Energy sobriety as a business booster

Making the shift from emergency sobriety to organized sobriety. That was the message conveyed by the entrepreneurs present at the 2nd edition of the “Universités de l’Économie de Demain” (Universities of the Economy of Tomorrow) gathering held on October 18 at the Corum Conference Center in Montpellier.
 
Organized by the Impact France movement in partnership with the Montpellier Métropole, this series of meetings was held in the context of a current situation that leaves us with little choice: how can companies remain successful when faced with the climate, inflation, and energy crises? The answer is to undertake a societal and environmental transformation.

“There is an urgent need to take action. Companies, while creating wealth and bringing enormous innovation and progress, must also address the major challenges facing our planet,” said Michaël Delafosse, Mayor of Montpellier and President of the Montpellier Métropole, which is implementing an ambitious policy to accelerate ecological and socially responsible transition in its territory.

For the past several years, the Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole’s Department of Attractiveness, Economic Development, and Employment has been “committed to helping economic stakeholders make this transition,” added Isabelle Prévot, director of the Montpellier Business and Innovation Centre (BIC).
 
The main debate organized during these meetings therefore focused on the central question: can companies be successful while remaining sober? The entrepreneurs invited to take part in the event were able to show by example that social and environmental commitment is a societal expectation from which companies cannot escape.

 “Our employees have a real quest for meaning and values,” says Samih Khalef, director of Asics France, based in Lattes. “Teams give their best when a manager is consistent with their commitments,” adds Jean-Thierry Winstel, founder and CEO of Bioviva in Montpellier.

In this context, the transformation process itself must be carefully thought out and fully accepted. “Sobriety should be a choice rather than a necessity,” says Pierre Minodier, Impact France’s ambassador for Occitanie. He is also director of Artyzen, a social inclusion company based in Clapiers, and one of the 83 signatories of an article published in Le Journal du Dimanche on July 2, calling for sobriety to be a collective choice. “Sobriety in this context is both an individual and a collective choice,” confirms Cécile Franc, CEO of SETS Solution and vice-president and impact pilot for French Tech Méditerranée.

Still, sobriety is too often associated with frugality and renunciation. Salomé Géraud, co-founder of Drive Tout Nu, suggests changing the way we think about it: “Sobriety is more than just adding up less. It is also about increasing social justice, impact, and distributing value more equitably. We need to invent new storylines that will engage companies.

But ultimately, will companies really have a choice? The financial world is changing the way it looks at socially responsible companies, observes Julien Denormandie, former French Minister of Agriculture who became chief impact officer of the greentech company Sweep in Montpellier.

“Some funds are moving towards financing impact companies only,” he points out.

This is partially because a European regulation has now come into effect, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Intended as a means to provide more transparency in terms of environmental and social responsibility within financial markets, this regulation encourages capital to be channeled towards initiatives that promote a more sustainable economy. Sobriety is finally being taken into account. No doubt, an asset for dedicated companies!