At the Louvre-Lens, a different kind of patronage /P

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 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.

Thierry LEBRUN

Director in charge of Transitional Banking at the Crédit Agricole Nord de France.

“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.

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 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 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

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.

Étienne ANDREOLETTI

Responsable du pôle promotion de Vilogia.

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

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.

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 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.

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)

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