Now a major highlight. Every year, numerous events are organised during European Sustainable Development Week to promote inspiring projects and initiatives. The theme of the 2019 edition was reducing inequalities. An opportunity for Altavia to host its traditional CSR Week, and to raise awareness among its employees of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Altavia supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
In France, over 900 projects were run from 30 May to 5 June, in all regions, to promote the Sustainable Development Goals. This year, the Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition dedicated the event to the fight against inequalities. “This theme is also one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals”, reiterates Catherine Rehbinder, CSR Director at Altavia. “This week provided an opportunity to (re)present these goals to our employees.” Indeed, Altavia has been an agent of change for many years now. As a member of the Global Compact for over 10 years, Altavia reached the highest level of differentiation, Advanced, in 2018. The company backs the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as set out in the COP (Communication on Progress). “This document covers all of the actions carried out by Altavia to improve its impact on society and on the environment and the way in which the group supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals” explains Catherine Rehbinder.
Reducing inequalities on a daily basis
Thanks to its Positive Sourcing, Altavia already encourages the professional integration of marginalised individuals. A proportion of production is allocated to companies in the protected and adapted work sector, which employs those with disabilities. “Altavia has made real efforts to improve its social impact”, emphasises Catherine Rehbinder. “The aim is to increase the number of orders placed every year with the protected and adapted sector, but also to expand our panel by incorporating companies encouraging professional integration in the broader sense – dependent persons, companies run by representatives of minorities”.
Sustained awareness-building among employees is one of the levers identified to improve our impact. Visits to adapted companies were organised to remove certain obstacles and prejudices. Lastly, a Positive Sourcing Forum will be held at the St Ouen site in September to encourage exchanges with a greater number of inclusive companies.
CSR Week at Altavia Paris
During CSR Week, Altavia Paris employees received awareness training on social problems at a breakfast prepared by the vocational rehabilitation centre (ESAT, for Etablissement et service d’aide par le travail) “Les papillons blancs”.
The association Rencontre 93, with which Altavia Paris has worked for several years now, also came to present the “Studio Traversée” project on the creation of 3D video games, produced partly thanks to computer donations from Altavia Paris.
Work on the project’s visual identity was initiated at this inclusive event; a shared project that could continue over the coming months.
A global action at group level
“To raise awareness among all Altavia employees of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, explanatory posters were distributed in all of the countries in which we operate”, explains Catherine Rehbinder. A webinar was also organised during which the CSR team presented Altavia’s support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals to all of the group’s CSR ambassadors. It is important that each Business Unit develops its own CSR identity while at the same time following the example of the actions carried out at group level”.
One thing is certain: not only has Altavia sought to improve its impact on society and the environment for a number of years already, but its commitment to change increases every year.