarification.

Visits by French personnel are usu-ally one-day affairs and are not condu-cive to getting to know one another better, including outside working hours.

This type of limited communication leads to misunderstandings, which in turn can create tension. Talking about specific characteristics of the local cul-ture and how they impact on opera-t ions cou ld make an impor tant contribution.

MANAGEMENT PRACTICESThe French management style is

described as prescriptive, based on power and with distance between hierar-chical levels.

French managers find it difficult to trust, to delegate, to encourage inde-pendence, especially on sensitive pro-jects. They refer to procedures, but don’t follow them themselves.

They either don’t recognise mistakes or blame the English team for them. These attitudes are not conducive to cre-ating a cohesive international team.

INFORMATION AND THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESSInformation is seen as power and is

only sparingly shared. The distance from the decision centre has a negative impact on cooperation and blurs understanding of strategic guidelines. Especially as in-house relations are very political.

Collective decisions in meetings are often challenged afterwards in the French team, but the UK team is rarely informed about changes. Everybody has their own individual opinions about eve-rything, leading to long and often futile discussions. All of which is the exact opposite of the pragmatic British hands-on approach.

WHAT PRIORITY ACTIONS DO YOU SUGGEST?It is important to develop a shared

vision that is known to all to encourage buy-in. A mission statement helps to clarify and communicate the group’s strategy, its organisation, functions and their relative positioning.

Once this vision is clearly stated, the rules of the game need to be set out together with desired or prohibited behaviours.

All subjects, including thorny issues, should be on the table for discussion dur-ing meetings held at regular intervals.

Misunderstandings could be cleared up and implementation of decisions greatly facilitated by reducing the risks of backtracking.

In-depth discussions before the launch of new projects would accelerate the introduction and roll out, provided that personnel can work independently and are encouraged to take initiatives.

The reward would be greater mutual trust.

However despite these precautions, mistakes and failures can happen.

It’s important to have the courage to talk about them and learn from them, rather than hide them.

With the active support of the com-pany Chairman, these guidelines would reinforce complementarity between the two teams and help to build a solid foun-dation for fruitful cooperation.

“French managers find it hard to trust, to delegate, to encourage independence, especially on sensitive projects.”

Arsène LOSSON


FROM CSR TO ECONOMIC DIALOGUE AND THE SOCIAL CONTRACT

Companies and social partners have a long-standing commitment to developing socially responsible policies (CSR) that are meaningful for all stakeholders, calling for responsible governance that reconciles the demands of competitiveness and social responsibility. How can we ensure that business dialogue addresses social issues, not just in the company but in the wider society?

This OSI meeting is the last in the programme, “Executive Certificate in Responsible and sustainable companies”.

During the round table discussion led byMARC DELUzET, Senior OSI Officer, the Observatory invited GENEvIèvE FERONE, co-founder and Chair of Casabee, BERNARD GIRAUD, Danone Communities, ALEXANDRE GRILLAT, CFE-CGC National Secretary, ANNE MARIE IDRAC, President of the CSR Group at the IFA (French Institute of Directors), CLAUDE RISAC, Director of External Relations for Casino and MICHEL LAvIALE

CRUCIAL CHALLENGEG e n e v i è v e F e r o n e , c o -founder and Chairpman of Casabee started the discus-sion. She pointed to the pro-

gress achieved by rating companies based on extra-financial criteria-some-thing that was “unthinkable a few years ago” and stressed that many people had worked to ensure that CSR was legislated for and reported on objec-tively in company filings.

Corporate social responsibility is embed-ded in Europe as a soft power source, but according to Geneviève Ferone, “compa-nies still have an overly simplistic view of the issue”. The world is changing and the Chair of Cabasee stressed that “over-taken by rapid developments, business leaders are wondering how to change”. CSR is a vital element in the ecosystem’s ability to adapt to define a model capable of meeting the challenges of sustainable development, without compromising effi-ciency or performance. Since this is an issue of relevance for all businesses, Geneviève Ferone concluded that “tomorrow’s businesses will need manag-ers who are aware of the environmental impact of their decisions. Rather than a variable, the environment is a pivotal challenge. There can be no bargaining with ethics

FORMING A COALITION OF STAKEHOLDERS

Bernard Giraud presented Danone’s viewpoint. He explained that, starting in 1972, “Antoine Riboud promoted the “dual project”, recognising the impor-tance of elevating the group’s social and environmental ambitions to co-equal sta-tus with business goals and making this convergence the leitmotif for Danone. Instead of waiting for laws mandating action, he saw this tension between the two goals as a source of innovation.”

He gave several examples by way of illustration. First, the formation of Eco Emballages in the 1970s, based on the principle that Danone should manage the waste it produces. Second, the Group was restructured in the 1990s with a promise never to leave employees to face their employment problems alone via a plan to reindustrialise its sites. When Danone expanded its international reach in the early noughties, it intro-duced the Danone Way, to establish shared goals that could be adapted to local circumstances. This system is an integral part of how Danone is run.

Bernard Giraud also discussed the role of management: “management must play within the rules, but retain suffi-cient flexibility to use as required.” He

OSI MEETINGS


mentioned the example of “the auda-cious wager made by Danone when it opened a yoghurt

production plant in Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world, in the face of opposition from shareholders. Finally he referred to the fact that in 2008 during the global financial crisis, Danone created an environment investment fund to enable business partners to become more competitive and create more social value. The fund was used to finance 50 or so projects around the world, including planting 130 million trees. It opens up new ways of acting and thinking about the company’s role. Around the same time, it tied 30% of bonuses for senior managers to meeting carbon reduction targets.

Bernard Giraud then moved on to stress the importance of social dialogue: “It’s important not to act alone. I prefer to focus on a coalition of partners, rather than the contract. Companies must open up to others. I’m struck by the number of young people are attracted to activities that create social value, as well as the effectiveness of companies. The challenge is to recon-cile these two ambitions, which means changing without losing our identity.” He concluded “we are moving from the era of social innovation to integration, which is vital for sustainable develop-ment. We must work with our people, because the company is made up of the men and women who for it.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL DIALOGUEClaude Risac, Head of External Rela-

tions at Casino, stressed the group’s “long tradition of social dialogue” ... “above and beyond what is required by law”. From its inception, Antoine Guich-ard, Casino’s founder, conceived of “novel actions that weren’t yet known under the CSR label.” Issues related to

agriculture, society, con-sumption, production, transport and health are integral to the Casino group’s business, since its products are part of daily life for its customers. It has a large-scale CSR pro-gramme extending to all employees, from its head-quarters in Saint-Étienne to each of its host coun-tries. Casino has signed a corporate social responsibility agree-ment with a number of French trade unions (the CFE-CGC, FO, CFDt and CGt), focused on a number of priorities, namely employment, local production, the environment, and energy efficiency. Corporate social responsibility perfor-mance is assessed with stakeholders and Clause Risac pointed out that “those we approached took a positive view of our CSR policy and wanted to assist us in achieving our goals. Furthermore, we think it important to consider our stake-holders’ CSR systems, and while we intend to be a trusted partner, we must also ensure that we place our trust in responsible allies.” Claude Risac con-cluded that CSR policies should guard against being only top-down, keeping in mind that employees are on the front line to promote our social and environmental responsibility to customers.

EMPLOYEES, MANAGERS, DIRECTORS REPRESENTING EMPLOYEES, AND INVESTORS: CSR IS EVERYBODY’S BUSINESSAlexandre Grillat of the CFE-CGC is

firm in his belief that “Corporate social responsibility is a vehicle to build momen-tum and give meaning to work for the individual and the team”. He added “We believe that everything revolves around social and economic dialogue in compa-nies, since it reflects the dialogue between the different stakeholders.”

He pointed out that, driven by stakeholders, the authorities had estab-lished a CSR platform that questioned the legitimacy and representativeness of the stakeholders taking part in this dialogue, par-ticularly NGOs.

For Alexandre Grillat, employees must be at the centre of policy, con-

vinced “that they play a crucial role in developing corporate social responsibil-ity and implementing CSR principles on a practical basis, and as such, they should be trained, and have the tools and resources to do so.

This means that employees should be involved in corporate governance to fur-ther CSR. Social dialogue, which is mainly established in personal representative bodies, must be responsible and adult. Social dialogue can take place in a vari-ety of forms, such as in committee or works councils where all aspects of cor-porate social responsibility are open for discussion.

The CFE-CGC representative put the focus on CSR and sustainable develop-ment training for managers as part of their initial training and continuing pro-fessional development to ensure that CSR informs every

OSI MEETINGS

“Employees should be at the centre of CSR policy, and they must have the tools to implement it in practice on a daily basis.”

CSRSustainability is vital for business success. Companies are increasingly motivated to embark on innovative CSR programs and to work together with stakeholders.



ACTUALITÉSIn May 2015

• Organiser of the Grand rendez-vous “Le pari de la confiance : pourquoi et comment ?” (Betting on Trust: why and how)

• Organiser of the conference “L’expérience client, moteur de la performance durable” (The customer experience: a motivating force for sustainable performance)

In June 2015

• Partner of the ANDRH international French conference• Partner of the Capital Com Assises de la Performance sociale

(Foundations of social performance)• Organiser of the conference “Le travail demain”

(The Future of Work), in partnership with Malakoff Méderic

LA LETTRE Nº 20 / September 2015

Responsible editor: Muriel MorinChief editor: Marc deluzetDesign & creation: Éditions StratégiquesPhoto credits:OSI et Kedge

Observatoire Social International1, place Samuel de Champlain Faubourg de l’Arche 92930 Paris la Défense cedex FranceTel: 33 (0)1 44 22 66 00www.observatoire- social-international.com

AGENDA

Quality of life at work, a strategic issue for companies and employees 17 September 2015 Conference/Paris

Management and Change 29 September 2015 Breakfast meeting/Paris

OSI-Chain Forum 28-30 October 2015 Shenzhen


aspect of the company. The trade union has developed training courses in this area and, according to Alexandre Grillat, “we approve of bottom-up sys-tems, provided a top-down approach comes first. Top management must be convinced of the importance of CSR Cor-porate social responsibility is a question of management that can imbue employee engagement with meaning.

The CFE-CGC wants directors repre-senting employees to be appointed to Boards of Directors and receive training in CSR issues to strengthen governance. Alexandre Grillat said that investors also have an important role to play in promot-ing corporate social responsibility insofar as they can encourage companies to commit to responsible policies.

CSR, A FACTOR IN REMAINING COMPETITIVE IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETViewing CSR as a component of

strategy that transcends silos, the IFA (French Institute of Directors) addresses the question in Board of Directors and other governance bodies in order to have the most open possible approach to the concept, according to Anne Marie Idrac, President of the CSR Group at the IFA. In a fiercely competitive world, Ms. Idrac stressed the benefit of “ramping up CSR to establish it as a strength when com-peting with other European and global companies and to take the example pro-vided by consumer goods segments where direct relations with consumers, who are increasingly demanding, are extremely important.

She also highlighted the significance of dia-logue about indicators, which she sees as “just as important as the indi-cators themse lves”. Seen from this angle, constituting economic and social databases leads to very productive dialogue.

In general, change is under way. Take for example the transposition by the French parliament of the 2014 agreement with the social partners. Anne Marie Idrac continued “we have to make sure that the stakeholders that are represented in dialogue are not always the same. In his report, Jean Pisani-Ferry underscored the impor-tance of not excluding any stakeholder from the dialogue and to make sure that everyone is represented.”

The IFA’s work shows not only “directors’ interest in corporate social responsibility issues, but also their per-plexity. It is positive that information on CSR tends to go viral. It concerns employees and managers, and the issue of management is critical. Unfor-tunately, it still doesn’t include Boards and other executive bodies. The main difficulty is implementing CSR method-ology at all management levels.”

At the same time, the question of subcontractors and sourcing arising, which is similar to “WCR against WCR”, and which requires sufficientmaturity

to acknowledge the contradictions. Anne Marie Idrac concluded on the soft law of CSR, included in the hierarchy of s tandards by the French Council of State. “I support this develop-ment,” she said. “But, it’s also quite dangerous. From where does i t

draw its legitimacy?

“In this world of distrust we live in, running the risk of being found guilty for making commitments that were not required by law seems to me to be a potential obstacle. Companies faced with the extra-territorial nature of US law that willingly subscribed to a cer-tain number of systems could live to regret it.”

MEDEF representative, Michel Lavi-ale, concluded that the discussions broadly reflected the organisation’s positions. MEDEF views CSR as a com-petitive strength and a vehicle for improved performance. “Management is the core of any good CSR policy. Employees and their representatives also have a role to play and must be involved at the right level”.

CSR requires dialogue between stakeholders. Note that MEDEF pub-lished a guide to relations with stake-holders for SMEs.

OSI MEETINGS

“Carrying this ambition at the highest level of the company through employee-appointed board members.”


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