Translations

DAMARTEX: Involving employees to promote CSR in the company

1. Organizational Governance

Relations with stakeholders

Sector Industry

Year 2012

Country France

Transmitter

Context

Damartex is a multi-brand company: Damart, Damart sport, Happy D by Damart, Afibel, Delaby, Maison du Jersey, Happy Days and Sédagyl. All targeted at a senior customer base and offer mostly ready-to-wear and homewear collections, but also products of comfort, well being, specifically designed for women whether they are 55 or 85 years old. To develop CSR, at a time when many companies were creating "Sustainable Development Manager" jobs in their own right, Damartex made the choice to add this task to employees already in place in the business. Thus, each Management structure at Damart France nominated a volunteer to become an "ambassador" of CSR. Indeed, embedded in everyday activity, it became a philosophy, a way of thinking, rather than a constraint imposed from outside.

Objectives

For the company, it meat spreading, as widely as possible, the spirit of the "CSR", while being as close to the priorities in their field. The Damartex group CSR is twofold:
- Promote CSR within its own management,
o both actions related to the internal (phasing out of paper listings, purchase PEFC paper, energy saving, etc)
o on action proposals to customers (product share, sales that benefit UNICEF, in store battery recovery, impact of company on the environment, etc)
- Develop transversal actions at the company level(campaign in favor “restos du coeur”, clothing donations, paper recycling, support for volunteers at the World Forum Lille, promoting car sharing and “green” travel in Damartex; 9 electric bikes have been purchased).

APPROACH

- The President of the company encourages this approach to the Management Committee: it presents the issues of CSR within the company and the priority themes. It ensures the adherence of each Director that is essential in driving the team. A CSR sponsor is appointed within the Steering Committee, capable of bringing the project (budget, strategic choices, partnerships) as well as a CSR Manager (steering of group, follow-up of actions)
- Each Director identifies an employee within the management for which CSR is already part of their values. In this case, this person is nominated to be the Ambassador for CSR management and outlines the proposed missions.
- Every Director informs at team meeting the company's ambition to bring the value of CSR internally and externally and explains the various aspects with concrete examples. If necessary, they call up a volunteer for the position of Ambassador.
- The group of CSR Ambassadors (multi-jobs, multi-sector, multi-generational) meets every 2 months and covers the following topics:
o Sharing of information on current CSR situation
o Introduction of external partners / benchmarking internal themes
o Follow-up of company actions by each and presentation of communication plans associated.

Human rsources: quite varied depending on the topics addressed. On average, 5 hours per month per person. Approximately 40 World Forum volunteers (i.e. 240 hours of person-time) over the past 5 years.
Financial means: within the scope of the budget process of the company: its amount depends on the company’s actions.

A Best Practice showcased by World Forum Lille in 2010 and updated in 2012 to reflect changes.

CONTRIBUTION TO COMPANY PERFORMANCE

- Increase in skills through the availability of talented individuals at the service of the community
- Internal cohesion and company pride
-Identification of impacts of each action of the company with monitoring indicators: consumption of gas, electricity, paper, etc

Benefits

- CSR Group : 5 hours x 12 months x 16 people
- In 2012, 20 volunteers participate at World Forum Lille
- In 2012, a €2,240 donation made to the Restos du Cœur food bank and charity
- Over the past 12 months (2011/2012), 2.4 tons of clothing have been collected and distributed by the Main Forte association.