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DECEMBER 2021
A NEW WAY OF TALKING BUSINESS
A BETTER SOCIETY
THE WORLD AFTER, WORLDS FROM BEFORE P.04
BUSINESS AND RESEARCH The living as a role model /P.14
GOOD NEWS Green finance, a leverage for change /P.16
NICE TO MEET YOU Pauline Déroulède, Athlete, French champion of wheelchair-tennis /P.18
EMPOWERING CHANGEMAKERS FOR A BETTER SOCIETY
LOOK
THEY CONTRIBUTED TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS ISSUE… THANKS TO:
A BETTER SOCIETY
At the Louvre-Lens, a different kind of patronage
/P.08
• Étienne Andreoletti • Hubert Bonin • Emmanuel Delannoy • Pauline Déroulède • Axel Fenaux • David Giljer • Patrick Goldstein • Thierry Lebrun • Stéphanie Beyer-Diaz • Olivier Scheffer • Yulia Titova • Magalie Vernet
Picture taken before the pandemic.
BUSINESS AND RESEARCH
Factory 4.0: digital in the /P.12 steel industry
NUMBER 06
The magazine that provides a different business perspective IÉSEG 3 rue de la Digue - 59000 Lille 1 parvis de La Défense - 92044 Paris www.ieseg.fr December 2021 Publishing director and editor in chief: Laure Quedillac Editorial board: Alexandra Briot, Antoine Decouvelaere, Laetitia Dugrain-Noël, Manon Duhem, Andrew Miller, Victoire Salmon, Vincent Schiltz, Laure Quedillac Design and development: Caillé associés Editing: Caillé associés Photographs : Alterre Bourgogne Franche-Comté, ArcelorMittal France, IÉSEG, lobjoydelcroix/ perspective, Jean-Baptiste Loubere, Louvre-LensJean-Claude Moschetti, Samu du nord, La Galerie du temps© SANAA - IMREY CULBERT Muséographie : Studio Adrien Gardère© F. Iovino, Khaoula Idbenjra, istock2021
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BUSINESS AND RESEARCH
Permaeconomy: towards a business transformation
/P.14
GOOD NEWS
Tourism: the French are rediscovering France
/P.16
BETWEEN US
UP AND RUNNING AGAIN “This new momentum must lead us to act quickly, but without haste. With strength and with clarity.”
Like all crises, there was a period of stupefaction - that of March 2020 when we saw how quickly everything could come to a standstill, how a grain of sand could jam a machine we thought was well-oiled. Then came the time for reaction: in just a few months, the immense collective effort paid off in medical terms, solutions were found and community life, economic life and social life were able to resume - tentatively at first, then more and more intensively. In this respect, it was enough to see the pleasure that our colleagues and students felt in being able to meet up again, physically, at the beginning of the last school year, in order to comprehend that: we have more than ever, the taste for the company of others, for the collective and for the mutual and the will to act together and the need to influence the coming years. The time for a new beginning has arrived. But how do you get started? Some people, at the height of the crisis, spoke of the world after - it is rather today’s world that must be confronted. Of course, the environmental crisis is developing into an increasingly tangible emergency, which now focuses everyone’s attention. Our constant exchanges with our partners - entrepreneurs, public authorities, experts – are, in this regard, crystal- clear: our young graduates will have to embark upon professional life with an everincreasing awareness of ecological and climate issues. Any new momentum must be aware of these emergencies. However, IÉSEG has always believed strongly: that to think and act by only taking into account the environmental aspects would be a mistake. Taking into account social and economic issues is another essential consideration in order to meet the needs of the present. Certainly, our modes of production and consumption must change, but history serves to remind us of the risks of a brutal rupture. The crisis of 1929 was proof enough of the potential consequences of an economic collapse.
Jean-Philippe AMMEUX IÉSEG’s dean
Then what? Then, this new momentum must lead us to act quickly, but without haste. With strength and with clarity. We must roll up our sleeves in order to imagine and implement the best solutions, effective for the climate, socially acceptable and economically feasible.
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THE WORLD AFTER, WORLDS FROM BEFORE
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In the face of a crisis of such magnitude, from which the world seems to be emerging, a look in the rear-view mirror can be helpful. While there is a consensus about the need for a new impetus, capable of offsetting the ravages of the pandemic as well as meeting environmental challenges, what does the past tell us? How have our societies come to terms with previous crises? How can we learn from their successes or mistakes? Hubert Bonin, emeritus professor of economic history at Sciences Po Bordeaux, provides some answers. WHICH MAJOR CRISES IN HISTORY CAN BE COMPARED WITH THE IMPACT OF THE CURRENT PANDEMIC?
Without going back to the Black Death of the Middle Ages or the great epidemics that still afflicted our societies in the nineteenth century, the current situation is undoubtedly reminiscent of the Spanish flu that followed the First World War. There is one essential difference: these health crises never led to the virtual paralysis of the flow of goods and people. Our societies have, of course, experienced slowdowns, as in the period 1882 to 1895, or acute crises, as in 1921, with the bursting of the speculative bubble after the war. But the specificity of this epidemic lies in the implementation of this kind of voluntary embargo on a global scale, which halted air and sea trade and shook the logistics and port economies.
MAJOR CRISES SOMETIMES LEAD TO A NEW ECONOMIC MOMENTUM, OFTEN DRIVEN BY A WAVE OF TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS. IS THIS SOMETHING WE CAN EXPECT?
Two phenomena can indeed amalgamate with, on the one hand, a resumption of growth and trade, and on the other, a technological acceleration that can be spectacular, as seen during the Belle Époque, in the wake of the Great Depression at the end of the 19th century. The economies of countries such as Germany and the United States were particularly stimulated in the early 20th century. In the wake of the second industrial revolution, the new technologies
of the area (chemistry, automobiles, electromechanics, etc.) played a powerful leverage role. We could experience a new stage in the 3rd industrial revolution that begun in the 1970s and 1980s, looking this time towards new fields such as artificial intelligence, decarbonized energy, means of transport that include even more electronics or biological, medical and pharmaceutical innovations. This technological revolution can be added to more automated episodes of growth, that can be applied to a framework of catching up. The question is whether we are in a position to take on the powerful
424
THE COST TO PUBLIC FINANCES OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS IS ESTIMATED AT 424 BILLION EUROS OVER THREE YEARS.
(SOURCE: MINISTRY OF ACTION AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTS).
effort of reconverting that is required, as in the 1950s and 1960s, especially as this new impetus will be accompanied by a phenomenon of social mutation, with the disappearance of some professions and the constraints of redeployment that will accompany the process for many workers, be they salaried or self-employed, and all in the name of «labour mobility».
ARE SOME STATES BETTER EQUIPPED THAN OTHERS TO LEAD THIS TRANSITION?
The phenomenon of the redistribution of the major geo-economic forces, with the
SIGNED IN 2020
THE EUROPEAN RECOVERY PLAN «NEXT GENERATION EU» FORESEES 750 BILLION EUROS OF INVESTMENTS DISTRIBUTED AMONG EU MEMBERS, OF WHICH 672.5 BILLION EUROS DEDICATED TO THE FINANCING OF ECOLOGICAL AND DIGITAL TRANSITIONS, MACROECONOMIC STABILITY AND SOCIAL EQUITY.
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dividing up of productive forces, did not begin with the pandemic but rather, in the 1990s. It is tending to accelerate, but this must be qualified. It is true that the IndoPacific world, and China in particular, is growing in power, but China is facing a serious financing crisis, as demonstrated by the serious difficulties of the Evergrande property group. Overgrowth has its limits and China should undergo a crisis of adaptation that opens up certain opportunities for other major economic ecosystems.
WHICH ONES?
Les The world’s largest groups and the largest investment banks are still rooted in the United States, where the major technological and managerial changes are taking place. Their weight is decisive in the development of the new economy, in the large multinationals as in the academic world. Europe, for its part, is like China, facing a challenge comparable to the one that led it to remobilise in the 1950s and 1960s, against what was then called the «American ogre», as demonstrated by the growing number of calls for relocation and reindustrialisation. Strategic inertia is not possible, with, at its core, a vast movement of reinvention and innovation that is not without its share of anxiety. Reinventing one’s models is never simple, but the movement is engaged in
Hubert BONIN,
«Whatever their political affiliation, French regions have committed themselves to funding plans designed to encourage the transformation of the economic fabric of their territory.”
Emeritus professor in economic history at Bordeaux Sciences Economiques (Economic Sciences)-Université
the medium term, somewhat along the lines of the five-year plans of the 1950s and 1960s. In France, the investment undertaken by the regions proves this: whatever their political colour, they have committed themselves to finance plans intended to encourage the transformation of the economic fabric of their regions, targeting in particular the SMEs in order to help them confront the on-going upheavals more effectively and also targeting vocational training and the apprenticeship sectors. The Caisse des Dépôts and its subsidiaries are powerful tools in this respect, as is the BPI. However, it will be necessary to
rapidly train pools of middle and senior technicians, engineers - still in short supply in our country - and electronics specialists; companies will also have to spend money to provide social and financial support for the employees involved in the Brownian movement of labour mobility.
1929-1933, FROM A CATASTROPHIC YEAR TO THE NEW DEAL
The harder they fall. After years of sustained growth - the famous Roaring Twenties - the Wall Street crash in October 1929 ushered in a deep and lasting economic recession: the Great Depression. In just a few months, the American stock market crisis turned into a banking crisis with a collapse of consumption and a series of bankruptcies, before spreading to the whole world, with deleterious political consequences in countries such as Germany. Although its true economic influence is still being debated, the emblematic New Deal required by Franklin Roosevelt in January 1933 illustrates the will to act on many levers, from research to major public infrastructure programmes, via banking, social and structural reforms that have permanently changed the face of America.
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SUPPORTING THE REGIONS Given the scale of the environmental and societal challenges, where do we start? Thierry Lebrun, Director of the Banque des Transitions at Crédit Agricole Nord de France, outlines a strategy for a well thought-out transition, as immense as it is necessary.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE THIS TRANSITION THAT CRÉDIT AGRICOLE WANTS TO SUPPORT?
The model we have known is no longer sustainable. Climate change and the loss of biodiversity are the two most obvious manifestations of this, with consequences that everyone can see in their daily lives. This is accompanied by a series of social and economic risks that are constantly increasing. We believe that there has been a shift in consciousness, particularly in the business world. The need to internalize concerns in business models, that the majority of entrepreneurs once considered as externalised is now accepted. It is no longer a question of convincing but of acting. For the first time in history, we are voluntarily embarking on a path that moves from a fossil fuel-based economy, towards a different system based on renewable energy. This movement involves the whole of society, not just the economic fabric. From institutions and multinationals to SMEs and individual citizens, everyone must participate in a collective effort on a scale never witnessed before. As it is a matter of urgency, this ambition requires exceptional amounts of investment.
HOW CAN A BANK LIKE CRÉDIT AGRICOLE PROCEED?
We are a cooperative banking group, present throughout France via 39 Regional Banks, including Crédit Agricole Nord de France, which are backed by the power of the Agricole Group, which also
has global business interests. This distinctive position enables us to reconcile the global and the local, or even ultra-local aspects in our strategic thinking: our Regional Bank belongs to its members: we are present on a daily basis for our customers who know their region extremely well. At the international level, we have joined the Net Zero Banking Alliance and we are fully committed to the Paris Agreements and the European Green Pact, in order to respond to climate change issues. The Crédit Agricole Group has a Medium-Term Plan based on three closely interrelated strategic projects: Customer, Human and Social. With regard to our Societal Project, the Group’s enhanced ambitions in favour of the climate, social inclusion and cohesion, together with agricultural and food transitions, were communicated to the market on 1st December 2021. We will invest even more heavily to support our customers’ energy transition requirements in all markets. We are the bank of the agricultural world par excellence, which places us at the heart of the challenges of transitions, from production to distribution. These transitions are complex, because they must reconcile injunctions that might seem paradoxical at first sight, such as feeding the planet while at the same time preserving nature. Strategically, it is the whole of the interdependent chains of value that we must support by generalising
our approaches, branch by branch. And all of this without leaving anyone behind: it is in our DNA, as mutualists to support all those who would have difficulties in undergoing these transformations and would find themselves exposed. Our contribution to social cohesion and our inclusive model are an essential priority.
HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THIS?
We are risk professionals: integrating the environmental dimension is part of our job. We have to start by ensuring that everyone in our company contributes to our corporate project, which means getting the sales and marketing departments and our support functions on board in order to ‘green’ our business by equipping them with the necessary expertise and products.
“We are the bank of the agricultural world par excellence, which places us at the heart of the challenges for transition, from production to distribution.”
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Through the offers we deploy, the aim is to encourage and help our customers accelerate their own transition. The European Commission is currently developing new regulations for the financial sector, centred on taxonomy. This will allow companies and banks to back the same reliable and scientifically proven benchmark and to build the financial and technological instruments necessary for a successful transition. Transparency is crucial in order to reassure investors that their efforts are moving in the right direction.
WHILE THIS TRANSITION INVOLVES SOCIETY AS A WHOLE, ARE THERE, NEVERTHELESS SECTORS THAT SHOULD BE GIVEN PRIORITY?
Tactically, it is logical to turn first of all towards the areas that emit most or towards the actors whose environmental impact is the most excessive in their domain. But we are a universal bank and, once more, making a success of this transition requires that everyone should participate. We therefore want to support all our customers, starting with SMEs, professionals and farmers who want to make a commitment but do not always know how to do so. We haven’t forgotten the innovative start-ups: In 2016, Lille hosted the first Village by CA in the region, 40 of which are now established across France, and are now expanding in Italy, the United States and Japan. The site in Lille is now home to more than 50 startups. All this has enabled us to raise more than one billion euros from our partners at a national level.
INCLUDING PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS?
Yes, we are extremely mindful of reinforcing the support given to our individual customers in the sector of energy renovation, in the housing sector or that of green mobilities. We also
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Thierry LEBRUN
Director in charge of Transitional Banking at the Crédit Agricole Nord de France.
propose investment and saving products geared towards companies committed to social and environmental values and we will intensify this approach in order to enable everyone to participate in a transition that must create the conditions for consumers and investors to join us.
“We therefore want to support all our customers, starting with SMEs, professionals and farmers who want to make a commitment but do not always know how to do so.”
A MARSHALL PLAN FOR THE HOSPITALS Although the crisis facing public hospitals did not begin with the pandemic, it has nevertheless highlighted some serious difficulties. The crisis in recruitment, funding and geographical coverage has made it urgent to rethink the model, warns Professor Patrick Goldstein, head of the emergency department at Lille University Hospital. HOW ARE THE FRENCH HOSPITALS MANAGING TODAY?
They are doing very badly and the staff also. The collateral effects of Covid have revealed a worrying situation whose root causes are not recent. The necessary investments have not been made and hospital careers have not been sufficiently appreciated, beginning with nurses and care assistants, who are among the worst paid in Europe. As for specialists, the pay gap between the public and private sectors is so wide that many young practitioners are turning to the latter. The ‘Ségur health measures’ cannot be underestimated, but catching up is not enough. Some people talk about the need for a Marshall Plan. A major effort is clearly required.
to close the gap in salaries between the private and public sectors, which can range from one to five. In view of the medical demography, this is a crucial issue for certain specialities where the law of supply and demand bears the full weight: cardiology, anaesthesia-intensive care, radiology, emergency medicine etc. Moreover, the issue goes beyond the mere question of salaries: strenuousness is also an essential question. Young carers are rightfully demanding a certain quality of life. What other profession would
HOWEVER, THE RECOVERY PLAN ALLOWS FOR SIGNIFICANT FUNDING...
Several billion euros have been put on the table, but these sums concern the entire health sector, including the medico-social sector. This is to be welcomed, but these measures will not be enough to regain the necessary momentum, especially as this funding will be used in part to pay off the debts of certain institutions. We must be very clear: without far-reaching reform, public hospitals may still exist, but there will be no one to run them. It is imperative
accept having to work three weekends out of four, as is often the case today?
BEYOND THE FINANCIAL QUESTIONS, WHAT SOLUTIONS CAN WE ENVISAGE?
We need to rethink the way we assess the cost of our health systems, especially as scientific progress gives us access to extraordinary, but very expensive treatments, such as immunotherapy for cancers, robotic surgery, new generation imagery ... The current pricing means that the reimbursements provided by Health Insurance policies do not necessarily cover the investments needed for these therapeutic innovations. However, the long-term gains of these treatments must be taken into account in the overall macro-health costs: a patient who benefits from quality care is a patient who will regain his or her place in society. Finally, efforts must be undertaken to reduce the demand for care by deploying large-scale prevention campaigns in order to avoid the development of certain preventable pathologies.
Patrick GOLDSTEIN
Head of the emergency department at Lille’s University
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RENOVATING WISELY: A CASE STUDY It is a building that is familiar to residents of the west of Paris: in Suresnes, the former Airbus headquarters underwent major renovation before experiencing a second life. An exemplary circular economy programmme. In areas where land is scarce, the hunt for available square metres makes one inventive. By acquiring the old Airbus site in 2019, Vilogia already had a specific idea in mind, explains Etienne Andreoletti, head of the promotion department for the northern social landlord. «Housing the most modest students is difficult in a region such as Île-de-France. The reconversion of the Airbus site is an excellent opportunity to provide accommodation on the one hand, and to support the development of the Paris region on the other”. Located on the banks of the Seine, this emblematic building will host not only shops, but also 270 apartments which will accommodate more than 300 students over 22,000 m2, where the aircraft manufacturer’s teams imagined their new models yesterday.
CIRCULAR ON ALL FLOORS
But beyond its scope, the programme is characterized by a strong environmental dimension, specifies Etienne Andreoletti: «on the basis of rigorous specifications, we have retained a design-construction group * to accompany us on a project that gives pride of place to the circular economy. Absolutely everything is done to promote the reuse of materials: partitions, carpets, furniture, the stones on the facade... A real tour de force: anything that can be recycled will be! « And on a site designed to accommodate offices, there is no shortage of recycling opportunities: «Apart from the furniture, which will be donated as soon as possible to schools or associations, 150 metres of glass partitions will be removed for storage and then reused in a training centre. Two companies who work in partnership will recover for the one 110 blinds, and for the other 1300 m2 of raised access floors”. Even the cladding of the old facade has been recovered, with 1000m2 of stone carefully removed, cleaned and recycled to become part of the new venture, that should see the light of day in 2023.
THUMBNAIL Étienne ANDREOLETTI
Responsable du pôle promotion de Vilogia.
COMPLETELY OUT OF THE ORDINARY, THE PROGRAMME UNDERTAKEN AT THE FORMER AIRBUS SITE WILL SAVE 1,200 TONNES OF CO2 COMPARED TO A CONVENTIONAL DEMOLITION SITE. CLASSIQUE.
IN SWITZERLAND, BETTING ON WOOD
Aesthetic, practical and less
harmful to the environment: for the past ten years, wood has made a comeback in buildings, without limiting itself to small-scale constructions. This is a global trend, particularly noticeable in Switzerland. Since the Tamedia group inaugurated in 2013 the largest wooden building in the world (seven floors for 9000 m2), the Confederation has made a specialty of this type of often spectacular structure, such as the wooden dome of the SchweizerRheinsalinen saltworks, the largest in Europe. In 2019, the Swatch group moved to its new headquarters in Biel - an immense snake of 240 metres, supported by a 2000 m3 frame originating from Swiss forests. These choices reflect true environmental awareness, coupled with objective responsiveness. A living material, wood, is renewable, whereas concrete and steel are produced using limited raw materials. Even better: if we compare the manufacturing processes, its CO2
emissions are less than half that of concrete, and a third that of metal.
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*Consortium led by Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, in partnership with Tecnova and DGM architects
AT THE LOUVRES-LENS, A DIFFERENT KIND OF PATRONAGE In order to finance their projects, many cultural players appeal to sponsorship. At the LouvreLens, we are seeking to diversify forms of engagement thus enabling businesses in the area to support the museum. An update with its director of communication, development and events, Magalie Vernet.
Magalie VERNET
Director of communication, development and events.
«The Louvre-Lens has always wanted to forge a very strong network with those companies that have links to the local coalfields, whatever their size”.
The links between the Louvre-Lens and businesses go back a long way. The construction of the museum was carried out with the support of major partners. Nineteen «building patrons» in all, united by the ambition to see the birth of the glass and steel building, imagined by Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa on a former coal pithead, abandoned since 1960. And today? Patrons are always there and in a good way, explains Magalie Vernet: «whether it is financial, skill-based or in kind, patronage remains a powerful tool for our projects, starting with the temporary exhibitions. Everything is transparent.: the partners we solicit are aware of our estimated budgets and know what kind of visibility and counterparties to expect. A patron who chooses to fund 25% of the total cost of an exhibition is thus guaranteed a quasi exclusiveness concerning the operation. « Without this sort of financial support, that can amount to 150 to 250,000 euros for the most symbolic events, the most emblematic temporary exhibitions could not be maintained in the same way - Rome then Hiéroglyphes, in 2022 - but the following events might well see their ambitions scaled down.
LE CERCLE, A UNIQUE APPROACH
Obviously, not all companies can match the level of investment of those important patrons, in particular those foundations linked to large regional players. To involve SMEs and VSEs, the Louvre-Lens offers different forms of privatization that allow them to appropriate a prestigious place for an evening or a day. The museum also provided the idea of the Cercle: «the Louvre-Lens has always wanted to
64 %
OF THE 104,000 COMPANIES THAT HAVE EMBRACED PATRONAGE ARE VERY SMALL BUSINESSES, 32% ARE SMES, 4% ARE MID-SIZED COMPANIES AND 0.3% ARE LARGE COMPANIES. IN ALL, THEY PROVIDED 2.1 BILLION EUROS OF DONATIONS IN 2019, TWICE AS MUCH AS IN 2010.
(IFOP, 2020)
forge a very strong network with all those companies that have links to the local coalfields, whatever their size. The Cercle proposes various levels of membership to its associates, providing access to a series of advantages, such as animated activities, private visits of the LouvreLens or the Liévin Conservation Centre... This is ideal for strengthening links with employees, holding a management committee, inviting clients...». Today’s challenge is to take it to the next level by imagining projects that are entirely dependent on corporate funding. «Finding funds for major exhibitions obviously makes sense: making it possible to gain in visibility, to strengthen hospitality ... But launching projects that would not exist without our partners support makes it possible to forge even more powerful links around a shared adventure. We are moving away from a logic that is purely financial in order to engage in a fully-fledged logic between partners.» Save the date.
www.linkedin.com/company/louvre-lens
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BUSINESS AND RESEARCH
FACTORY 4.0: DIGITAL IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY Following machine-tools and robots, it is now time for digital technology to take its place on the factory floor. AI, augmented reality, Internet of Things (IoT)... Technology is pushing back the limits, from design to production and sales. Do we need to turn the way we work upside down? The answer comes from Dunkirk, where the steelmaker ArcelorMittal has begun to considerably transform its main European site. 450 hectares, 3,700 employees*: every year, six to seven million tonnes of steel slabs leave the ArcelorMittal plant in Dunkirk to serve the group’s other plants, but above all to supply the production sites of players in the automotive, industrial and packaging sectors. A historic and emblematic site that is gradually entering a new era, explains David Glijer, Director of Digital Transformation at ArcelorMittal France. «Our ambition is to become the leader of 4.0 steelmaking in France and Europe, hence the launch in 2019 of a major plan divided into three main branches, dedicated respectively to our customers, our business and our employees. Our goals? Improving operational performance by integrating new technologies at every level of the company. «The challenge is to move from computerisation to digitalisation:
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augmented reality, big data, IoT... This transformation should enable us to achieve results in terms of reliability, quality and environmental performance, but also to reduce our costs and improve our competitiveness, and therefore our commercial performance. It is also a way of aligning ourselves with our competitors, particularly those in China.
WHEN AI COMES INTO PLAY
The initiative may come as a surprise: the steel industry is not the first sector that one would instinctively associate with digital technologies. Wrongly, explains David Glijer: «We are still industrialists, but we have to deal with an enormous amount of information 24 hours a day: each line may have up to 200 sensors collecting an incredible amount of data every second. AI then comes into play, for example processing in real time the data
WITH 154
ROBOTS PER 10,000 EMPLOYEES, FRANCE’S INDUSTRIAL BASE IS ONLY HALF AS AUTOMATED AS GERMANY’S AND FIVE TIMES LESS THAN THOSE OF KOREA OR SINGAPORE
(SOURCE : INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ROBOTICS).
10 %
OF FRENCH COMPANIES HAVE NOW INCORPORATED AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE APPLICATION, HALF LESS THAN IN THE UNITED STATES.
linked to the volumes of gas produced by a site in order to better manage its recovery, thus reducing the use of flaring and CO2 emissions. There are already many concrete examples. The group uses virtual reality to train its employees in safety drills, with «hazard hunting» exercises in factories simulated by virtual reality. Quality control, for its part, relies on augmented reality: on a packaging line, an operator equipped with an augmented reality helmet can carry out a final conformity check before shipping to the customer. Even the glasses are connected, allowing internal or external experts to carry out certain maintenance operations at a distance but in real time.
A TRANSITIONAL ACCELERATOR
Leading this major transformation requires a major training effort, but also the availability of suitable places to test, explore and exchange with other players, hence the inauguration in Dunkirk of ArcelorMittal’s first Digital Lab**. The group intends to turn this 2,700 m² space, located in the city centre, into a laboratory by focusing on three major themes: safety, energy and the environment, which are fundamental issues for the company. “We are aiming for a 35% reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2050,» David Glijer reminds us. Digital technology is one of the main levers we possess in order to achieve this. «For this
David GLIJER
Head of digital transformation for ArcelorMittal France.
“We are aiming for a 35% reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2050. Digital technology is one of the main levers we possess in order to achieve this.”
*By integrating the employees of the Mardyck site, near Dunkirk. **In February 2022, ArcelorMittal will open a second Digital Lab in Moselle, near its Florange plant. This second site will focus more specifically on Big Data, quality and maintenance issues.
purpose, ArcelorMittal is betting on openness and exchange. Set up with the support of local, regional and national public authorities, the site is designed as a training centre for employees, a conference venue and, more extensively, as a vast ecosystem dedicated to digital innovation. The Digital Lab brings together other major industrial companies (Suez, Engie, etc.) as well as start-ups such as Ultiwatt, that is working on virtual reality, Immersion for augmented reality or autonomous vehicles with EasyMile. Last but not least, the “grandes écoles” and research laboratories in the region and elsewhere: the Arts & Métiers, the Université du Littoral Côté d’Opale (Ulco) and the École Polytechnique... And there is no shortage of concrete projects: since its inauguration, ArcelorMittal officialised the creation of the 5GSteel consortium with Ericsson and Orange Business Services, which will use one of the first industrial 5G networks in France. In Dunkirk and Mardyck, and later in Florange, it will enable the deployment of projects that require ultra-fast mobile connectivity: mobile maintenance, autonomous vehicles, etc. The revolution has only just begun.
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PERMAECONOMY: TOWARDS A BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION Permaeconomy is simply the application of permaculture principles in the business world,» explains Emmanuel Delannoy, associate consultant with the specialist firm Pikaia. Permaculture remains to be defined...Born in Australia and Japan in the 1970s, the term, which initially meant «permanent agriculture», was based on principles of design and action inspired by living beings, designed to imagine and manage sustainable and responsible agricultural systems. A meaning that has since expanded: «over time, permaculture has become a broader technical and ethical conceptual framework that can easily be applied to the field of economics and management, with the same objective: to manage human production systems in a sustainable manner. And thus promote the transition of companies towards resilient models, consistent with the concepts of the circular economy or the economy of functionality and cooperation.
RAPIDLY VISIBLE TRANSFORMATIONS
The good news is that things are speeding up, says the consultant. «More and more decision-makers want to move from reflection to action, and the legislator has supported this movement with the concept of the mission-driven company. It recognises that economic players have a raison d’être that goes beyond mere financial performance, and towards a notion of social worth. Unlike the efforts made in favour of the climate, the results of which, unfortunately, will be measured only in the long term, the resulting transformations are rapidly visible, adds Emmanuel Delannoy: «in a given territory, it is enough for just a few thousand consumers to change their consumption or mobility habits and to start supporting players involved in a permaeconomy approach, in order to observe the first concrete effects. FOR MORE INFORMATION: WWW.PIKAIA.FR
Emmanuel DELANNOY
Associate consultant within the specialised firm Pikaia.
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THE LIVING AS A RO While the observation of nature is not a recent phenomenon, the study of the faculties of living beings is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for scientific and technological research. By taking advantage of the 3.8 billion years that have elapsed since the appearance of life, can we reconcile human activities with environmental conservation? Olivier Scheffer, Director of Development at Ceebios*, provides an update. WHAT IS BIOMIMICRY?
Humankind has long studied and been inspired by nature, and one needs only to think of the way Leonardo da Vinci observed the flight of birds in order to imagine his flying machines. In the 1960s, the biophysicist Otto Schmitt** gave a first definition of biomimicry: «the examination of biological phenomena in the hope of generating ideas and inspiration for the development of life-like physical or biophysical systems». Since the 1990s and thanks to the work of the biologist Janine Benyus, biomimicry has evolved. It is no longer a question of exploiting nature, but of opting for sustainable management of its resources. The core idea remains the same: it is still about studying the functioning of living organisms in order to generate innovations that imitate natural processes, but by also integrating the ecological imperative.
CAN WE RECONCILE AN INDUSTRIALLY EFFICIENT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY VIRTUOUS BIO-INSPIRED APPROACH?
This is obviously the Holy Grail and some are succeeding. L’Oréal has made biomimicry a strategic axis of its development. In the field of hygiene, the R&D teams are exploring ways of avoiding the overuse of liquid soap. We have worked with them to study what nature offers as an example of dry cleaning and L’Oréal has just patented a product, the «cat brush», whose nanostructure reproduces the very particular surface of cats’ tongues that possess remarkable self-cleaning properties. We are also working with RTE on bio-inspired antifouling solutions to prevent the deposit of algae or other materials on their offshore wind turbines. We are working with the CNES on subjects such as in-orbit recycling and satellite swarms. Aeronautics,
OLE MODEL
Olivier SCHEFFER
Development director at Ceebios.
« One of Ceebios’ core principles is to cooperate with an ecosystem of partners and customers of all sizes. » biology, chemistry, architecture, engineering, urban planning, design...All sectors are concerned, from the structure of materials to the balance of an entire territory.
LARGE GROUPS HAVE RESOURCES THAT SMES AND SMIS DO NOT POSSESS. CAN THESE COMPANIES MAKE THE LEAP TO BIOMIMICRY?
One of the fundamental principles of Ceebios is to cooperate with an ecosystem of partners and clients of all sizes. In the building sector, for example, we work with the agency In Situ Architecture. They only have two partners, but they have been using the biomimetic approach for years. They have recently developed a double skin system capable of regulating the thermal effects of solar radiation on a building. Their solution is based on the properties of the hornbeam leaf, which was chosen because the ratio of its folded to unfolded surface is optimal. Its folding requires very little energy. The agency was inspired by this to then go on to imagine a fabric folded and stretched on ribs that deform according to the temperature, without sensors or motors. This system reduces the building’s energy consumption by about 10%.
*Centre for studies and expertise in biomimicry **Otto Schmitt - Wikipédia (wikipedia.org)
CAN BIOMIMICRY BE A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION IN TERMS OF ORGANISATION OR MANAGEMENT?
Yes, the imitation of forms and functions is accompanied at a more complex level by a study of ecosystems and processes, i.e. the capacity of living organisms to constantly optimise the flow of matter or energy. At this stage it is no longer a question of examining the characteristics of a turtle’s shell, for example, but of understanding how it interacts with its environment. Shared governance is a good example of how a human organisation can be inspired by nature: circles of twelve to fifteen people who selfregulate and manage their evolution by resolving tensions autonomously and then synchronising with other teams.
FIND MORE INFORMATION ON WWW.CEEBIOS.COM Janine M. Benyus, Biomimicry: when nature inspires sustainable innovation, Éditions de l’Echiquier, 2011.
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GOOD NEWS
TOURISM: THE FRENCH ARE REDISCOVERING FRANCE GREEN FINANCE, A LEVERAGE FOR CHANGE Green finance to the rescue of the environment? The idea of channelling investments towards the sustainable economy and the fight against CO2 emissions has in any case gained momentum since the 2015 Paris Agreement, explains Yulia Titova, professor of finance at IÉSEG: «the text has stimulated the development of certain specific financial products: loans and funds linked to sustainability, green savings products, etc. The case of bonds illustrates the extent of the phenomenon, says the researcher: «the European Investment Bank issued a 600 million dollar climate-responsible bond in 2007. Today, the issuing of cumulative green bonds has reached 1 475 billion dollars. And everyone is getting involved: «Direct contributions to green finance come mainly from institutional investors, but private operators are participating directly or indirectly through mutual funds, specialised savings accounts such as the Livret de Développement Durable in France...». While water, transport, energy, real estate and waste treatment have long concentrated the bulk of green investments, other sectors are increasingly being financed through these funds, such as the automotive and textile industries.
1,475
BILLION DOLLARS CORRESPONDING TO THE CUMULATIVE ISSUE OF GREEN BONDS
As the world’s leading tourist destination, France has suffered from a pandemic that has largely paralysed trade. To bounce back, some are betting on a return to more local and more virtuous tourism. Axel Fenaux, co-founder and CTO of Revlys, an agency committed to responsible travel, explains this trend. WITH COVID, SOME TRAVELLERS HAVE REFOCUSED ON MORE LOCAL DESTINATIONS. IS THIS A NEW PHENOMENON?
The pandemic has accelerated a basic trend. When we founded Revlys in 2018, we were in fact counting on the travel boom in France, which moreover enabled us to strongly develop our activity during the crisis at a time when agencies specialising in long distance travel particularly suffered.
THE CRISIS HAS ALSO BROUGHT THE CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL BACK TO THE FOREFRONT. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
We can consider that the only way to be virtuous is to travel without emitting carbon, for example by favouring ultralocal bicycle tourism. The other possibility is to move FRANCE HAS BEEN THE LEADING TOURIST DESTINATION FOR THE PAST 30 YEARS IN TERMS OF VISITOR NUMBERS, BUT IS ONLY THIRD IN TERMS OF REVENUE, BEHIND THE US AND SPAIN (2019). WWW.REVLYS.COM
Yulia TITOVA
Professor of finance at IÉSEG.
Axel FENAUX
Co-founder and CTO at Revlys. 16
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DATA ANALYSIS REVOLUTIONIZES CUSTOMER RELATIONS
towards a compensation approach, based on the notion of low-carbon tourism. This is the approach of an operator such as Voyageurs du Monde, which continues to offer its clients far-flung destinations but in return commits to donating funds to NGOs or associations that carry out responsible projects: reforestation, soil remediation, etc. This is also our policy, with the sole difference that we offer trips exclusively in France in order to limit the distances travelled, and therefore the volume of emissions. We strongly encourage our customers to use the train, which emits much less than air travel. This does not mean that we are forbidden to do so, if only to meet the constraints of some of our customers: a retired couple in their seventies would find it difficult to spend eight hours on a train.
IS TRAVELLING THROUGHOUT FRANCE ALSO A WAY TO REDISCOVER OUR OWN COUNTRY?
We are convinced of this. If France has been the world’s leading tourist destination for years, it is not by chance. France is a country of countries: each territory has its own specificity, its identity, its traditions, its culture, its gastronomy... There are turquoise beaches in Morbihan, not only in the Maldives, wild coasts, mountains, seafronts, cities with a very strong identity... The variety of landscapes and experiences is unbelievably rich. The Cévennes have nothing in common with the Périgord, the Alpilles or the Landes. It is also an easier and more accessible way to travel, especially in times of a health crisis: you spend less time in airports or at customs, the risk of cancellation is lower... There is also a palpable desire to find human contact, which is not always the case when you just pick up the keys to a flat rented on Airbnb.
Is the growing power of data analysis tools revolutionising customer relations? Yes, and increasingly so, explains Stéphanie Beyer Diaz, a PhD student at IÉSEG. «For a few years now, companies have been able to refine their offer thanks to marketing tactics that are much more personalised than traditional campaigns. Between two episodes on Netflix, you can easily buy products derived from a series on Amazon by asking Alexa to identify a particular actor,» the researcher points out. Beyond the GAFAMs, «the analysis of our consumer behaviour dominates our private lives to a large extent. We use applications for everything: even our everyday objects have a WiFi connection. This translates into massive volumes of data, which many companies use to anticipate their customers’ expectations. Predictive shopping for household products is one example, as are bank applications that suggest different products based on our respective profiles. Hence the need to set some boundaries: «it is important for customers as well as for companies: valuing data privacy helps to build and maintain trust, and therefore loyalty.»
COULD THE END OF THE PANDEMIC REVERSE THIS TREND?
During this crisis, many French people became aware of the environmental impact of their travelling, therefore deciding to travel nearer to home, which is one way of responding to this. Everything will depend on the ability of French tourism players to dust off the image of certain destinations that are, nevertheless, splendid. One can feel extremely far from home without going to the other side of the world.
Stéphanie BEYER DIAZ PhD at IÉSEG.
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NICE TO MEET YOU
STAND UP, FIGHT AND WIN
It doesn’t just happen to other people. Pauline Déroulède lost her left leg in 2018 when she was hit on a pavement by a driver who had lost control of his car. Just a few hours after the accident, she made a promise to herself: to participate in the Paris Paralympics in 2024. The athlete, who will be consecrated French wheelchair tennis champion in June 2021, intends to use this obstacle course to send out strong messages.
HOW WERE YOU INJURED?
Pauline DÉROULÈDE
Athlete, French champion of wheelchair-tennis.
On 27 October 2018, I found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time. A man who was 90 years old at the time lost control of his car which hit me and two other people. My left leg was torn off by the impact and I was immediately taken to the Percy military hospital, where I was treated by teams used to dealing with what looked like a war wound. Strangely enough, everything went very quickly: it was in the recovery room that I found out how to get back on my feet, literally and figuratively. I needed a goal, both for myself and for my family, whose pain and concern I witnessed. I told them that I intended to participate in the 2024 Paralympic Games, at home, in my city.
IT SEEMED LIKE A LONG WAY TO GO. WHAT KEPT YOU GOING?
THE PARIS PARALYMPIC GAMES WILL HOST
22 DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES AND ARE EXPECTED TO BRING ALMOST
4,500 ATHLETES TOGETHER.
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For several months, I fell into another world punctuated by moments of deep distress, heavy surgery, intense pain... Alone, it’s too difficult. The support of my partner and my family was essential, as was that of the doctors and nursing staff, right down to the cleaning lady who used to come into my room. They all stepped out of their roles at some point to support me with a gesture or a word. It was the others who saved me until I was finally
able to get back on my feet on 27 February 2019. After many months, I was finally able to get back into action, walk again and do exercises, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. I was also lucky enough to walk this path with soldiers injured in OPEX*, often much more seriously than me. I already had a deep admiration for their mission, but their strength carried me on. In a rehabilitation room, we are all in the same boat and we feed off each other’s energy. I just couldn’t complain in the midst of such people.
WHY DID YOU SEE TENNIS AS A WAY TO GET BACK ON TRACK?
In such a situation, I think that everyone clings to what is most relevant to them : music, art... I already had a certain predisposition for sport before the accident and I had already considered a high-level career in the past. As soon as I was able to stand up, I did everything I could to get back in shape and give myself the means to achieve my goals. I spend eighteen hours a week on the courts and another eight in the gym. I am taking part in various competitions in order to join the top 30 in the world and be able to take part in the Paralympic Games. We are extraordinarily lucky to be
FROM 1948 TO 2024, THE HISTORY OF THE PARALYMPIC MOVEMENT The first Paralympic Games were held in 1960, but their origins go back to 1948. That year, German neurologist Ludwig Guttmann was looking for a way to help former Royal Air Force pilots, all of whom were paraplegics, to speed up their recovery. He devised a series of sporting events to be held at the same time as the London Games. In what was just the blink of an eye, 16 athletes took part in a series of awards in archery and netball, a derivative of basketball. Without knowing it, the doctor had just imagined a new sports movement that came into its own in Rome in 1960: a few days after the end of the Olympic Games, 400 athletes from 23 countries competed in the first Paralympic Games in history.
able to defend the colours of France at home. Even if the Los Angeles Games of 2028 are already in the back of my mind.
YOU COMMENTED THE TOKYO OLYMPICS ON THE CHANNEL L’ÉQUIPE AS A CONSULTANT. IS THIS MEDIA PRESENCE ALSO A WAY OF BREAKING DOWN STEREOTYPES?
Of course. France is still lagging far behind its neighbours, and it must be repeated, time and again, that disability is first and foremost in the mind. All the athletes I know will tell you, when they are on the court, they do not feel diminished. It is the way society views us that reflects this image. We have to change the way people look at disability and without judging them. I myself had a lot of prejudices before my accident.
YOU ARE ALSO LOBBYING THE GOVERNMENT TO CHANGE THE ROAD SAFETY FRAMEWORK. WHY?
Clearly we need to look at the way driving licences are issued. The person who mowed me down was elderly, but the issue goes far beyond the case of older people, who should not be stigmatised in any way. But we must begin asking whether the right to drive should be conditional on regular fitness tests for
motorists whose abilities are impaired by age or illness. Given the virtually sacred place of the car in France, this is a sensitive issue, but all other countries do it. Why not us? Nobody wants to be responsible for an accident.
“All the athletes I know will tell you, when they are on the court, they do not feel diminished. It is the way society views us that reflects this image. We have to change the way people look at disability and without judging them”.
*Overseas Operations
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