info 225 are you ready to join the circular economy?

JULY / AUGUST 2016

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R A N G L O - F R E N C H B U S I N E S S

FRENCH CHAMBER OF GREAT BRITAIN www.frenchchamber.co.uk

IN THIS ISSUE:

HE Ms Sylvie Bermann, French Ambassador to the UK, on Brexit

5 minutes with Tanuja Randery, Zone President UK & Ireland,

Schneider Electric

Interview: Dame Ellen MacArthur on the Circular Economy

Jacques Attali makes the case for positivity at our Annual Gala Dinner

Start-up story: Jonathan Benhamou, Founder & CEO of PeopleDoc, talks innovation and globalisation

ARE YOU READY TO JOIN

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY ?

Enhance your career in Energy and Agribusiness Management at ESCP EuropeThe energy and agriculture sectors are rapidly changing and growing. Today’s managers need to have a broad perspective with an integrated view in order to cope with the complexity of these thriving industries and have a clear understanding of antagonisms across players in the ever-evolving Energy and Agribusiness markets.

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energy cooperation, government agencies and the academic community, in preparation for a new energy era. Find out more at www.rcem.eu

Established in 1819, ESCP Europe is at the forefront of education preparing the leaders of tomorrow. One of its core missions is to develop the next generation of

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CONSTRUCTING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

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At VINCI Construction Grands Projets, we engineer digital solutions that help us and our Clients in the conception and construction of our major projects.

On SEA Tours-Bordeaux high speed rail line (302 km and 38 km of connecting track), we developed a bespoke information system allowing sharing of processes and data between all partners (80 design offices, 5 sub-consortiums, 3,500 employees) that offers the most reliable performance. We introduced an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) and a Geographical Information System (GIS) whose 3D interface fostered collaboration with clients and stakeholders. This real Asset Information Management (AIM) is being transferred to the dedicated company for the maintenance of the project over 45 years.

In the UK, we are currently placing our BIM expertise at the core of infrastructure projects such as Tideway East and the M4 Corridor around Newport, with the aim of providing enhanced collaboration and efficiency.

By EXCELLENCE, we mean designing and building quicker, safer and at best value.

www.vinci-construction-projects.com/british-isles

info - july / august 2016 - 3

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The British people have made their choice to leave the European Union. I understand that our members will be concerned and need time to assess the implications, but it is important to remember that the legal situation today is no different to that before the referendum.

The UK will remain in the European Union for at least the next two years. We must take advantage of this ‘breathing space’ and ensure the views of the Franco-British business community are heard during the forthcoming negotiations. We, at the Chamber, will do our best to support you in dealing with the inevitable changes.

This issue of INFO focuses on a solution to another challenge our world faces, which is how we can creatively and innovatively manage our finite resources and limit the environmental impact of the waste our linear economy churns out. The concept of a circular economy is a topic close to my heart as it is central to my own vision of sustainability and increasingly, businesses both big and small, are looking at ways of becoming more circular in their models, products and processes, or are starting up as circular from the outset.

We interview Dame Ellen MacArthur, whose experiences sailing solo around the world taught her the meaning of finite resources, and led her to set up the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which is leading research and initiatives for the transition to this sustainable, capital-building model.

On the macro level, several articles consider the policy mixes and scenarios that would support such a shift, while on the company level, others look at how circular economy strategies could be implemented and what is being done by businesses such as Veolia, Schneider Electric, Renault and VINCI, as well as start-ups, which have broken new ground with their circular models. Read on and judge for yourself whether we really are on the cusp of a new industrial revolution that you should join.

As this issue also attests, the Chamber has had a very busy couple of months, topped by our Annual Gala Dinner at which Jacques Attali spoke brilliantly and inspiringly about his vision for a more positive world. Positivity is a strong and hopeful message in these uncertain times, and on that note, I wish you a wonderful summer. I

Estelle BrachlianoffPresident, French Chamber of Great BritainSenior Executive Vice President of Veolia UK & Ireland

CONSTRUCTING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

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At VINCI Construction Grands Projets, we engineer digital solutions that help us and our Clients in the conception and construction of our major projects.

On SEA Tours-Bordeaux high speed rail line (302 km and 38 km of connecting track), we developed a bespoke information system allowing sharing of processes and data between all partners (80 design offices, 5 sub-consortiums, 3,500 employees) that offers the most reliable performance. We introduced an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) and a Geographical Information System (GIS) whose 3D interface fostered collaboration with clients and stakeholders. This real Asset Information Management (AIM) is being transferred to the dedicated company for the maintenance of the project over 45 years.

In the UK, we are currently placing our BIM expertise at the core of infrastructure projects such as Tideway East and the M4 Corridor around Newport, with the aim of providing enhanced collaboration and efficiency.

By EXCELLENCE, we mean designing and building quicker, safer and at best value.

www.vinci-construction-projects.com/british-isles

The o�cial fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the All-New Renault KADJAR Signature Nav dCi 110 are: Urban 67.3 (4.2); Extra Urban 74.3 (3.8); Combined 72.4 (3.9). The o�cial CO2 emissions are 103g/km. EU Directive and Regulation 692/2008 test environment figures. Fuel consumption and CO2 may vary according to driving styles, road conditions and other factors.Model shown is All-New Renault KADJAR Signature Nav dCi 110.

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Renault KADJARVoted best SUV in the 2016 Auto Express Driver Power Survey.You said it, not us.

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COMMENT

6 HE Ms Sylvie Bermann, French Ambassador to the UK, on Brexit

BUSINESS WORLD

8 5 minutes with... Tanuja Randery, Zone President UK & Ireland, Schneider Electric

10 Total inaugurates Laggan-Tormore Project 11 Alstom awarded major resignalling contract13 Veolia to co-develop Rookery South ERF Legrand Electric acquires CP Electronics 14 Chamber member companies amongst ‘Top 50 Employers for Women’15 Start-up & SME news18 Interview: Tramonex on its government grant for blockchain development19 Profile:Microsoft Accelerator London20 Start-up Story: PeopleDoc 21 Reports and research: EY, Sopra Steria, Eptica 23 Charity news: Celebrating 25 years of Emmaus in the UK

EDUCATION

24 News briefs

26 FOCUS

Are you ready to join the circular economy? 27 The circular economy opportunity 28 Interview: Dame Ellen MacArthur 30 What would be the impact of a resource efficientandcirculareconomy? 31 How the circular economy can cut unemployment 32 Circular city: the case for London33 The social dilemma of the circular economy 34 Taxortarget?Howtoincentiviseashiftto closed-loop supply chains35 The paradigm shift: how the circular economy could work for business36 How easy is it for companies to implement circulareconomyideas? 37 CE100 - businesses taking Circular seriously38 Veolia: Innovation driven by the circular economy40 Schneider Electric: Circular by design42 Renault: The drive towards circularity

43 VINCI: Waste optimisation in construction44 Mossessian Architecture: The built environment and the circular economy45 Supporting growth & innovation of circular start-ups and SMEs46 Moi, moche et wonky: rethinking food waste 47 Case study: bio-bean - recycling waste coffee grounds into advanced biofuels48 Let’s create a future for waste paper49 Case study: Axelle&Cie - Positive Planet’s circular economy project50 The circular economy around the world

LIFESTYLE

52 Reimagining the masters 54 L.E.J.’s London debut55 Exhibitions and events56 English bubbles for Vranken-Pommery Monopole57 Eat, Drink, Stay - briefs58 Cheese & Wine Press59 Le Petit Ballon: wine to your taste on order60 Travelogue: The colour and rhythm of Brazil61 Books

62 CHAMBER HAPPENINGS 63 Chamber shorties 64 New members 66 Breakfast with Michael Borrell, Total67 Ambassador’s Brief: Focus on Ireland68 Rendez-vous chez... Big Fernand / The Dentist Gallery 69 AGM: Achievements and ambitions70 Annual Gala Dinner: A positive performance72 Patron events

FORUMS & CLUBS 73 Digital transformation & innovation74 Alternative funding and liquidity for SMEs75 Whatisyourclimatestory?76 Engagement and retention78 Data protection compliance: taking your firststeps 79 How start-ups can attract and retain talent80 Areyoureadytoexit? 82 Forthcoming Forums & Clubs Forthcoming Events

Managing Director: Florence Gomez Editor: Keri Fuller Head of Corporate Communications: Marielle Fraize Graphic design & cover artwork: Katherine Millet Advertising & Sales: Suzanne Lycett Publications Assistant: Aurore Largerie INFO is published every 2 months Printed by: CPI Colour

Contributors: Sam Aflaki, Dustin Benton, Estelle Brachlianoff, Jamie Butterworth, Fred Caharel, Eric Charriaux, Teresa Domenech, Mark Esposito, Laurie-Anne Evra-Ancenys, Marie Fouris, Stephanie Godderidge, John Halton, Mathieu Hestin, Nicolas Jacquier, Anne-France Kennedy, Agata Kozolup, Thibault Lavergne, Henry le Fleming, Dame Ellen MacArthur, Shumail Mazahir, Stéphane Eyraud, Khaled Soufani, Adam Thorpe, Jeremy Townsend, Terence Tse, Paul Turner, Rodney Turtle

Distribution: French Chamber members, Franco-British decision makers, Business Class lounges of Eurostar, Eurotunnel and Air France in London, Paris and Manchester

Editorial and Publishing Office:French Chamber of Great BritainLincoln House, 300 High HolbornLondon WC1V 7JHTel: (020) 7092 6600;Fax: (020) 7092 6601www.frenchchamber.co.uk

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JULY / AUGUST 2016

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R A N G L O - F R E N C H B U S I N E S S

FRENCH CHAMBER OF GREAT BRITAIN www.frenchchamber.co.uk

IN THIS ISSUE:

HE Ms Sylvie Bermann, French Ambassador to the UK, on Brexit

5 minutes with Tanuja Randery,Zone President UK & Ireland Global

Solutions, Schneider Electric

Interview: Dame Ellen MacArthuron the Circular Economy

Jacques Attali makes the case for positivity at our Annual Gala Dinner

Start-up story: Jonathan Benhamou, Founder & CEO of PeopleDoc, talks innovation and globalisation



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6 - info - july / august 2016

COMMENT

HE Ms Sylvie Bermann, French Ambassador to the UK, on

BREXIT


Were you surprised by the result of the referendum and how do you explain it?It came as sad news. The United Kingdom is a great nation; the British are a great people. Their decision has to be respected. However, the French authorities, along with the rest of the EU member states

were clear from the start: we wanted the UK to remain a part of the European family. This would have been in everyone’s interest; as a union we are stronger when it comes to tackling the economic, security and environmental issues of the twenty-first century.

Do you think Article 50 should be activated quickly to avoid uncertainty or does such a momentous decision require more time?It is of course in everyone’s interest to limit uncertainty. France’s position is clear on this: Article 50 should be activated as soon as a new British prime minister is appointed (which should happen early in September), as stated by all EU member states at the last European Council.

Are EU countries united in wanting to take a tough stance against the UK in the negotiations that follow?It is not a question of toughness, but of clarity. France and the other member states are united in wanting the official negotiations to start as soon as possible. And there can be no informal negotiations beforehand. The longer we wait, the more serious the economic, political and financial problems we will have to face.

What is France’s position?We are confronted with a very new and complex situation. The specific outcomes cannot be predicted for now, especially since we don’t know what the UK will ask for. However, France’s close bilateral cooperation with the UK will continue, for example through our work together as members of the Security Council, and on defence.

Do you think freedom of movement is a prerequisite for the UK to remain part of the single market?To be part of the single market, four categories of freedom of movement have to be respected: goods, capital, services and people. The single market is a whole package. If the UK wants

to be part of the single market, it will have to respect this rule.

What will Brexit mean for the 3 million EU citizens living and working in the UK, including more than 300,000 French people, and 1.2 million British people in Europe?As you can imagine, we’re following this issue very closely at the Embassy. But in the short term, as long as the UK remains part of the EU, there will be no change.

What will the consequences be for the 3,000+ French companies and subsidiaries settled in the UK, which employ more than 300,000 people?For now, the situation of French companies in the UK remains unchanged. I am fully aware of how difficult and unstable this period is for businesses, and I, along with the various French Embassy departments, are here to support them in any way we can throughout this process.

With Northern Ireland and Scotland largely voting to remain, do you think Brexit will lead to the end of the United Kingdom?I can only say that the negotiations we’ll have will only be held between the EU and the United Kingdom, not with a part of the UK.

How is Brexit perceived in France and could there be a push there to leave the EU too?This referendum has increased the need to be more effective in directly addressing the concerns of EU citizens, especially when it comes to ensuring their protection and security, by increasing efforts related to border control and fighting terrorism, but also in supporting growth and jobs. The EU needs to be stronger on its high-priority issues but also take a step back when it comes to issues that individual member states are better at dealing with.

Is the Le Touquet Agreement, which allows UK border controls on French soil, in jeopardy?The French authorities have been very clear that the Le Touquet Agreement will be maintained.

Does Brexit have any implications for the Lancaster House Treaty on bilateral defence co-operation?As President Hollande reiterated following the European Council, whatever happens, France will maintain a strong relationship with the UK. Besides our geographical proximity and shared history, we have very similar positions on a number of strategic issues. Defence is among the most important of them, and the Lancaster House Treaty will be maintained. I Interview by KF and FA


You became Schneider Electric’s UK & Ireland President last year, having held a number of leadership roles in global technology and telecommunications firms. What do you do in your role and has your previous experience fed into what you do now? I have broadly split my career between strategy and operations working across a number of blue-chip technology and telecoms businesses in Europe, the US and now the UK and Ireland. It’s this breadth of experience, international and industry, that enables me to take best practices from across sectors to drive change in the industrial sector.

As President of Schneider Electric’s UK & Ireland zone I’m responsible for our business across IT, Energy, Buildings, Infrastructure and Industry. Strategy and execution in region, customer relationships, employees and relationships with government, industry associations and analysts also fall within my remit. Accelerating growth in our core business is a key area of focus and there are two things that are required to make this happen. First is a renewed strategic focus and transformation plan. By outlining a clear direction, I can help transition to a more solutions mindset, bringing together our products and services across the various businesses to our customers in a more holistic manner. Second is the focus on operational execution and excellence. Putting the customer at the heart of everything we do will bring us closer to our customers and help deliver on growth targets.

Schneider Electric is a renowned global specialist in energy management and automation; what is the scope of its UK and Ireland activities? Our technologies ensure that Life Is On everywhere, for everyone and at every moment. The UK & Ireland represents Schneider Electric’s fourth largest zone and spans the power, industrial, data centre and IT as well as buildings businesses. Across each of these, our main objective is to provide systems, products and services that help people use electricity safely, efficiently and in ways that conserve energy and other natural resources. With nine manufacturing sites in the UK, including Telford,

Leeds, Swindon and Scarborough together with large facilities in Maynooth and Galway, Schneider is able to serve customers across all sectors in the public and private domain. We also work closely with our channel partners in electrical distribution, contracting and panel builders to ensure we provide the best services to our joint client base.

What you do as a company intersects two of the big issues of the day – digital transformation, which is increasing demand for energy, and climate change, which compels more efficiency and sustainability. Can these be reconciled with any innovations that Schneider is bringing to the market? The three megatrends of urbanisation, digitisation and decarbonisation are driving significant change. If we take buildings for example, by 2040, the world’s urban population will have increased by 2.5 billion, requiring a new city the size of Hong Kong approximately every month, for the next 25 years. In that time, electricity consumption in buildings will increase by 80%. Buildings already consume 50% of all the power generated on Earth and are responsible for 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Connective technology, combining asset management, energy management and operational efficiency allows more effective management, and in turn savings. We are able to take an average building as it is, and achieve a 30% gain in energy efficiency. We have already applied these technologies to our own HQ.

The Internet of Things (IoT) will provide the next wave of enterprise digital transformation, unifying OT (operations technology) and IT, enabled by more affordable ‘connected’ sensors combined with embedded intelligence and control, faster and more ubiquitous communications networks, Cloud infrastructure and advanced data analytics capabilities. Staying with the aforementioned building example, not only can significant savings be achieved, but also, with an increased level of connectivity, the building environment can easily be managed to ensure people feel safe, comfortable and connected. By bringing together IT and OT we can connect systems such as lighting, HVAC (central heating, ventilation and air-conditioning), access

5 minutes with...

Tanuja RanderyZone President UK & Ireland, Schneider Electric


control, space management and even blinds. These capabilities allow building managers to provide the best possible experience for the occupants of the building, whether that is by managing the temperature or lighting or enabling easy room scheduling from a mobile device.

How is Schneider involved in the IoT revolution? Schneider Electric is an IoT pioneer with a long history of innovation in open architectures and Ethernet-based technologies. We launched our first digital distributed control system – by its very nature, digital and connected – in 1987, four years before the launch of the World Wide Web! By the 1990s, we were implementing Ethernet and web servers in our programmable logic controllers while our competitors were still promoting proprietary protocols. We’ve continued to innovate, with products and solutions such as the award-winning Modicon M580 ePAC, the first controller with Ethernet built right into its backplane. Today, we’re taking it one step further to integrate IT with OT with Process Automation. Bringing these areas together with our combination of hardware, software and Cloud services enables us to drive efficiency and savings across the entire Energy Value chain.

Schneider Electric has been ranked the ninth most sustainable company on the planet. What are some of the things you do to earn this accolade? At Schneider Electric we believe that economic, environmental and social interests are convergent and as such, we remain committed to sustainability. We recently pledged a number of commitments at COP21 to help sustain customer resources and reduce CO2 emissions. This includes reducing our own energy intensity by 3.5% each year, avoiding 120,000 tons of CO2 through circular economy ‘end-of-life’ services, as well as investing €10bn on innovation in sustainability over the next 10 years.

The company also defines and measures specific objectives each quarter in the Planet & Society barometer. This has been our sustainability scorecard since 2005 with objectives defined for a three-year period and quarterly results for key performance indicators. Through the BipBop programme, Schneider Electric develops access to safe, reliable, affordable and clean energy for people at the bottom of the pyramid worldwide.

Our membership of the CE100 programme (see page 37) is a major step on the journey to a more sustainable and efficient world. A number of initiatives have been implemented to reduce the use of raw materials and waste. In Q1 2015, 39 of our industrial sites tended toward ‘zero waste’: on these sites, non-metallic landfilled waste does not exceed 3% of the total production and metallic waste 1%. Our Green Premium ecolabel

also brings complete environmental information to everyone, from homeowners, building managers and architects, to our distributors and OEM partners to help them reach efficiency goals and exceed industry sustainability standards.

You are very active on Twitter, particularly about gender equality in the energy and technology sectors. What do you think could be done to get more women into these sectors, and does Schneider Electric have any of its own initiatives? I’m proud of the work Schneider is doing in this area, including our participation in the global HeForShe initiative. It all starts with our CEO, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, who received a coveted Women’s Empowerment Principles award earlier this year in recognition of his commitment to empowering women in the workplace. We also set clear targets for diversity. Businesses set growth targets, so why is this any different? We aim to achieve 40% female employees at entry level, 33% at senior management level and this year we are proud to have achieved a 50-50 gender split in our graduate intake. Targets are not just internal, we require search firms to include at least one women candidate on all management position shortlists.

Setting targets for recruitment is a great place to start, but it’s crucial that women are nurtured at all stages of their career. At Schneider Electric we look at flexible working policies, recognition and role modelling as well as putting processes in place to ensure talented women don’t miss out on promotion opportunities.

Outside of Schneider, I am an active speaker on the topic and also run the Power Women network which brings together a number of senior women in UK industry.

What does Schneider Electric get from being a member of the French Chamber? I’m excited to have recently joined the Advisory Council of the French Chamber. Membership offers access to a great network of executives with which to discuss common ideas and share best practices. This benefit spans the business with our teams in HR, finance and other areas taking advantage of the expert forums and networking events to grow and develop their skills. As members we are able to leverage the French Chamber’s voice in key discussions in the UK for the benefit of ours, as well as other Franco-British businesses. I Interview by KF

5 MINUTES WITH. . . TANUJA R ANDERY

Zone President UK & Ireland, Schneider Electric

The Internet of Things will providethe next wave of enterprise

digital transformation

SCH NEIDER ELECTR IC:F A C T S A N D F I G U R E S

• UK employees: 4,400

• Global employees: 160,000

• Global turnover: ~$30 billion in FY2015

• The UK is one of Schneider Electric’s

key markets


BUSINESS WORLD - COMPANY NEWS

Total inaugurates Laggan-Tormore Project in the Shetlands

The Laggan-Tormore inauguration ceremony was held on 16 May at the Shetland Gas Plant in the presence of government and industry partners including Amber Rudd MP, the UK Government Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total. The Laggan-Tormore fields began production on 7 February and production has since ramped up to the full capacity of 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).

UK Government Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Amber Rudd said: ‘This vote of confidence in the offshore oil and gas industry is great news for the Shetland Islands and for the UK as a whole, creating jobs and providing secure, affordable energy to the UK’s families and businesses for decades to come. North Sea oil and gas is crucial to our energy mix and this Government is clear that the broad shoulders of the UK are firmly behind this vital industry and the thousands of workers and families it supports. We are 100% committed to helping our oil and gas industry attract investment, unlock new potential and remain competitive for the future.’ I www.total.uk

HSBC launches £10bn fund to support UK SMEs

The £10bn lending fund is the largest package of support to be announced by HSBC for UK SMEs as part of a broader commitment to make banking cheaper and simpler for customers, and it has been structured to ensure it’s truly UK-wide.

The broader package of support also includes:• A free banking offer of up to 18 months for start-ups and 12 months for switchers• The introduction of year-long, fixed-price £5.50 monthly account tariff, to commence at the end of a customer’s initial free banking period

• Changes that will make banking cheaper for customers: a reduction in the Personal Guarantee Fee from £80 to £10 for any lending facility above £10,000• The launch of the Business Lending Eligibility Checker (BLEC): an online tool offering potential new customers a credit decision in principle for loans of up to £30,000 in under two minutes• A free text alert service for informal overdrafts, which will help customers avoid paying informal overdraft fees and interest. Iwww.hsbc.co.uk

Above: Shetland Gas PlantTop left: Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total Left: Patrick Pouyanné and Amber Rudd MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change



Alstom has been awarded a major contract worth over €100 million by Network Rail for the full resignalling of the Great Western Main Line between Reading and Paddington in the west of London.

Network Rail and Alstom have worked in close collaboration to develop an interlocking solution based on Alstom’s Smartlock range, developed for the most complex and challenging major railway resignalling projects. The works, which include both the renewal of the existing Interlocking and some track remodelling, have already started and are due to reach completion by the end of 2017.

‘Alstom is very proud to take part in this project and will provide Network Rail with state-of-the-art, proven and reliable solutions,’ declared Nick Crossfield, Managing Director, Train Control solutions in the UK. Alstom

is now responsible for providing signalling renewals and enhancements as primary supplier in three out of eight geographical regions in the UK.

Meanwhile, Alstom has completed major refurbishment work on the Pendolino fleet which comprises 56 Class 390 ‘tilting’ trains used by Virgin on the West Coast Main Line. The project is Alstom’s fourth heavy overhaul of the fleet.

‘This project has been a real success story for Alstom and the team of highly-skilled engineers who have done a fantastic job in such a short space of time. The new facility was purpose-built for our work on the Class 390 trains, but with the flexibility to accommodate

a much broader set of trains, allowing us to significantly increase our manufacturing capability in the UK. We have supported over 120 local jobs with this work and put millions of pounds into the local economy by working closely with local suppliers in the North West,’ said Rob Whyte, Managing Director Regional and Intercity, Alstom UK&I. I www.alstom.com

Alstom awarded major resignalling contract in the UK

PSA Peugeot Citroën becomes ‘Groupe PSA’ The company has unveiled its new ‘Groupe PSA’ brand and adopted a new logo. The Group’s new identity is aligned with the shift in its business model towards a broader portfolio of business activities and expanding its customer base through digital innovation. I www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com

Aviva enters partnership with The Founders FactoryAviva has entered into a partnership with Founders Factory, a leading multi-sector digital accelerator and incubator, co-founded by Brent Hoberman, Henry Lane Fox and Jim Meyerle. Founders Factory will build and develop over 200 innovative technology businesses over the next five years, providing capital and resources to support their growth. Aviva will be its exclusive financial services partner, working with seven start-ups, each year, over this period.

The partnership will support Aviva’s broader digital strategy, creating opportunities for technical specialists, creative designers and commercial teams to test and develop new ideas and services aimed at making insurance and financial services more tailored and accessible to Aviva’s customers. The in-house team of experts at Founders Factory, many of whom are successful entrepreneurs themselves, will provide hands-on support and advice to participating start-ups, as well as working with its corporate partners to build and launch new products and services.

As part of the agreement, Aviva’s venture capital arm, Aviva

Ventures, has made a multimillion pound equity investment in Founders Factory. Andrew Brem, Chief Digital Officer, Aviva, said: ‘Insurance and financial services has been stuck in a bygone, analogue era when it comes to engaging with customers – we believe it’s high time to bring the industry into the digital age, for the benefit of customers and insurers alike. Partnering with Founders Factory gives us an opportunity to work with a highly talented pool of entrepreneurs who can help us identify new opportunities and deliver them. Only by being brave and disruptive can we truly accelerate our digital strategy and ensure we are giving customers what they rightly expect.’ Iwww.aviva.com



ENGIE selects Fjord to drive its digital transformation

ENGIE, a global provider of electricity, natural gas and energy services, has selected Fjord, a design and innovation consultancy that is part of Accenture, to reinvent its retail business model and drive digital disruption in the market. The two organisations

plan to review ENGIE’s retail operations and transform the digital experience for ENGIE’s business and residential customers. This includes reimagining the delivery of traditional commodity services, like selling gas and electricity, and designing new services to disrupt the market, challenge competitors and new entrants, and ultimately position ENGIE to move into new regions. These could include exploring how to service the new era of electric and self-driving vehicles through to connecting the coming wave of home solutions for customers.

‘As part of our ambitious three-year transformation plan to become a forerunner of the future energy world, we are making a big investment to digitise our company,

redefine the customer experience and set new rules of engagement in the industry,’ said Isabelle Kocher, CEO of ENGIE.The digital transformation of its retail business will be expanded across the company’s global operations. Tailored to the

needs of each market, the program will be designed to benefit its residential customers, as well as small and medium enterprises and large business and industrial sector clients. I www.engie.com

Atos launches Atos Codex to help companies unlock data value

Atos has launched Atos Codex, a fully integrated and cross market end-to-end analytics solution that enables organisations to maximise the value of their data quickly and cost efficiently. It provides data analytics end-to-end along the complete IT value chain. The services range from digital transformation strategy & consulting, use case business modelling, data science expertise, agile analytics

deployment and ongoing evolution management.

Ursula Morgenstern, Head of Global Consulting and Systems Integration at Atos, said: ‘Data is the new black gold that is fuelling the digital revolution – but as oil, data is useless in its natural format and needs to be refined. Atos Codex offers organisations fast and cost efficient means to exploit the value of their existing data. With our proof of

value approach, we demonstrated in various pilots that the actual business value can be monetised quickly within weeks through our out-of-the-box consulting and platform approach. In the digital era, smart use of data analytics is a competitive differentiator and we believe that with Atos Codex, we can help organisations stay one step ahead and become disrupters rather than being disrupted.’ I www.atos.net

Crowe Horwath Global Risk Consulting buys BaxterBruce

Crowe Horwath Global Risk Consulting (CHGRC), has acquired BaxterBruce Ltd, a specialist insurance industry management consulting firm. By joining forces, the two firms will create one of the UK’s premier risk consulting firms to the financial services industry.

Established in 2009, BaxterBruce specialises in risk management, capital management and regulatory change to the insurance industry in the UK. The firm, which has been expanding at a rate of more than 20% each year, has built

a reputation for excellence underpinned by deep actuarial, regulatory and change management capability.

‘Crowe Horwath Global Risk Consulting and BaxterBruce have built their businesses on similar values, which we believe is key to our success together in the future,’ said CEO Jonathan Burnett. ‘I am delighted that our people and our clients globally will benefit from our two firms joining forces in the UK.’ Iwww.crowehorwath.net



Legrand Electric acquires CP Electronics

Veolia to co-develop Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility

Veolia and Covanta are joining forces, under a Project Development Agreement, to develop the Energy Recovery Facility at Rookery South Pit near Stewartby, Bedfordshire, which will create sufficient low carbon energy to power up to 65,000 homes.

When completed, the facility is expected to generate over 50MWe of electricity and will create around 300 jobs during construction, with 40-50 permanent roles including apprenticeships. It is also designed to be combined heat and power ready to allow for the future development of local district heating.

The facility will be powered via municipal, commercial and industrial residual waste from the surrounding area. The development will also bring a range of local community, employment, infrastructure and environmental benefits through the legal agreements included within the consent for the site. I www.veolia.co.uk

Legrand Electric Limited has acquired CP Electronics Limited, the UK leader in energy efficient lighting controls. Solutions from CP Electronics are complementary to Legrand’s offer in the commercial segment, where the company has leading positions in workstation solutions and in cable management systems.

More generally, CP Electronics will boost Legrand’s international presence in energy efficient lighting control, a market driven by new building regulations and increased demand for energy saving solutions and where Legrand already commands a leading position in the US thanks to its Wattstopper brand. London-based CP Electronics employs 180 people. CP Electronics will form part of a newly created energy controls business unit, run by CP Electronics management team reporting to Tony Greig, CEO of Legrand Electric. I www.legrand.co.uk

GE gas engine-powered energy centre for NHS

GE’s Distributed Power business has officially started up its new high-efficiency trigeneration power plant at Barts Health NHS Trust, which is Europe’s oldest hospital. The new natural gas energy centre was built to increase the hospital’s energy security and efficiency while reducing its fuel costs and curbing its environmental impacts.

One of GE’s Ecomagination qualified 1.4-megawatt (MW) Jenbacher gas engines has been installed to supply reliable electricity and heat, while for the combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) energy centre, a 250-kilowatt absorption chiller will deliver needed cooling water for the hospital and balance of plant equipment. I www.ge.com



easyJet and CFM celebrate 20th anniversary

easyJet and aircraft engine manufacturer CFM International, which is a joint venture between GE Aviation, a division of General Electric, and Snecma, a division of Safran, have celebrated their successful 20-year partnership, built on a shared commitment to progressively reduce the cost as well as the impact of flying and is exemplified by the innovative LEAP-1A engines that will power easyJet’s Airbus A320neos from 2017.

easyJet’s passengers’ carbon footprint is among the lowest in the industry at 81.05 grams CO2 per passenger kilometre. This has decreased by more than a quarter between 2001

and 2013, and the airline is already making good progress on its current target of a further 8% reduction between 2013 and 2020. The LEAP-1A engine will play a major role in this reduction by delivering a 15% fuel efficiency improvement and CO2 emissions compared to the CFM56. The aircraft is also quieter and will comply with ICAO Chapter 14 regulations. The engines are assembled at CFM’s factory in Villaroche, France. Some 450 suppliers provide parts for the LEAP engines and in total, CFM estimates that the new engines support around 10,000 jobs in Europe and the US. I www.easyjet.com

Chamber member companies amongst ‘Top 50 Employers for Women’

Nine Chamber member companies were named as leaders in workplace gender equality in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2016, namely Deloitte, EDF Energy, Eversheds LLP, EY, GE, HSBC, KPMG, Lloyds Banking Group and PwC. The list is published in partnership with Business in the Community, the Prince’s Responsible Business Network, as part of the charity’s Responsible Business Week. All organisations within the Top 50 have demonstrated that gender equality is a key part of their business strategy, with consistent commitment to creating workplaces and cultures that are inclusive of women from entry level through to senior leadership. I

JCDecaux digitalises Oxford Street and other shopping destinations

JCDecaux has launched its digitisation of Europe’s busiest shopping destination, Oxford Street with 50 new double-sided digital screens at bus shelters located near premium retailers such as Selfridges, John Lewis, House of Fraser and Debenhams.

The digital transformation of Oxford Street’s bus shelter network is part of JCDecaux’s London Digital Network (LDN) roll out of 1,000 84-inch fully connected, dynamic HD screens after being awarded the world’s largest bus shelter advertising concession by Transport for London (TfL) earlier this year.

Oxford Street, offers its half million daily visitors a choice of more than 300 retailers and accounts for an annual retail spend of one billion pounds. JCDecaux’s LDN is fuelled by data and allows brands to utilise its media planning and buying tool SmartBRICS and its recently launched SmartCONTENT platform allowing advertisers to make dynamic, contextual ads.

The company has also recently added two major shopping centres to its portfolio - the Bentall Centre, Kingston and Telford Shopping Centre. I www.jcdecaux.co.uk


BUSINESS WORLD - START-UPS & SMES

CWF Retail to produce ZADIG & VOLTAIRE children’s collectionCWF, experts in the manufacture and distribution of children’s fashion, have signed a global licensing agreement with ZADIG & VOLTAIRE for the design, manufacture and distribution of a children’s collection under the ZADIG & VOLTAIRE brand name, starting from the Spring/Summer 2017 season. The addition of ZADIG & VOLTAIRE to CWF’s portfolio of licences rounds off their offer of premium brands and reflects the group’s strategy of collaborating with big French and international names. The children’s collections will be inspired by the adults’ ready-to-wear, mirroring its casual cool, rock n’ roll style, and centring on the iconic designs and materials that have made the adult line such a success. I www.groupecwf.com

Silent dance floor & sign language at Dans le Noir?Renowned London venue, Dans le Noir ? is hijacking the senses of London’s clubbers with a unique weekly addition to the Capital’s nightlife scene. Dans le Noir? Otra Vista Social Club offers a fun and thought-provoking way to spend Friday nights, and was launched in conjunction with Dans le Noir?’s 10th Anniversary.

Dans le Noir?, globally recognised for welcoming guests into complete darkness, now welcomes nocturnal nighthawks every Friday night from 10pm until 1am, and offers a unique opportunity to enjoy a silent dance floor with local and international DJs, paired with a chill-out in the pitch dark. The London venue introduced this unique concept after a successful run in their Barcelona branch. I www2.danslenoir.com

movingdesign becomes ADMEMORImovingdesign, the creative studio dedicated to motion design, is now ADMEMORI. The name change describes their raison d’être with much greater precision as memory is central to their business. They receive, convey and own their clients’ message, promoting and developing public spaces. Their strategic thinking is about making the images relate to their clients’ location: the way it’s used, the visitors or customers. I www.admemori.com

French architect Jean-Paul Viguier et Associés has won a competition to design a new 57-metre-high residential tower in Bordeaux. The 17,000-square-metre scheme includes three blocks with engineered timber structures, including an 18-storey tower that could become the world’s tallest modern timber-framed building when complete. Named Hyperion, after the tallest living tree on earth, it was selected ahead of leading firms for the €51 million (£40 million) project, which will create 82 apartments and offices, and will serve as a reference for a new generation of low-carbon buildings. Its pre-fabrication will reduce construction time on site, minimising the negative impacts associated with a traditional process creating dust, vibration and noise. Construction begins in 2017 and its completion is expected in 2019. I www.viguier.com

Jean Paul Viguier selected for timber-framed tower complex in Bordeaux



Edenred launches TechSave: a new salary sacrifice technology purchase themeEmployee benefits provider Edenred has launched a new salary sacrifice scheme which allows employers to offer employees a way of reducing the cost of buying technology. Employees using the scheme will save up to 35% against technology purchases compared to high street prices.

The scheme provides employers with a website and employee communications within one day of signing up

for the scheme, a fully outsourced management and the opportunity to make savings on National Insurance Contributions. Andy Philpott, Sales and Marketing Director at Edenred said: ‘TechSave is a fully inclusive benefit appealing to all employees and a win-win for all: employees save money, employers save money and it doesn’t cost a penny to implement.’ I www.edenred.co.uk

GEFCO UK to work with Jaguar Land RoverGEFCO UK will have the role of moving Jaguar Land Rover products from the Halewood production site to dealers in central and southeast UK. This new business agreement ensures a synergy in existing operations, with GEFCO UK’s relationship with Jaguar Land Rover beginning in 2012, as well as a recent contract agreement in 2014 which saw GEFCO invest in a fleet of new transporters specifically tailored for the company’s needs. Jaguar Land Rover will now be able to benefit from the newly introduced GEFCO MAX; a delivery app which will allow customers to track deliveries in real time. I www.gefco.net

London Languages partners with Paris schoolLondon Languages has recently joined forces with a Paris-based professional language school that shares its philosophy. The company has many years’ experience providing business language training to managers and employees working in finance, accountancy and marketing, and this partnership ensures that companies with offices in Paris or employees who travel often, have the convenience of language training in Paris.

London Languages has also just launched a new website. I www.londonlanguages.com

Launched in 1980, with eight shops in Paris, Six Pieds Trois Pouces, the iconic children’s shoe store, has opened a boutique in London, South Kensington. Located at 28 Bute Street, SW7 3EX, the shop has been designed to make kids feel at home in a luxury environment.

Mixing classic with bold, creative and timeless styles, the collection from Six Pieds Trois Pouces has a wide range of footwear for every day or special occasions, and caters for babies to teenagers (sizes 16 to 40). The shop also stocks a selection of the best international brands for children. I www.sixpiedstroispouces.com

Six Pieds Trois Pouces opens in London

Paddle8 merges with AuctionataAuctionata and Paddle8 have united to form the global online leader in art, collectibles and vintage luxury auctions. Together, they will build the online destination of choice for the 21st-century collector by providing the most comprehensive experience for purchasing art and luxury items online. By joining forces, Paddle8 and Auctionata become one of the top 10 auction houses worldwide, with 800,000 registered users. I www.paddle8.com


Victanis Advisory Services, which specialises in strategic advice and transaction support in areas of aerospace, defence and security, has recently completed the commercial due diligence for Silverfleet Capital to support the fund’s investment process to acquire Sigma Components from Avingtrans Plc. The transaction was completed in May 2016 with debt provided by HSBC and Santander. Victanis provided advice, informed analysis and expert opinion across all phases of the transaction.

Sigma Components is a world-class manufacturer of engine pipes, tubes and fabrications for aerospace applications such as aircraft engines and airframes. Its products are supplied to leading aerospace manufacturers such as Rolls Royce, Airbus and Bombardier as well as to Tier 1 sub-suppliers.

David Mackenzie, Partner at Silverfleet Capital commented: ‘Victanis know their sectors inside and out, which enabled them, in a very short time frame, to deliver a comprehensive and structured piece of due diligence that made Sigma’s positioning, strategy and future prospects easy to understand. Their work was a highly valued part of our investment process, but will also now be a valuable resource for Sigma’s management as the company looks to exploit new opportunities in the future.’ I www.victanis.com

Merci Maman meets Académie du ServiceLast month synergies between members of the Chamber were created when Merci Maman, the online personalised jewellery brand, met Académie du Service, a consulting and training firm focused on services and people. They discussed the importance of Customer Service and how it is linked with a company’s consistent growth and employees’ engagement.

‘We believe that employees must share the brand’s values: being audacious, not afraid to step out of their comfort zone, sharing ideas, best practices and achievements, and learning from mistakes,’ says Béatrice de Montille, founder of Merci Maman. ‘We pride ourselves in having a customer satisfaction rate of 98%, thanks to our team’s engagement and passion for what they do.’ I www.mercimamanboutique.com www.academieduservice.com


Victanis Advisory Services supports acquisition of Sigma Components

Introduced by the French Chamber, Rival Colour Ltd has helped Vision de Marques to gain a foothold in the UK market thanks to their local knowledge and contacts. ‘Vision de Marques are using their French factory to produce graphics which are shipped to us and our installers install them, enabling Vision de Marques to service their French clients’ UK sites by utilising local sub contractors with the skills and competitive rates to keep the costs down for the client,’ said Gary Smith, Account Director at Rival Colour. I www.rivalcolour.comwww.visiondemarques.com

Rival Colour works with Vision de Marques

Citizen Press propels the French College of Physicians into video content marketingEditorial content agency, Citizen Press, has helped the College of Physicians to dust off its conventional image by including motion design video in their communication strategy. ‘It was decided that it was time to rejuvenate and re-energise its image in order to better cater to the needs of a new generation of doctors,’ said Sarah Berrier, Citizen Press’ editor-in-chief.

This new tool has managed to rouse doctors’ interest and helped to attract a wider audience to the two webzines they produce each year. According to a recent readership survey, 18% of medical advisers are using the webzine and watching the motion design video daily. I www.citizen-press.fr



Can you explain what blockchain technology is and the idea behind developing this prototype?Blockchain technology is a tool for securing historical data by digitally tracking the transaction of assets using a branch of mathematics called ‘cryptography’. It is distributed over a peer- to- peer network instantaneously which means you can use it over the Internet or over a local network depending on your use case.

To elaborate, it is the Internet equivalent of writing something in stone – hence why the blockchain is sometimes referred to as a truth ledger. Once an exchange has been made it is irreversible and cannot be retracted, altered or go missing. This has huge implications on transparency in the industry removing the need for third party verification to ensure the security of your money. Moreover, in addition to reducing the cost of transacting, it dramatically speeds up the settlement process (from 2-5 days to under 1 minute for foreign exchange settlement for example) and is accessible from anywhere with an Internet connection. Essentially, blockchain technology addresses the complexity companies are facing in managing data and security. Such a ‘fool proof’ system was not possible prior to the emergence of blockchain and so we are now finding a growing number of companies across industries experimenting with the technology.

What makes our project unique is the fact that we have been backed by Innovate UK, the UK government’s innovation agency, to develop a prototype to facilitate foreign exchange conversion and settlement services using blockchain technology in a regulated environment. As a regulated financial institution we are committed to working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK’s financial regulatory body on a regular basis throughout the development of our prototype. This is key in order to ensure any real application.

What are your ambitions for this prototype? How do you foresee it being used?We plan to use it internally at Tramonex for our international

payments and foreign exchange business. We are also building partnerships with companies around the world who have an interest in applying the technology.

We would like to believe that successfully doing this through the private sector will convince central banks to adopt nationally backed digital currencies.

How will the grant be used?To cover research and development costs – basically to pay for skills. It is actually a matching grant, so we also have private investors contributing matching funds. We have agreed deliverables and milestones with Innovate UK.

How long do you have to develop it?The grant period ends mid- 2017. Certain components might help accelerate the process of bringing it to market before then.

When it is completed, will you own the product and be able to license it out?The short answer is ‘yes’. Some aspects of it will be open sourced while in other areas, we will seek to protect the Intellectual Property. This is one of the benefits of the grant funding model as it gives entrepreneurs the freedom to develop products and build businesses without the worry of share dilution and managing shareholder expectations.

How did the whole process work of getting this grant from Innovate UK? The Innovate UK grant application process is transparent. Obviously it requires some amount of paperwork including submitting a proposal, a business plan, an exploitation plan and a project plan. These are various artefacts that every business needs in order to succeed, so the incremental paperwork is quite reasonable. Once the application is submitted, there is an evaluation stage in which certain projects are selected by a committee to receive funding. The process is similar to any competition for a grant or industry award. I Interview by KF

Fintech TRAMONEX on its £250K government grant

Amine Berraoui & Marc Avedissian, Co-founders of Tramonex

Blockchain technology ... is the Internet equivalent of writing something in stone... [It] addresses the complexity companies are facing in managing data and security

Tramonex has received a £250,000 grant from Innovate UK to develop a cross-border blockchain tool. INFO asked its co-founders about it


The UK is home to over 100 accelerators. It’s a competitive space, where more established start-ups with minimum viable products (MVPs), vie for funding and launch their

marketing. Microsoft Accelerator London (MAL) is a bit different. Eschewing the volume-driven, equity-taking norm, it has instead positioned itself as a scale-up enabler and innovation matchmaker, picking the best, working with them to ensure their technology is viable and scalable, then matching scale-ups with corporates.

It is a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, Microsoft has big corporations approaching it for help in the innovation process. On the other hand, MAL selects and works with scale-ups that may have the solutions for those needs. And then it brings them together.

It all starts with an Innovation Day, as Kevin Monserrat, Marketing Manager of MAL, explains: ‘We bring together around 20 big corporations – including retailers, banks and market places – and brainstorm with them about what they are striving for, how they want to innovate, and what their pain points are. We then have their issues and needs in mind when recruiting the next cohort of scale-ups for our programme.’

MAL runs two four-month programmes a year, picking only 10 to 12 scale-ups out of 250 applicants in each cohort. These are later-stage companies that have already raised funds from third parties. Unlike most accelerators, MAL doesn’t take an equity stake in these companies; instead it brings in the founders and with them, look into the viability and scalability of their technology, because, as

Kevin points out, ‘no business is sustainable unless it has reached that point.’ In this way, Microsoft, as a global technology company, has an advantage. ‘Every business we work with has challenges with their technology, go-to-market strategy or international scaling. But this is where we are different and stand out from the competition. Other accelerators have funds; market, industry and business development knowledge, but often outsource tech clinics to third parties. We do that ourselves and can dig into the scale-ups’ technology and help make it viable.’

Along with this support, comes around $500,000 worth of Microsoft technology, licences and software, although the businesses are not obliged to use it. ‘We are very agnostic in terms of technology,’ Kevin observes. ‘We work to support the ecosystem not to promote Microsoft as such.’ This ecosystem approach creates what Kevin calls a natural win-win situation. Although Microsoft makes no money out of its accelerators, it sees them as part of a very long-term strategy to develop the ecosystem, get data insights on scale-ups and gain some traction for its sustainable and Microsoft-endorsed technology. ‘We are

building one of the largest start-up databases at a global level,’ Kevin adds. Over 12,500 scale-ups apply for Microsoft’s accelerator programmes around the world* every year and these are tracked over time, allowing Microsoft to analyse their growth curve, learn from their reactions and see how they evolve.

MAL also knows that big corporations will only work with scale-ups and adopt new technology if it is sound, integrates with their enterprise platforms and is globally scalable. ‘They come to us

because they know we would have done our due diligence. We give some sense of guarantee,’ Kevin observes. But it is a long dating game, and many entrepreneurs fail because they have not factored in the 9-18 month time frame needed to sell to big corporations, which means their businesses flounder from lack of cash flow. MAL helps its scale-ups avoid this by creating a business development pipeline, showcasing via a Demo day, and curating Customer Access events where its corporate clients can meet innovative early stage companies. ‘They don’t always team up, but they are listening carefully,’ Kevin says.

MAL’s success rate is very high: 87% of its scale-ups are still in business after three years, compared to the accelerator average of 60%, and 92% of them get funding – £4.9 million within one year on average. And with 500 graduated companies in its alumni worldwide, which have raised $1.9bn in total, Microsoft Accelerators are certainly on to a winner. I KFCorporates or scale-ups interested in being involved should contact

Kevin Monserrat on +44 7 773 043 147

www.microsoftaccelerator.com/locations/london

...big corporations will only work with start-ups and adopt new technology if it is sound, integrates with their enterprise platforms and is globally scalable

MICROSOFT ACCELERATOR London

*There are Microsoft Accelerators in Seattle, London, Paris, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Bangalore and Beijing.

Demo day where MAL start-ups pitch to corporates

The global technology company is deploying a grassroots approach to helping promising scale-ups and match-making them with corporates



What gave you the idea for PeopleDoc, and how did it all start?It all started with an idea that Clément Buyse and I had when we were at HEC Business School, which was to revolutionise the post service by creating a new way to receive mail. We wanted to create a website where consumers could receive, store and share administrative documents securely in a personal digital vault. But we soon realised that although it was a good idea on paper, it was hard to execute because we could not convince large companies to entrust their client relationships to us as a small start-up. But two years later, in 2009, we pivoted into the HR space when an HR head of a large company told us that in France, pay slips could not be sent to employees electronically, and we realised we could create a solution for this. So we created a paperless post service for the HR department, and PeopleDoc was born.

How has your solution been innovative?As we began to understand the HR market, we realised that it was changing. HR departments started to buy Cloud solutions, but vertical ones for every aspect so that the HR department of a company with 10,000 employees might end up with 10-15 different solutions. We came up with one HR employee file solution called PeopleDoc Enterprise that collated all the right information and employee documentation in one place, allowing companies to connect all their systems and giving access to whoever needs it. We also came up with an electronic signature solution to help companies sign contracts and other documents, and later launched a case and HR process management product which digitalises all communication between HR and employee. What we provide today is an interaction centre, where you can communicate, manage documents and the HR administration process, designed with the employee experience in mind and freeing up HR for more valuable direct management. In effect, we have disrupted the shared service model.

Is your platform specifically designed for larger companies?Our sweet spot is companies of more than 2,500 employees, but

we are also selling to SMEs with 250 employees upwards.

In 2014 you were named a Gartner Cool Vendor. What does that signify?It means that we have a unique solution that no one else has. It’s an important recognition for us to be credible in the market, and signifies we have a great product.

You now work with over 500 customers including Airbus, Starbucks, American Express and HSBC, with over 2 million users worldwide. How did you expand beyond France and what are your ambitions?It was part of our strategy and also opportunistic. We wanted to be very strong in our own market but were also thinking about globalisation. In 2014, I made the decision to move to New York as the CEO to open our US office. With the US market being 17 times larger than France and 10 times larger than the UK or Germany, we realised that to be a global leader we would have to be in the US. This year we have opened offices in the UK, Germany and Canada. In the UK, PeopleDoc has great ambitions. We are looking for our first customers and hope to have five or six by year end, and ultimately become leader in the HR service delivery market. I Interview by KF

PeopleDocJONATHAN BENHAMOU, Founder and CEO

• Employees worldwide: 140• Locations: France, UK, Germany, US, Canada• Customers worldwide: over 400• Backed by Eurazeo and Accel Partners

PeopleDoc empowers employees to quickly and easily access relevant HR information, and enables HR to get more done with fewer resources. The cloud-based HR Service Delivery platform is the only comprehensive suite that can automate processes in all stages of the employee lifecycle, from hire to retire. Full integration with HRIS systems, combined with a SaaS delivery model, provides a seamless solution without disrupting processes or impacting IT resources. www.people-doc.co.uk [email protected]

INFO asks the HEC graduate how an idea at business school turned into an international company with an innovative HR solution, used by clients such as Airbus, HSBC and American Express

BUSINESS WORLD - START-UP STORY


BUSINESS WORLD - REPORTS & RESEARCH

EY UK Attractiveness survey 2016 – A record year for the UK

The UK gave an outstanding performance attracting Foreign Direct Investment in 2015, bringing in a record 1,065 FDI projects and creating over 42,000 jobs, the most in any year since the attractiveness programme’s launch in 1997. This 20% growth in projects achieved in a European market that grew 14% means the UK increased its market share from 19.9% to 20.9%, confirming it as Europe’s clear FDI leader. The UK also made progress in several other important areas:• 172% increase in key strategic investments – such as headquarters – giving the UK a 53% share of the European market. R&D project numbers increased 37% in 2015• Manufacturing continues to do well, with the UK attracting more manufacturing FDI projects than Germany for the second year running• Good balance across the sectors, with financial and business services posting healthy growth. UK Attractiveness survey 2016 – May 2016 Available at: http://www.ey.com/UK/en/Issues/Business-environment/ey-attractiveness-survey-2016-uk

Sopra Steria’s Government Digital Trends Survey highlights successes and challenges in implementing digital transformation

Now in its second year, this research by Sopra Steria in conjunction with Dods examines the progress that the civil service has made in implementing digital transformation, identifying areas of success and the challenges yet to be overcome. Gathering feedback from over 1,200 civil servants, the responses highlighted their stronger understanding of digital transformation, but also concerns around measurement and a lack of digital training for staff.

The idea of digital transformation is firmly embedded in the conscience of the Whitehall workforce. For the second consecutive year, three quarters of civil servants say digital transformation has impacted their work, and 33% say digital transformation is a big part of what they do. However, this year, civil servants showed that they had a much richer view of what digital transformation can achieve. The understanding that digital technology can be a tool to spark organisational change – rather than merely making existing structures more efficient – is now widespread.Government Digital Trends Survey 2016 – May 2016Available at: http://www.civilserviceworld.com/whitepaper/sopra-steria-government-digital-trends-survey-2016

Eptica Email beats web for insurance customer service

Eptica evaluated 10 leading UK insurers on their ability to provide answers to 10 routine questions as well as their speed and accuracy when responding to email, Twitter, Facebook and Chat, repeating a research carried out since 2011, and aiming to mimic the behaviour of ordinary consumers across digital channels.

‘Insurance is in the midst of a transformation as the internet and digital channels radically change how consumers engage with insurers,’ said Derek Lewis, UK & Ireland Sales Director, Eptica. ‘To drive loyalty, insurers need to be able to have meaningful conversations with individuals, on their channel of choice. The 2016 Eptica Multichannel Customer Experience Study found that insurers are still struggling to adapt – performing well on email, but answering less than half of all questions asked online and via social media.’The Eptica Study also evaluated businesses in nine other sectors.2016 Insurance Multichannel Customer Experience Study – April 2016Available at: http://www.eptica.com/ins2016

This is a selection of research papers and reports on a variety of topics produced by Chamber member companies

info - march / april 2016 - 21


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We pioneer a range of preventive programmes strengthened by our in-country expertise. We deliver unrivalled emergency assistance during critical illness, accident or civil unrest.

PROTECTING YOUR PEOPLE IS OUR PRIORITY

A GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE YOU CAN DEPEND ON:

27 ASSISTANCE CENTRES

With our local experts available globally, you can speak to us in any language, anytime 24/7.

5,600 MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

Immediate access to experts with extensive experience in all fields of medicine coupled with a thorough knowledge of the local environment and healthcare system.

200 SECURITY SPECIALISTS

24/7 access to travel security reporting, analysis and expert advice from our security consultants, analysts and tracking experts around the world.

900 MEDICAL SERVICES SITES

An accredited, integrated network of 56 clinics and 850 medical sites around the world. Practising a supervised international standard of medicine – in developed and emerging countries, o�shore and remote locations.

77,000 ACCREDITED PROVIDERS

A network of accredited healthcare, aviation and security providers ensuring we provide you with the best logistics in the air, on the ground and at sea.

Our 11,000 employees are passionate about helping you put Duty of Care into practice. With us, multinational corporate clients, governments and NGOs can mitigate risks for their people working remotely or overseas.

International SOS is the world’s leading medical and travel security risk services company. We care for clients across the globe, from more than 850 locations in 92 countries.

We pioneer a range of preventive programmes strengthened by our in-country expertise. We deliver unrivalled emergency assistance during critical illness, accident or civil unrest.

internationalsos.com

International SOS advert Aug 2015 new.indd 1 25/08/2015 17:53


BUSINESS WORLD - CHARITY NEWS

CELEBRATING YEARS OF EMMAUS IN THE UK

Emmaus UK’s Royal Patron, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, joined supporters, companions and staff at an

event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Emmaus in the UK.Hosted by the French Ambassador to the UK, HE Ms Sylvie

Bermann, at her London residence, the event celebrated what Emmaus has achieved in its first 25 years in the UK, while also looking to the future.

In a speech, the Duchess of Cornwall spoke of the ongoing challenge of homelessness: ‘Emmaus UK’s work today is more important than ever. It is quite horrifying to read that the number of people sleeping rough has increased by 30% in the last year. And it’s hard to imagine that in England tonight, more than 3,500 men, women and youngsters will be sleeping on the streets.’

Selwyn Image, founder of Emmaus UK, also spoke at the event, explaining why he was compelled to bring Emmaus to the UK in 1991: ‘Emmaus UK started because I couldn’t get out of it. Challenged by a homeless man who told me he wanted meaningful work, a supportive environment and, the clincher for me, the chance to recover his self-respect, he then followed on by asking me what I was going to do about it, and put my own self-respect on the line.’

Selwyn had encountered Emmaus when he was a student in the 1960s. He volunteered at a community in France in order to improve his French. In her speech, Ambassador Sylvie Bermann paid tribute to Selwyn for bringing Emmaus to the UK.

Since it was established in 1991, Emmaus has grown from one community in Cambridge to 28 communities across the UK, supporting more than 700 formerly homeless people. Companions, as residents are known, are provided with a home for as long as they need it, as well as meaningful work in a social enterprise. This combination of home and work makes it much

more likely they will be able to find a long-term route out of homelessness.

Ahead of cutting the giant birthday cake, prepared especially for the event, Selwyn Image explained that Emmaus’s work is far from over. Referring to Abbé Pierre, who founded Emmaus in France in 1949 and led the growth of Emmaus into a huge national and international movement, with a community in every major French conurbation, he said: ‘Our long term aim here is to do the same. This will mean around 100 communities, so there is much still to strive for. I hear Abbé Pierre reminding us gently to get on with it. ‘N’oubliez pas les autres, mes amis’. Au boulot! On with the next 28’.

To support the growth of Emmaus in the UK, a special anniversary appeal has been launched, aiming to add another 250 rooms to Emmaus communities all over the UK. A gift of:£250 could buy a bed for a new companion room£2,500 could pay for the full fit out of a new companion room£25,000 could pay to extend an existing community, providing extra rooms£250,000 could pay for a building for a new community home.To help, please contact Helen Brandley at Emmaus UKT. 0300 303 7555 • [email protected]

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall with Selwyn Image, Founder of Emmaus UK

Emmaus UK is a registered charity, number 1064470, Limited company number 3422341, registered in England and Wales

It is quite horrifying to read that the number of people sleeping rough has increased by 30% in the last year. And it’s hard to imagine that in England tonight, more than 3,500 men, women and youngsters will be sleeping on the streets

25

CHILDREN OF THE MEKONGChildren of the Mekong, the UK arm of the French charity, is launching a campaign to engage companies and their employees with their mission to provide education to the poorest children in Southeast Asia. Tailor-made programmes, including project funding, student sponsorships, skills transfer initiatives and sports challenges, are developed hand in hand with participants and help create positive change while providing purpose and measurable impact on sustainable development. www.childrenofthemekong.org ©

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EDUCATION - NEWS

Université Paris - Dauphine London campus expands student intake in 2016

With strong and growing interest from international and French Lycées all over the world, as well as from France, Université Paris - Dauphine will take in more than 120 bachelor students by September 2016. The university will also significantly extend

its scholarship programme for the year 2016-2017. Université Paris - Dauphine was the first French university to launch a Global Bachelor’s programme in London, opening its doors to 25 first year Bachelor’s students in Economics and Management in 2014. The programme was extended to second year Bachelor’s students in 2015.

The London curriculum is similar to Dauphine Paris Bachelor’s programme, but classes are exclusively taught in English, primarily by senior lecturers from British universities. Dauphine has a cooperation agreement with UCL, giving students access to UCL societies, sporting and language-training activities. I www.dauphine.fr

38% of Sciences Po Paris graduates start their career outside France

The results of the recent Sciences Po survey on employment of young graduates revealed that among the respondents, 75% had decided to enter professional life while 25% opted to carry on studying or prepare for exams to enter the French, European or international public administration.

Amongst the graduates currently working, more than 85% found their first job within less than six months after graduation; 38% work outside France. 73% work in the private sector: mainly in consulting and auditing, banking and insurance, communications and marketing, or legal positions. 18% work

in French public administration and 8% in international and European organisations and NGOs.

The average annual salary of a Sciences Po graduate is €37,266, which is €3,160 more than the average salary of other French selective universities (CGE survey, 2016). Nevertheless the gender pay gap persists: the average annual salary for a woman is €34k compared to €41k for a man. Students from a poorer social background (recipients of means-tested bursaries during

their studies) earn on average 9% less than others. I www.sciencespo.fr

EISTI offering two Masters programmes in English for 2016

EISTI, an engineering school with two tracks in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, located near Paris, offers 11 specialisations in the engineering curriculum taught in French and two master’s programmes entirely taught in English: Big Data and Quantitative Finance & Risk Management. These Master’s courses are still recruiting students for September 2016. EISTI scholarships are available for high profile students. I www.eisti.fr


ESCP Europe running new Megatrends Workshops‘As the business landscape reforms itself quickly, CEOs have to make correct decisions within a much shorter timeframe. [...] One way to deal with this, is to gain intelligence and insights into how the future lies.’ So said the CEO of a global company to ESCP Europe Professor, Terence Tse, and his academic partner, Mark Esposito, in an interview on a new idea they were working on: ‘Megatrends’.

Through consultations with CEOs and directors of major organisations, they found that organisations are uncertain about key questions on: how companies should respond to big changes; the business opportunities that can be developed for the future; and the right people strategies for the workplace of tomorrow. This led them to develop the DRIVE model of five Megatrends: Demographic and social changes; Resource scarcity; Inequalities; Volatility, scale and complexity; and

Enterprising dynamics, publishing an article in the Harvard Business Review. By paying closer attention to them, individuals, companies and governments could have a better understanding of what is in store for them, take advantage of change, and see a greater impact from their decisions. Their work is now being used in a very practical way, through workshops for executives and managers across organisations.

Professor Tse led a Megatrends workshop recently for human resources leaders from international organisations, including the European Central Bank, Johnson Matthey, and Bouygues at ESCP Europe’s campus in north London.

Work on the subject is ongoing. London Stock Exchange CEO Xavier Rolet and Professor Tse are currently working on a joint research paper on Megatrends and will run a Megatrends workshop at the LSE in September 2016. I www.escpeurope.eu

EDUCATION - NEWS

French Education Charitable Trust initiates new bilingual free school project in London

The French Education Charitable Trust (FECT) is proposing to open a bilingual free school in Newham, East London to provide an outstanding education for pupils wishing to develop language skills in English and French integrated with a traditional British education, studying the English curriculum. Free schools do not have fees and are funded by the Department for Education and monitored by Ofsted. An application to the Department for Education will be submitted in September. Meanwhile, market research and curriculum design are in progress with a view to opening the school in 2017. FECT has been in discussion with NewVIc - Newham Sixth Form College about the possibility of sharing its site with the proposed new bilingual free school. NewVIc would be able to help provide a wide range of post-16 options for students. Turenne Consulting, a UK-based consultancy practice and Chamber member, is advising the FECT on the project. The French Embassy supports the school project as it is in line with its policy of developing bilingual French/English sections in the British education system in addition to existing French schools. I www.turenne.co.uk

A public meeting will be held on 18 July at NewVIc - Newham Sixth Form College, London E13 8SG, between 4 and 8pm, so that interested parties can drop in to ask the free school project management team any questions. www.eastlondonbilingualschool.org

INSEEC Spirits programme visits ScotlandIn March, 23 students from the INSEEC Wine and Spirits programme headed to Scotland to visit several major single malt distilleries. Visits included tastings at Glenfarclas, Glenfiddich and Glendronach distilleries as well as a fascinating tour of a cooperage factory. The INSEEC Wine and Spirits programme is a one-year Master’s level course that includes a semester of study of the wine industry in Bordeaux followed by an intensive ‘spirits’ semester in London with a range of courses taught by specialists from the industry. I www.groupeinseec-london.co.ukwww.wine-institute.com


focus

Could circular be the new green? It’s not mainstream yet, but the concept of the

circular economy, which turns the traditional ‘take-make-dispose’ linear

model into a restorative, regenerative one, is gaining traction. It makes sense:

resources are not limitless and our planet cannot absorb our prodigious waste. But

turning the ship around is not going to be easy or quick: it is a process, and it is going to require

a change in mindset, a revolution in business models, and some bold, brave policy decisions.

In this Focus, we start with Dame Ellen MacArthur, the British sailor who became the fastest person to circumnavigate the

globe single-handed in 2004, and whose experience of relying on a finite supply of resources on board led her to establish the Ellen

MacArthur Foundation with the goal of accelerating the transition to the circular economy. Who better than her to explain what it is all about and to

answer some of the tricky questions that it throws up?

Government is also starting to get behind the idea, with the EU Commission recently adopting a Circular Economy package ‘to stimulate Europe’s transition towards a circular

economy which will boost competitiveness, foster sustainable economic growth and generate new jobs’. The figures are certainly impressive: by 2030, a circular economy in Europe could create a

net benefit of €1.8 trillion, an 11% increase in GDP, a halving of carbon dioxide emissions and a 32% drop in primary material consumption. Articles consider the best policy mixes to achieve this, as well as address the

social dilemma posed by the circular economy.

Moving from a macro level to the nitty-gritty of business, we consider the paradigm shift that is needed in terms of business strategies and approaches. A few large companies have begun making efforts to incorporate circular economy principles in their businesses practices – among them Veolia, Schneider Electric, Renault and VINCI – and there is also a wave of start-ups and SMEs that have seized the opportunities offered by this new industrial revolution, coming up with circular solutions, services or technologies, or adapting their own business models. It won’t happen overnight, and it won’t be down to one or two enlightened companies or countries, but the process has started. Let’s give it momentum! I KF




Today’s linear economy - in which resources are extracted, made into products, sold and ultimately thrown away - arguably faces its biggest challenges, on a number of fronts. Dame Ellen MacArthur sets out a range of global trends suggest that the future economy could be circular, with opportunity awaiting those progressive enough to make an early shift

The circular economy opportunity

In a context of cheap and accessible energy and materials, the linear model inherited from the Industrial Revolution proved hugely successful and fuelled the unprecedented economic

development seen throughout the 20th century. With new discoveries, increased efficiency and new technologies of the 1900s, commodity prices steadily declined over the course of the century. However, the rising volatility of commodity prices – a feature of today’s business landscape – generates an inability to predict resource and energy prices. This can be devastating to companies with high fixed costs, who rely on economies of scale. In that context, gradual efficiency gains will not suffice, and it looks at though ‘business as usual’ is seriously questioned by the reality in which it operates.

It would seem that the ‘rules of the game’ for our economy are changing, and business leaders, innovators, academics, students and scientists are looking for a positive way out; a new model through which we can re-think progress in the 21st century. One option is the circular economy, a model that has been gaining traction around the world in recent years. Such a system

is regenerative by design, and primarily relies on optimising two distinct material flows – biological and technical. Products and services in this model are designed to enable efficient circulation, with biological materials returning to the food and farming system, and technical materials being kept in production and use loops without loss of quality. A circular model generates new revenue streams, reveals overcapacity and maximises asset utilisation whilst ensuring that, as leading Performance Economy thinker Walter Stahel puts it, the ‘goods of today become the resources of tomorrow, at yesterday’s prices’.

Technological advances are facilitating new business models that maximise asset use – finding and booking the nearest communal car or bike has only been made convenient with smartphones and mobile networking. Product tagging and tracking and the growing ‘Internet of Things’ are also enabling manufacturers or service providers to keep an eye on their products; how much they’re being used, if they’re performing

properly and when they’re about to go wrong. This makes product recovery feasible, and opens up new customer service or aftermarket opportunities.

Global trends are providing a fertile environment for a shift in the economy. In addition to being a new lens for innovation, increasing circularity could offer a significant economic advantage too. Launched in June 2015 at the European Commission’s stakeholder conference on the circular economy, our report Growth Within: A Circular Economy Vision for a Competitive Europe,1 produced with the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment and supported by SUN2 reveals that by adopting circular economy principles, Europe can take advantage of the impending technology revolution to create a net benefit of €1.8 trillion by 2030, or twice the benefits seen on the current development path (€0.9 trillion). This would be accompanied by better societal outcomes including an increase of €3,000 in income for EU households. This would further translate into an 11% GDP increase by 2030 versus today, compared with 4% in the current development path. The circular economy would also

have significant impacts on the environment for Europe: carbon dioxide emissions would halve by 2030, relative to today’s levels (48% by 2030 across the three basic needs studied, or 83% by 2050). Primary material consumption, measured by car and construction materials, real estate land, synthetic fertiliser, pesticides, agricultural water use, fuels, and non-renewable electricity could drop 32% by 2030 and 53% by 2050, compared with today.

In a world of uncertainty, many are asking what the future economy will look like in the context of population growth and resource constraints. Our research and analysis tend to indicate that a circular economy framework could offer guiding principles for re-thinking and redesigning our futures. There are promising signs of a shift taking place, but reaching this goal will require pioneering ambition, combined with varied collaboration to deliver the benefits of a system that rebuilds economic, social and natural capital. I

A circular model generates new revenue streams,reveals overcapacity and maximises asset utilisation

1. www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/growth-within-a-circular-economy-vision-for-a-competitive-europe2. Stiftungsfonds für Umweltökonomie und Nachhaltigkeit (Foundation for Environmental Economics and Sustainability) was established in 2014 by the Deutsche Post Foundation in Bonn, Germany. SUN supports institutions, programmes and projects dealing with the challenges and opportunities of environmental protection and sustainable development.


DAME ELLEN MACARTHURFounder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation

What gave you the idea to set up the Ellen MacArthur Foundation? Realising the true meaning of the word ‘finite’ was a defining moment for me. Sailing around the world against the clock in 2004, I had with me the absolute minimum of resources in order to be as light, hence as fast, as possible. At sea, what you have is all you have, stopping en route to restock is not an option and careful resource management can be a matter of life or death – running out of energy to power the autopilot means you can be upside down in seconds. My boat was my world, I was constantly aware of its supply limits and when I stepped back ashore, I began to see that our world was not any different. I started to research issues around energy and materials, which eventually led me to set up the Foundation in 2010, with the aim to accelerate the transition to a circular, regenerative economy.

What is your goal?In a few words, it’s to transition to an economic system that works in the long term, to move from an extractive to a capital-building model; one that relies on innovation and creativity, that maintains value and designs out negative externalities.

The Foundation has come up with a strong economic rationale for the circular economy, but how do you convince businesses and sectors locked into a performance-driven linear economy to revolutionise their models and practices?As you point out, the economic rationale is strong, and that is what generates the interest that we see growing among the global business community. There are several disruptive trends currently transforming the economic landscape, and finding innovative ways to adapt to the new context is key for companies who are willing to take a first mover advantage. As our research points out, the digital revolution will generate interesting benefits, but if it is guided by circular economy principles – maximising asset utilisation, adopting optimised


FOCUS - ARE YOU READY TO JOIN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY?

materials management processes, etc. – these benefits can be doubled. This is one of the key conclusions of our Growth Within1 study, which looks at the sectors of mobility, built environment and food in the European context.

What are the greatest challenges in changing from a linear to a circular economy? Surely unless the whole system is circular, it won’t work at all?We indeed recognise the systemic nature of the shift, the fact that it should be seen as a cross-value chain effort. This is why we created, together with the World Economic Forum and McKinsey, Project MainStream, from which the New Plastics Economy report2 and initiative directly stem. MainStream, a CEO-led platform, is unique because it brings together actors from across the chain to address leakages and bottlenecks such as lack of information, fragmented innovation or simple lack of dialogue mechanisms. Individual companies can make progress towards more circular practices, but collaboration is a key component when it comes to truly transforming the system.

Will the price of resources determine the shift – or not – to a circular economy?Things do change fast, and the big commodity prices hike that we saw between 2000 and 2012 has somewhat taken a back seat. Yet, it triggered the first surge of interest for the circular economy framework, and that has paved the way for a larger scale transformation. And even though prices may be lower today, volatility is still very much a subject of concern... plus analysts tend to agree that a short-term slump does not actually change much when it comes to the long-term trend being an upwards one. After all, we are dealing with finite stocks of fossil energy and raw materials, and with increased levels of consumption, things can logically only go one way. Another factor that needs to be considered is the fact that regardless of how cheap resources are, the cost of the externalities linked to their extraction and use is increasingly being considered: for example, during our research for the New Plastics Economy report, we found that the United Nations Environment Programme conservatively values the negative impacts of plastic packaging at $40 billion... This will be considered more and more by investors and regulators, so finding ways to generate positive impacts rather than simply minimising the bad ones is becoming a real argument for corporates. Finally, digital technologies are driving a profound

transformation of our economy. Guiding this wave of change by applying circular economy principles could create value, and generate wider benefits for society, ushering in a new era of growth and development, increasingly decoupled from resource constraints.

While digital is an enabler of the circular economy, the hardware side and increasing energy use surely work against it. How can this be reconciled?It is actually not that obvious, since in the B2B sector and for big servers, practices such as remanufacturing and re-purposing are already well established. Performance-based models, selling the service rather than the product itself, are quite commonplace in the digital world and increasingly we see the big players that operate data centres move towards more renewable energy.

The circular economy requires a regenerative design from the outset, so how would it deal with obsolescent products and components already in the system? There are legacy materials, products and components that will have to be dealt with in the best way possible, but we know that in most cases, given their linear nature, this will be suboptimal. Having said that, the technologies and processes developed for the recovery of materials evolve fast, and even for linear products we see new solutions emerge rapidly. It’s clear in the field of electronic products, where the sheer value of materials is an incentive to boost research – but of course, design for disassembly and upgrade remain clear priorities for a circular economy going forward. It is a transition we have embarked on, so as such dealing with the consequences and by-products of the linear model is required: things won’t happen overnight, it’s all about keeping a clear vision of the objective. I Interview by KF

1. Growth Within: A circular economy vision for a competitive Europe www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/growth-within-a-circular-economy-vision-for-a-competitive-europe2. The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/new-plastics-economy-report-offers-blueprint-to-design-a-circular-future-for-plastics

... it’s to transition to an economic system that works in the long term, to move from an extractive to a capital-building model; one that relies on innovation and creativity, that maintains value and designs out negative externalities


The concepts of resource efficiency and the Circular Economy have attracted increasing attention in recent years. Businesses and politicians have looked at alternative

models of production and consumption of resources that are compatible with the preservation of natural systems in the long run. However, still many questions remain unanswered: what policies could drive resource efficiency and the circular economy and, also importantly, what would be the socio-economic impacts of those policies?

The EU-funded project on Policy Mixes for a Resource Efficient Economy (POLFREE) sought to answer these questions by providing a complex analysis of the requirements of a policy mix that would simultaneously achieve environmental targets of a climate and a resource policy and its impacts on jobs and growth. The modelling exercise combined two economic-environmental models, based on Environmentally Extended Global Multi Regional Input-Output models with a bio-physical model. Three distinct resource efficient, circular, low-carbon scenarios were assessed against a business-as-usual scenario (see Box 1).

The main conclusion from the modelling exercise is that the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario provides a gloomy picture for the global environment but also for prosperity. While CO2

emissions will more than double to 2050 (compared to 1990

levels), water stress and consumption of resources will increase dramatically. In this scenario, Europe would experience declined but still positive GDP growth rates, but also a loss of more than 30 million jobs.

In contrast, a global cooperation scenario would contribute to achieving environmental targets while positively impacting on GDP growth and jobs. This is achieved through a combination of economic instruments and regulation (see Box 2). In this scenario, CO2 emissions peak in 2020 and then decrease to 2050 (by 2050 they are 11% lower compared to 1990 levels). Resource consumption also declines significantly by 13 Gt by 2050 compared to 2010 levels, despite population increasing. Global GDP is also consistently higher than in the BAU scenario (by 2050: +5.2%) and even better for Europe (by 2050: +8.2%).

If global cooperation cannot be achieved, substantial benefits remain if Europe acts unilaterally to increase resource efficiency and circularity. In this scenario, although Europe meets its environmental targets, global emissions remain on a trajectory of a 4°C warming as non-European countries only pursue moderate climate policy objectives. In this scenario Europe takes advantage of the first-mover and GDP growth is even stronger compare to the BAU (12.5% higher by 2050 compared to BAU), whilst employment increases by 3.5 million jobs. The policy mix

POLFREE SCENARIOS AT A GLANCE

1. Global cooperation – all countries co-operate through international agreements and harmonised economic and regulatory policy instruments to pursue decarbonisation and a resource-efficient global economy.

2. EU goes ahead – the EU pursues the development of a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy unilaterally, through strong EU-level economic and regulatory policy instruments instituted by Member States. The rest of the world fails to increase existing ambition.

3. Civil society leads – Civil society, NGOs and businesses drive resource-efficiency and decarbonisation through voluntary changes in preferences and behaviour. Policies are introduced to facilitate such changes.

4. Business-as-usual – An increasing focus or ambition surrounding decarbonisation of resource efficiency in both EU and non-EU countries fails to materialise. This allows a comparative case against which conclusions surrounding the above scenarios may be drawn.

Dr Teresa Domenech, Co-founder of UCL Circular Economy Lab and Research Associate at the Institute for Sustainable Resources (University College London), presents research she was involved with that shows the impact on jobs and growth of different scenarios of circular ambition in Europe

What would be the IMPACT of a resource efficient and CIRCULAR ECONOMY?

1



Climate policy focuses on the inputs of fossil fuels and has four pillars:• An upstream carbon tax for all industries• A regulation of the share of renewables in electricity production• A set of regulations and economic instruments favouring e-mobility• Subsidies for investment in the energy efficiency of buildings.

Decoupling of economic development and the use of ores and non-metallic minerals is targeted by:• The regulation for recycling of ores and non-metallic minerals

• An upstream tax on ores and non-metallic minerals • A public innovation fund for the material efficiency.

Sustainable agricultural land and water use is targeted by:• A regulation for water abstraction of agriculture• An information program to avoid food waste• A tax on meat consumption • An information program to reduce the yield gap in agriculture.

Additional tax revenues are used for a reduction of taxes on goods and services with low carbon and resource contents.

under this scenario is similar to that of Global cooperation, with some adjustment to the design of taxation instruments that avoid problems of international competitiveness.

The modelling also shows that resource efficiency can be achieved through a post-consumerism movement led by civil society. This scenario assumes a decentralised, civil society-led change that leads to structural changes in the economy. In this scenario environmental targets are met, though GDP growth

is close to zero by 2050. The scenario embraces ‘beyond GDP’ values, where different measures of progress are used. The impact on jobs is positive (with 9% increase in the number of jobs by 2050). I

More detailed information of the findings of the project can be found at www.polfree.eu or by contacting the author ([email protected]).

The EU’s circular economy package, launched last December, will increase resource productivity, boost recycling and cut waste. Its original aims were to cut the environmental impact of raw material extraction and use, while securing raw material access for

Europeanmanufacturers. But these goals run the risk of feeling out of step with the big politics of Europe: falling competitiveness compared to rising manufacturing powers; the blight of persistent unemployment; and the rise of poor quality, low wage jobs.

All policy is subservient to politics, and so politicians have begun to explore how EU policy can address the grand challenges: to be bigger on these ‘big things’, as Juncker famously put it. The circular economy is no exception. And here our analysis has good news: there is a big social benefit to the circular economy. It can create new, good quality jobs, which cut unemployment in places where it is highest.

Last year our analysis, done jointly with WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), showed that a more circular economy could lift 54,000 people out of unemployment across the UK, with the biggest benefits accruing to North East England. We then extended the research to look at Italy, Poland and Germany. Despite differences across the countries, we found big benefits in all the countries we analysed.

Equally importantly, we looked at job quality, and found that compared to the average job in the UK, employees in circular economy occupations are less likely to be underemployed, or to be seeking a new job, which points to the attractiveness of these types of jobs.

Our conclusion is that the circular economy will be great for the environment and for Europe’s big unemployment and underemployment challenges. The obvious conclusion is that Europe should go big on the circular economy. I

Dustin Benton, Head of Energy & Resources at Green Alliance, takes a snapshot of the employment potential of the circular economy

THE POLICY MIX (MAIN INSTRUMENTS)


How the circular economy can cut unemployment

2


Paul Turner, Deputy Chair of the London Sustainable Development Commission (LSDC), answers questions on what London is doing and has to do to become truly circular

Does London have the potential to be a Circular City?As the sixth biggest metropolitan economy globally, London has a great opportunity to lead the way in becoming a ‘circular city’. This not only makes sense for the environment but also economically and socially. Moving to a circular economy in London could bring benefits of £7bn per annum by 2036.

What role does the LSDC play in championing and facilitating the drive to a circular economy in London? The LSDC brings together experts from a range of sectors to provide independent advice to the Mayor that helps make the city become more sustainable as it continues to develop and grow. Championing the circular economy is one of the Commission’s three priorities. The Commission recently worked with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the Greater London Authority and the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) to produce a report on the job creation opportunities provided by a move to a circular economy in London. Following the publication of the report, the Commission has been working closely with LWARB which has produced a route map to make London a circular economy capital. Later this year, the Commission is organising a ‘seeing is believing’ event where companies can share case studies and leading circular economy companies or entrepreneurs can showcase innovation. The aim of this initiative is to stimulate collaboration and innovation. We also plan to launch a Circular Economy Business Commitment.

What were the findings of the report on Employment and the Circular Economy?The report built on work done by the Green Alliance and WRAP (see p 31) that looked at the impact on jobs of increasing resource efficiency and moving towards a more circular economy approach across Britain. Three scenarios were considered, and the same three scenarios were used when looking at London. The first scenario assumed that there were no new initiatives. The report concluded that natural growth rates would result, by 2030, in a modest increase of 3,000 jobs. The second scenario assumed that we maintain the current development path to 2030. This would result in the expansion of the circular economy with potential to create 16,000 new jobs. The third scenario

looked at the impact of transformative change with substantial advancement in remanufacturing and servitisation. This scenario suggests that by 2030, employment in circular economy activities in London could create 40,000 jobs.

What kind of investment is required?The question we need to answer is ‘how do we repurpose existing investment pots?’ Our report showed that the net increase in jobs would be much lower than the gross number due to new roles replacing older linear economy roles. The same must be true of investment.

What is already happening in London? There is much happening already in London, both large and small scale. The LSDC’s London Leaders programme aims to demonstrate the power of leadership, collaboration and innovation in tackling the sustainability challenges inherent in global cities such as London. A number of the London Leaders have tackled issues around the circular economy.1 One example is the Restart Project (therestartproject.org), a London-based social enterprise that encourages and empowers people to use their electronics longer in order to reduce waste. It helps people learn to repair their own electronics at dedicated events and in workplaces. Restart has run more than 70 events in London in the last two years and has created a vibrant community of over 35 repair coaches. The Restart Project already helped prevent 1.2 tonnes of electronic waste. Another is Snact (www.snact.co.uk), which makes fruit snacks from fruit surplus. Tonnes of perfectly good fruit gets thrown away in the UK before reaching

CIRCULAR CITY: the case for London

1. See www.londonsdc.org/londonleaders/ for more info.



Awareness and recognition of the benefits of the circular economy should become more prominent in the next decade as an increasing number of influential

stakeholders are promoting it, from public institutions1, to large corporations (such as Google, Ikea, Kingfisher, Jaguar, General Motors, Veolia and Cisco), high profile business leaders, and now universities (Cranfield University launched the first Master’s in the Circular Economy this year).

It is also supported indirectly by the convergence of various schools of thought that are infusing positive change in management studies and leaders’ mindsets. New insights from theories like the Blue Ocean Strategy2, along with new think tanks such as Blue Print for Better Business and the Aldergaste group are promoting more ethical, transparent and collaborative approaches to running countries, companies and institutions. Even advertising agencies are breaking away from traditional marketing campaigns to promote sustainable living3.

For those who study or work ‘in the zone’ of sustainable business, opting for a circular business approach is an obvious path. But many who run businesses today will perceive it as a leap into the unknown. The practicalities of turning a ‘linear’ business into a ‘circular’ one are clearly costly and complex. One of the main reasons for their reluctance is that consumers do not seem to value the investment. This is what I call the ‘Circular Economy Dilemma’. Consumers may not care about products being recycled or re-manufactured or might not even buy them if they are more expensive and less attractive.

The Circular Economy Dilemma is twofold. On the one hand, at a global level, everyone in the world should be entitled to buy or lease the same amount of food and personal equipment that citizens of developed countries have been enjoying for decades. On the other hand, consumers

of developed countries are used to having cheap products renewed or replaced frequently.

This dilemma corresponds to that of ‘social norms’, which are ‘rules and standards that are understood by members of a group and that guide and/or constrain social behaviour without the force of law’4. Studies have shown that ‘trust and a shared willingness to live by norms are key factors determining how efficiently common property resources are used’.5 Key questions addressed through social norms are ‘Why do people forego private gains for the public good?’ or ‘Why would people forego private gains for the public good?’6 Social norms variations are linked to cultures and personal values.7 And it is recognised that there are different ‘types’ within populations, some more inclined to cooperation, and others more inclined to defection.

The days when all consumers ask for ‘circular-made products’, in essence becoming ‘circular buyers’ seem far away. However, looking at past examples of major shifts in social norms, there is hope that consumer core behaviour will change to become more ‘circular’ within a generation. Just think of how people used to smoke indoors at dinner parties, in cars and at the office without being aware of the detrimental effects cigarettes had on each other’s health, or how parents crammed babies and toddlers into the back of cars without car seats or seat belts. These behaviours would be unthinkable today, showing that social norms can change. Reputation effects, monitoring and punishment by peers and future gains from cooperation are all potential mechanisms to align social and private incentives. These are not rocket science solutions so I have hope that I will still be around to be able to see most of us naturally embedding ‘circular shopping’ to make it everyone’s business. I

Anne-France Kennedy, Director at ON5, considers how far we are from making the circular economy a social norm

1. WRAP estimates that a European transition to the circular economy could create 3m extra jobs by 2030 and reduce unemployment by 520,000 (Edie.net article 8/03/2016).2. Developed by Harvard’s scholars Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne is a new way of thinking, a movement away from a competitive mindset. 3. http://sustainablesmartbusiness.com/?wysija-page=1&controller=email&action=view&email_id=92&wysijap=subscriptions.4. Cialdini and Trost, 1998, 1525. Bulte and Horan, Identities in the Commons: The Dynamics of Norms and Social Capital, 20106. Pro Self vs Prosocial (Bogaert et al, 2008)7. Dowell et al, 1998; Lindbeck, 1997

The social dilemma of the circular economy

shops, but Snact turns that into healthy snacks that contribute to one of your five a day! But a better food system is also about the people involved in it, so as the business grows, it plans to employ people who’ve been affected by food poverty to help make and sell the snacks.

Do you benchmark against other world cities?The honest answer to benchmarking is ‘no’. We would love to be able to do this but at the moment the methodology doesn’t exist. This highlights a real issue. As we champion the move

to a circular city model, we need to be able to measure and compare progress with other leading cities. This would generate competition and stimulate innovation. I would love to be able to benchmark London to Paris and New York. In terms of learning from others, absolutely – there are some great examples but I have yet to see a city that has implemented a comprehensive strategy. The LSDC will be pressing the Mayor of London to champion the Circular Economy to enable London to become a world leader. IInterview by KF



The significant rise in global consumerism in addition to shrinking product life cycles

has created a mass of unrecovered products that contribute to massive landfills with significant adverse social and environmental effects. Although this has prompted some firms to voluntarily create value through sustainability initiatives – including product recovery and (in some cases) subsequent remanufacturing – lack of sufficient incentives for that approach has led policy makers to intervene via legislative mechanisms that encourage firms to take environmental responsibility for their products. In the context of product recovery, a major component in closed-loop supply chains (CLSC), these legislated schemes can take different forms.

The European Union’s Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), whose most recent version was enacted in 2012, imposes a minimum recovery target for a number of categories of electric and electronic products. Alternative policy mechanisms, such as the California Electronic Waste Recycling Act (CEWRA), impose a recovery tax collected when the electronic product is sold. These two alternative approaches have different implications for firms’ pricing and marketing decisions, as well as their subsequent product recovery quantity.

Answering the question of which scheme is more effective is challenging because of the complex interaction

between legislation and firms’ decision processes. CLSC management entails many important trade-offs such as those associated with product design,

logistics and market positioning of potential remanufactured products. For example, a major concern associated with remanufacturing is the risk of new-product demand cannibalisation by the introduction of remanufactured products. This, in turn, affects firms’ decisions to market remanufactured products in the same channel (single-market strategy) or potentially in a separate channel (dual-market strategy). Therefore any legislation scheme that promotes remanufacturing should take into account firms’ demand-cannibalisation fears.

To characterise the optimal CLSC policy, Aflaki and Mazahir build a stylised equilibrium model to deduce a single firm’s behaviour (in terms of product pricing and single-versus

dual-market strategy) and compare a recovery target and a taxation policy that both taxes manufacturing and subsidises remanufacturing from the perspective of a policy maker whose objective includes a range of economic, fiscal and environmental criteria.

Aflaki and Mazahir propose that, in equilibrium, the taxation/subsidy scheme is more environmentally friendly because it leads to higher remanufacturing and lower new-product consumption. However this policy comes at the expense of customers’ economic welfare as it leads to higher new-product prices. The recovery target policy on the other hand has higher economic but lower environmental benefits. However, mixing the former ‘soft’ with the latter ‘hard’ scheme would create a synergic effect to yield a policy that encompasses the economic and the environmental benefits of both of its ingredients.

A mix of recovery target and remanufacturing subsidy creates the perfect incentive for environmentally beneficial remanufacturing which would ease the need for high production tax levels (as compared to a pure tax policy), both from production quantity and fiscal perspectives. Overall, what is needed is a more comprehensive approach in CLSC policy design, one that takes a holistic view of firms’ response to legislation with a carefully chosen policy type that also incentivises remanufacturing with its fine-tuned parameters. I

Policy plays a huge role in getting companies to shift to circular practices, but what works best? Research by Sam Aflaki, Assistant Professor of Operations Management and Information Technology at HEC Paris and Shumail Mazahir, HEC PhD, has looked at the pros and cons of two different approaches and found a hybrid could be the best way to go

TAX OR TARGET ?How to incentivise a shift to closed-loop supply chains

A mix of recovery target and remanufacturing

subsidy creates the perfect incentive for environmentally beneficial remanufacturing which would ease the need

for high production tax levels


Our historical linear model made (almost) perfect sense in a world with seemingly infinite resources, made available at

prices which continued to decrease due to significant investments in infrastructure and technological progress. However, the 21st century has seen a dramatic shift in this paradigm: commodity prices experience rapid growth, along with high volatility and resulting high supply risk. This trend sends a strong message to businesses which have to respond by implementing profound changes in their operating models.

Towards life-cycle responsibilityThe solution offered by the circular economy can be explained in simple words: reduce raw material consumption, maintain materials and products within the economy for as long as possible, and eliminate waste. At a company level, it can be translated into extending responsibility over the life-cycle of products, ensuring their durability, reuse and recycling, and thus reducing supply risks and gaining competitiveness.

This strategy is highly supported by public policies and consumption trends: • Public policies: The EU and the OECD have been targeting the ‘waste problem’ for a long time by ensuring environmental and health quality of disposal options, and actively promoting recycling and recovery. Importantly, the EU is committed to the ‘life-cycle approach’ which, in some cases, can be made mandatory through the extended producer responsibility (EPR) strategy, which renders producers directly responsible for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products. • New consumption patterns: Thanks to the possibilities offered by digital applications, consumers increasingly co-operate by sharing, lending, or bartering products. This new generation of

consumers tends to put less emphasis on ownership, opening opportunities for new business models such as the functional economy.

Business strategies of the circular economyWhile the only way to effectively reduce environmental impacts is to improve the environmental performance of the product throughout its whole life cycle, in most cases, the complexity of value chains limits the practical application of this approach. The figure below illustrates seven types of strategies for circular economy, which fall into three broad categories. • Design, often contained within ‘eco-design’ or ‘cradle to cradle’: Designing a product for circular economy starts by asking simple questions, such as ‘What happens to my product at its end-of-life?’ and ‘How can I improve the design of my product to make it more durable, reusable and recyclable?’. • Take-back management: Municipal waste management is the classic take-back scheme which often offers separate collection for recyclables. Producers may go beyond that by proposing alternative individual or collective take-back schemes, possibly involving reverse logistics or deposit. • Re-loop: Extending lifetime, through repair and refurbishment, remanufacturing, or, at the very least, recovering the materials through recycling, are the main options to be developed to actually ‘close the loop’ and gain the full benefits of the circular approach.

While the above strategies can be adopted individually, they can only realise their full potential when amalgamated and combined with enhanced consumer experience, higher product quality and cost reduction. Companies willing to not only improve but also radically change their business models in order to embrace the circular economy will be the leaders of tomorrow. I

Mathieu Hestin, Director, BIO, Deloitte France, and Agata Kozolup, Senior Associate, Deloitte, consider what the circular economy means for businesses, and what strategies could be employed to implement it

The paradigm shift:

How the circular economy could work for business


Source: Deloitte


To the disappointment of theorists and idealists, the impact of any idea is limited by its capacity to be applied. The circular economy is a collection of great ideas for

businesses. Do they have the capacity to be applied in the practical world of business people? It is perhaps easier for a start-up business to design itself from scratch to ‘be circular’. Most existing companies will examine the ideas of the circular economy and wonder how in practice it can be done?

In essence there are two approaches that a company can take to implement the circular economy. The first will be based on products. Can you produce a product which can be serviced to remain in use longer or remanufactured? How can you generate more revenue from the servicing or re-manufacturing of the product? The second approach is to examine your business operations. How can these be changed to reduce the waste you produce?

The product approachThe circular economy theorists like the product approach. It has more potential to make significant change to the structure of a business and the economy as a whole. One of the best known examples is the Renault remanufacturing unit. This takes water pumps from old cars and remanufactures them to re-use in new cars. Whilst this is a great positive example, technical development of products can limit the application of this approach. For example, a seat in a modern car has very little in common in terms of materials and function compared to a seat in a car made 12 years ago.

When it comes down to business, what steps can be taken to put circular economy theories into practice? Henry le Fleming, Assistant Director - Sustainability & Climate Change at PwC looks at two approaches

Source: PwC

STAGE 1. WASTE REDUCTION 2. MAXIMISE RECYCLING 3. CIRCULAR ECONOMY

• Audit waste flows • Extend waste management • Identify alternative product / • Reduce waste production • Extend recycling material use options

• Separate easy-to-recycle • Develop third-party material • Analyse environmental and ACTIONS materials re-use loops financial benefits

• Reduce high environmental • Identify sources of problematic • Work with suppliers to impact disposal methods material flows – develop eco-products and seek alternatives closed loop treatments

• Support sector changes

Reduce environmental Minimise environment Positive environmental OUTCOME impacts and cost impacts, optimise value impact, enhancing core creation from waste business model

The business operations approachThe second approach is to examine business operations and identify where circular economy ideas can reduce impacts and create value. All companies have some kind of operations, even if just an office-based organisation, and can apply this method. A good place to start is to examine the material flows in the business and the places where the business creates waste.

Whilst many companies are measuring carbon and water emissions, we have been surprised how few are really measuring and reducing waste. We did a survey with Business in the Community and found that only 47% measured waste produced and had a target to reduce waste in place. Similarly only 51% measured the recycling they did and had a target to improve their performance.

Nearly 40% of those with a target had ‘Zero waste to landfill’ as the target. Whilst this has some environmental benefit, it is also a EU and UK policy, so simply doing nothing means companies will meet this target in due course. More significantly, only 47% knew the costs of their waste disposal, and 72% had not quantified the benefits from trying to recycle more of their waste streams.

At PwC in the UK, our teams have wrestled with these issues for a few years now, both for our own operations and when trying to help clients. We use a simple 1-2-3 framework (see figure below) to develop the targets we set ourselves from better waste management to circular economy thinking.1 I

1. Find out more on how we applied this to ourselves at www.pwc.co.uk/assets/pdf/pwc-going-circular-second-edition.pdf and https://vimeo.com/168181751.

How easy is it for companies to implementcircular economy ideas?


The Circular Economy 100 (CE100) is a pre-competitive innovation programme established to enable organisations to develop new opportunities and realise

their circular economy ambitions faster. It brings together corporates, governments and cities, academic institutions, emerging innovators and affiliates in a unique multi-stakeholder platform.

Launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2013, the CE100 was a response to demands from a small but growing group of leading companies looking to incorporate circular principles into their business models. Over the past three years the network has grown in size and maturity, and is now fully populated.

The mission of CE100 is to empower members on every step of their circular economy journey, the first step of which is to nurture and develop thought leadership within an organisation. Research and Insights equip members with the resources to deepen their conceptual understanding of the circular economy, and tailor the principles to their local operations and market.

Once a member has developed their circular economy vision and objectives, they need to disseminate these internally. Capacity Building tools, such as communication packs and online learning platforms, designed to effectively educate and communicate to all levels of the organisation, build traction around the company’s initiatives.

Taking a system view is fundamental to designing a more effective value-creation mechanism. As a result, the transition to a circular economy requires a different approach to doing business. Networking opportunities provide members with the platform to connect with other thought leaders and build the external networks they need to implement collaborative projects.

The transition to a circular economy requires the scaling of innovative business models and technologies. Collaboration is critical to successful prototyping and achieving scale.

Through tailored bi-annual Acceleration Workshops with representatives from all 100 member organisations, the programme facilitates multilateral, cross value chain, and cross discipline collaboration.

Of course this journey is non linear! Networks have been launched in both Brazil and the US through the Localised Network programme. The CE100 Brazil and CE100 USA are taking the circular economy narrative into new geographies and markets, and members are identifying unique, local opportunities and challenges. As the CE100 grows and the narrative evolves, the four different programme elements put members in the best position to succeed in leading the transition to a circular economy. I

Ellen MacArthur speaking at the annual CEO100 summit

The Circular Economy 100 Businesses taking Circular seriously

The transition to a circular economy requires the scaling of innovative business models and technologies



Today’s expanding global population is placing ever-increasing demands on our resources and energy supply. To sustain this growing demand, and protect the

environment, we must now get smart and look at all kinds of possibilities to get these resources.

By realising this value, less of our waste will go to waste, and it has major economic potential. Independent research from Imperial College London, commissioned by Veolia, has identified that it could add £2.9bn per annum to UK GDP. But to achieve this goal and keep resources in circulation as long as possible, we need to drive circular economy thinking into a reality.

For us, innovation is the key to get new materials and green energy, and there is a growing number of examples of how closed-loop solutions can yield more materials and give them a second, third and fourth life. Whilst recycling has been around for many years, advances in technology have now given us much greater potential for extracting real value from difficult-to-recycle materials. It’s time to mine in unusual places.

Non-recyclable paper and cardboard from household waste has been dismissed in the past but is now a valuable material. By converting it into a pulp, called Pro Fibre, it can be used in a range of products such as insulation and construction materials, and packaging. Having identified the potential, Veolia

Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice-President, UK and Ireland, of Veolia looks at how difficult-to-recycle materials are driving innovation to come up with circular solutions

INNOVATION driven by theCIRCULAR ECONOMY

VEOLIA


... innovation is the key to get new materials and green energy, and there is a growing number of examples of how closed-loop solutions and yield more materials and give them a second, third and fourth life


is now delivering up to 14,000 tonnes of Pro-Fibre as a cost-effective, sustainable feedstock.

The eight billion plastic bags discarded in England every year can also lead a double life through the Bag2Bag programme, a scheme which collects bags and processes them to produce new refuse bags that are distributed free to residents of Southwark. Within three months of its launch in 2015, this programme had produced 500,000 new refuse bags.

In mobile phones, catalytic converters on vehicles and even in pharmaceuticals, precious metals play a vital role. But the reality is that in their natural form these ores are running out. To counter this, Veolia is working on a number of projects to recover precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium from diverse waste streams including expired pharmaceuticals, and from the oil refining process.

If you want a glimpse into the future, take a trip down the Old Kent Road where Veolia’s Southwark hub is a resource centre which separates thousands of tonnes of recycled materials for reprocessing. We know that although some things are not yet viable to recycle, they can still provide energy for communities. After processing, the Southwark facility sends residents’ unrecyclable waste to the nearby SELCHP (South East London Combined Heat and Power) plant, which converts this material into electricity and heat for district heating. It is part of a network of 10 facilities that turn two million tonnes of non-recyclable waste into low carbon energy for over 300,000 homes.

Even sewage sludge has a value. It can be processed to produce biogas and generate renewable electricity which currently gives enough to power a city the size of Manchester. Treating the 7 million tonnes of human waste available each year with the latest systems means we could now double this electrical generation and produce enough renewable power for over half a million homes.

Instead of throwing things away, we believe everything that we buy, use or consume should be recycled or converted into energy. Analysing what is thrown away, and developing ways of extracting valuable materials will ultimately help sustainability, and support the circular economy objectives recently agreed in Davos. This in turn will protect our resources and the environment for future generations as well as give a boost to GDP. I


Schneider Electric is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its new products and providing its customers with the environmental information they need. On the eve

of the Paris Climate Change Conference (COP21) in late 2015, we announced 10 commitments for sustainability that would be tracked in our Planet & Society barometer. This barometer has been our sustainability scorecard since 2005 and helped us achieve 12th place overall in the 2016 ‘Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World’ ranking by Corporate Knights and first place in our sector. We are committed to designing 100% of new offers following the Schneider Electric Eco-Design methodology and to realise 75% of product revenue with our Green Premium eco-label.

The Eco-Design way benchmarks the environmental impact of the Group’s new products against external reference products or previous Schneider Electric ranges. This approach aims to measure improvement against a range of different indicators concerning impact on climate change (including CO2 footprint), consumption of raw materials, reduction of hazardous chemicals, energy efficiency and the serviceability and circularity profile of the product. Good design can enable the product to be more easily repaired or upgraded, easier to reuse and easier at end of life to decompose into valuable waste streams, which can then be recycled. For example, Schneider Electric’s Compact NSX range of moulded-case circuit breakers not only contains a monitoring unit to control energy consumption and power, but has been designed to provide preventive maintenance indicators and for easy disassembly and recycling. In addition, its electronic monitoring unit can be easily upgraded during the several decades of expected service so that it delivers the performance advances our customers expect of the latest electronic technology.

Our customers want and are beginning to expect environmental information. To meet this need we developed Green Premium as a unique eco-brand. A Green Premium product must fulfil four criteria. First, it must comply with the Restriction

of Hazardous Substances directive which bans the use of six potentially hazardous substances in manufacture. Second, it must provide information relating to the presence of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) as specified by the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & restriction of CHemicals) regulation. Third, it must have a Product Environmental Profile (PEP) providing a list of materials, a recycling rate and a calculation of 11 environmental impacts such as raw material, energy consumption, carbon footprint and damage to the ozone layer over the whole product life cycle from manufacture to end of working life. Forth, it must contain a guide to identifying and locating the subsets or components required for a particular recycling process, known as the End-of-Life Instruction guide (EoLI).

Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and CEO at Schneider Electric, said: ‘Our role is to make sure that Life is On for everyone, everywhere, at every moment. Sustainability is thus at the heart of our company strategy. At Schneider Electric, we are convinced that better climate means better economy. We believe we are living in a very exciting time where new technologies enable us to completely rethink the way we deal with energy in a far more sustainable and efficient manner.’ I

Rodney Turtle, Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs at Schneider Electric, explains how circularity principles have been introduced into the design of the company’s products as part of a sustainability mindset that permeates the business

CIRCULAR by DESIGN

Electric vehicle lab

SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC


Zero waste to landfill during manufacturing means that products and the processes used to produce them are

designed to avoid and even eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, to conserve the manufacturing resources and recover them for reuse by others. The objective is the prevention of waste.

Schneider Electric, as part of its sustainability pledges, has committed to ‘towards zero waste to landfill for 100 industrial sites’. At the end of 2015, this amounted to 64 sites worldwide with eight accredited sites in the UK. This indicator relates to production and supply chains of the manufacturing sites which must be able to recover more than 99% of metal waste and more than 97% of non-metallic waste.

Our medium voltage switchgear and distributor transformer

factory in Leeds, which employs over 400 people, has been certified as ‘zero waste’. It achieved this by maximising use of recycle and return where delivery pallets are returned to our suppliers; scrap metal is segregated during production and sold to external recycling companies; plastics and cardboard is formed into bales and taken for recycling. In addition, there are two types of bins on site ‘General Waste’ and ‘Dry Mixed Recycling.’ The former is taken to a local waste-to-energy plant where all of the waste on site that cannot be recycled is burnt to generate energy avoiding landfill, whilst the dry mixed waste is commercially recycled. The philosophy which informs the process design and operation of the site is that all that can be recycled is, and all that cannot goes to a waste-to-energy plant resulting in zero waste to landfill. I


... we are living in a very exciting time where new technologies enable us to completely rethink the way we deal with energy in a far more sustainable and efficient manner

Source: Schneider Electric


Zero waste to landfill factories


The era of cheap and plentiful fossil fuels and other essential materials is drawing to an end. That reality, combined with demographic pressure and the limited

availability of resources and foodstuffs, underscores the need to revise the current production and consumption model, a linear model that consists in extracting raw materials, using them to produce goods, consuming them and then throwing them away.

The new approach is the circular economy, based on a systemic vision inspired by the workings of nature. Nature does not produce waste; everything is reused, composted and digested. Manufactured products themselves can be produced using less energy and reintegrated in the production process without generating waste, by reusing, repairing or remanufacturing them.

Groupe Renault is playing an active and pioneering role in the circular economy because its issues are both environmental and economic. Extracting and transforming raw materials can harm the environment and reduce their availability for future generations. In parallel, the rise in and volatility of commodity prices have a negative effect on the

current and future profitability of companies around the world.As a major economic player, Renault seeks to ensure

the long-term future of its businesses by taking account of environmental and social challenges. Renault is also convinced that automobiles, through their intrinsic characteristics, can tie in favourably with a circular economic approach. Vehicle production costs are sensitive to commodity prices because commodities account for roughly 20% of the total cost price.

Commenting, Jean-Philippe Hermine, Head of the Environmental Plan of Groupe Renault, said: ‘Detecting potential resources in end-of-life products and safeguarding their technical and economic value is a new, and virtuous, way of sharpening your competitive edge. Who is better able than the producer of the goods and corresponding services to control these resources, ensure their quality and traceability, and make optimum use of them?’

Groupe Renault is playing a hands-on role in the transition to the circular economy through its involvement in the creation of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, working as part of the structure and together with other players. It has also structured its commitment to the circular economy by setting up a subsidiary, Renault Environment, in 2008. The group funds Renault Environment to develop partnerships and shareholdings in the circular economy sector.

Renault’s circular economy plan starts with the careful eco-design of its vehicles.To cut down on the use of natural resources, it favours the use of recycled materials in manufacturing. In 2016, the group achieved a ratio of 33% of recycled materials in the total mass of its vehicles. To generate less waste, it designs vehicles that can be 95% recoverable and 85% recyclable at end of life.

Renault organises the end-of-life process of its products so that parts and materials can enter a new life cycle. It has developed technical, logistical and economic solutions for collecting end-of-life vehicles, parts and materials, reusing and remanufacturing used parts, and transforming used materials to give them a second life. Renault makes a real-life contribution to these sectors to keep them profitable and improve the availability and quality of parts and materials.

Looking beyond economic considerations, Renault uses the circular economy to shrink the environmental footprint of its products and activities. Working on the entire life cycle of its vehicles – and in particular by reducing CO2 emissions – Renault leads an ambitious policy on the reduction of its carbon footprint, the main component of the environmental footprint. Renault met its objective to reduce its carbon footprint by 10% between 2010 and 2013. Pursuing its efforts, it is aiming for a 3% reduction per year on average between 2010 and 2016. I

Jeremy Townsend, Communications Director at Renault UK, details the car manufacturer’s pioneering approach to the circular economy

RENAULT

To generate less waste, Renault designs vehicles that can be 95% recoverable and 85% recyclable at end of life

The drive towards CIRCULARITY


Reducing and, where feasible, eliminating the waste we generate and send to landfill in an effort to minimise the associated environmental impact and associated costs is a

key component of our BBMV2 sustainability objectives.To become a more sustainable project, the construction

team has focused on reducing waste generated and set a target to divert 95% of our construction waste from landfill. Waste on the Crossrail C510 project has been divided into two distinct categories:

Excavated soilsCrossrail is a delivery partner for Wallasea Island Wild Coast project – a landmark conservation and engineering scheme that once completed, will provide a haven for a wonderful array of nationally and internationally important wildlife. All arisings from tunnelling and station construction is being transported to the Island. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) plans to import 7.5 million m3 of soil to help raise the land level and reduce the capacity of the island to a designed level of more than 2 million m3. Towards the end of 2014, our Crossrail project had contributed a total of 533,570 m3 of clean inert excavated soil to Wallasea Island.

Construction wasteConstruction waste continued to be a success story last year with

our Crossrail project maintaining throughout 2015 the 100% re-use/recycled rate on a period-by-period basis since July 2012. The waste produced at Crossrail has been recycled into the following:• Concrete: crushed, pre-sized, sorted, screened to produce high quality aggregate for foundations/roads, etc.• General rubbish: the waste is sorted off site; relevant items are sent for recycling and any residue is then sent for incineration to produce energy from waste• Metal: processing ferrous and non-ferrous metal scrap into vital secondary raw material for the smelting of new metals• Wood: chipwood for animal bedding.

M1 motorway innovationOverall, VINCI Construction Grands Projets is committed to protecting the environment at its worksites by building its own environmental protection plan, defining project objectives and targets, including proper waste management. Another successful example was our M1 Widening project from Junction 25 to 28, where a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution was implemented as part of the work carried out on the central reservation of the M1 motorway. This innovative solution recycles 100% of road planing material, which often contains tar, by neutralising it in the extruded concrete (poured in slip forms) in the sub-base. This material-optimisation process has led to a 16,000-t CO2 equivalent emission reduction. I

The Crossrail project1 - the largest construction project in Europe - has massive potential to generate waste but has been ground breaking in its sustainable approach, as Carine Tribondeau, QSE Manager and Clarence Michel, Senior Communications Manager at VINCI Construction Grands Projets, explain

1. Crossrail is the new high frequency, high capacity railway for London and the South East2. BBMV is a joint venture established by four leading construction companies – Balfour Beatty, BeMo Tunnelling, Morgan Sindall and VINCI Construction – to deliver major packages of the Crossrail project.

VINCI

WASTE OPTIMISATION in construction

Aerial view of Wallasea Island

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At the Venice Architecture Biennale this year, Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena created two introductory rooms using over 90 tonnes of waste – scrap metal

and plaster boards – generated by last year’s event. Entitled ‘Reporting from the Front’, the Biennale theme was intended to encourage architects to respond to global issues of economic crisis, housing, migration and waste. Nevertheless, the concept of circularity – recycling or reusing materials and forms in the construction industry – is more a question and provocation today than a reality.

Obviously buildings are the biggest energy consumers over their lifespans, from their construction to their heating/cooling, powering and dismantling. A building has a lifecycle of 25-30 years, so technically, something of better value could be built, but the industry is set up, within a market economy, to produce buildings without questioning too much. It is preoccupied with the immediacy of delivering square feet to the market against time, and ideas of rethinking the model and building for the future are on the periphery.

Nevertheless, we do have sustainability assessment methods for infrastructure and buildings such as BREEAM and LEED, and certification is attractive for clients, tenants and investors as people increasingly want to live and work in clean and green buildings. These are incentives to make better buildings. It is a process that starts with design and goes through everything, from materials, longevity and capacity to recycle them to the energy used. Most buildings coming up in London are expected to have a BREEAM rating of Excellent to Outstanding. So although we are not consciously thinking of the circular economy, by working in this way, we are on track.

High rises are another matter, as these are not as easy to dismantle and recycle as a typical urban scale building, and there are questions around their value to human society. By the end of this century, 80-90% of the world population will be living in cities and this is where most energy will be needed and consumed, not only in existing cities but also in the megacities being created in the emerging world. Here, dealing with the life cycle of buildings will be challenging, especially in places where there is a lot of unregulated construction. We need to be smarter in the way we build in such environments, working with nature so that buildings consume less and produce more energy. The problem is that it is hard to convince clients, who believe that technology can provide anything they want, that they can have buildings with natural ventilation, for example, or that all-glass megastructures are not appropriate for harsh climates.

But architecture is not just about materiality, it is also about the way you use buildings. That is also undergoing a change as ownership is becoming less valued. If we don’t need to own to have, then we don’t need to produce as much as before, and I hope that gains currency along with a mindset that engages more with the collective. In New York, they have developed the concept of lifelong rental apartment block living, with not only shared amenities, services and community spaces, but also the flexibility of being able to upsize or downsize your apartment according to your needs or the stage of your life. This provides better value for the space you are living in as well as enabling community living and social encounters. So 21st century architecture will become more about creating new spaces and environments to share and enjoy with others collectively as well as individually; spaces that perform well not only in terms of energy and space efficiency, but also in terms of human energy and interaction.

Architecture will also have to address some of the challenges we face – the movement of people as a result of migration, natural catastrophes, terror, poverty and climate change. We will have to build temporary structures for people to live in, which may become permanent. A few architects are working on concepts for the favelas in Brazil or the slums in India, for example, and interestingly, it is in places like these that the concept of community and circularity is best developed. Pritzker Prize winning Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, for example, has designed a low-cost housing prototype called ‘half a house’ that people can add to according to their needs and financial situation. Thus architecture is helping to rebalance our social capacity to share, to define better communities, to create spaces that can be used by all, not only those who can afford it. But it is only part of the equation – we also need policy, legislation, education and aspiration to create the full circle. I KF

MOSSESSIANARCHITECTURE

Architect Michel Mossessian considers the challenges of designing sustainable buildings and environments that respond to the realities of society and the changing world

HOW TO CIRCLE THE SQUARE:

The built environment and the circular economy

Aravena’s ‘half a house’ prototypes in Iquique, Chile

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BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), first published by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in 1990, is the world’s longest established method of assessing, rating, and certifying the sustainability of buildings.LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a US third-party certification program for design, operation and construction of high performance green buildings.


Small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are particularly well positioned to capture the commercial opportunities of the circular economy. Their ability to innovate and adapt has

led to them playing a key role as both enablers within the supply chains of larger businesses and through disrupting traditional linear business models with superior products and services.

SMEs are also the backbone of today’s linear and tomorrow’s increasingly circular economy – across the EU28 last year, some 21.6 million SMEs in the non-financial business sector employed 88.8 million people and generated €3,666 trillion in value added. Expressed another way, 99 out of every 100 businesses are SMEs, and two in every three employees work in an SME and 58 cents in every euro of value added is derived from SMEs.

Within the SME ecosystem we can see two circular economy archetypes: SME ‘enablers’ – businesses which have a business model, solution, service or technology which is accelerating the transition towards the circular economy and SME ‘transformers’ – SMEs that are moving away from a traditional linear model to capture more value through circular business models.

Desso, a Dutch textiles business specialising in floor coverings, has transformed its operations from a traditional manufacturing business, reliant on significant virgin material inputs and energy, by optimising the design of its products (and their component materials) for regeneration within its own supply chain. Their use of a ‘cradle-to-cradle’ design framework has enabled them to improve margin stability and visibility of earnings, and to stimulate product innovation – including the introduction of a new range of AirMaster carpets, designed to capture harmful particulates and improve indoor air quality. Furthermore, the business has begun to decouple its growth from both primary material inputs and energy use – including investing in its own capacity for renewable energy generation. The business has created significant value for its investors through a series of private equity transactions; during the period 2007-2011 the original private equity investors made an eightfold return on invested capital and the subsequent private equity investors made a twofold return over the period 2011-2014 before the business’s sale to global flooring company Tarkett.

SMEs developing circular business models, solutions and technologies range from early-stage start-up businesses to established medium-sized operators. A large number of these businesses are exploring how disrupting traditional ‘product sales’

models in favour of ‘product as a service’ models can capture and create more value. Amsterdam is one of a growing number of European circular economy hotspots, and is proving to be a melting pot for new circular businesses. One such business is Bundles, a Dutch SME which provides clothes washing as a service – selling a bundled service solution of washing machine and detergent to communal housing customers. This change in business model enables them to provide their users (no longer consumers) with access to a superior quality product on a subscription model. This is just one example in the explosion of innovation around new business models – driven in part by advances in technology and data on the location, demand/supply and condition of assets – and in part by a focus on using circular business models to capture more value.

Unlocking the full potential of the SME economy will require supporting SMEs in gaining access to the right information, business development opportunities and investors. It was with this in mind that we established Circularity Capital as a specialist private equity firm to support the growth and innovation of SMEs in the circular economy. Fundamental to this is providing management

teams with the expertise, network and investment they require to unlock their full potential and developing an investment strategy that generates an attractive risk adjusted return on capital for private and institutional investors alike.

As the number of multinationals, corporate businesses and governments deploying new circular economy strategies increases, so does the opportunity for entrepreneurs, SMEs and their investors to capture new value as the enablers of a new industrial revolution. I

As the backbone of the economy, SMEs hold the key to a circular revolution, says Jamie Butterworth, a partner of Circularity Capital, a specialist investment firm supporting the growth and innovation of businesses operating in the circular economy


As the number of multinationals, corporate businesses and governments deploying new circular economy strategies increases, so does the opportunity for entrepreneurs, SMEs and their investors to capture new value as the enablers of a new industrial revolution

Supporting growth innovationof circular START-UPS and SMES

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It is shocking how much food we are throwing away. Around 88 million tonnes of food are wasted annually in the EU1.At the same time, some 46% of edible mass of fruit and vegetables

is lost or wasted2. In the UK, we bin 7 million tonnes – or some £12.5 billion worth – of food and drink every year from home 3. A recent report points out that manufacturing accounts for 5 million tonnes out of the 6.5 million tonnes of food waste created in the supply chain4. This is why, for its circular economy initiative, the EU Commission has committed to reducing food waste. In fact, its ambition is to turn food waste into a resource. But how?

Often, fruit and vegetables end up in the bins simply because they do not meet the cosmetic standard of retailers. It has nothing to do with quality. To take advantage of this, Intermarché, France’s third largest supermarket chain, launched a campaign called the ‘Les Fruits et Légumes Moches’ (‘Inglorious Fruit and Vegetables’). In this case, the supermarket buys the non-perfect fruit and vegetables that growers would usually discard and then sells them for 30 to 50% cheaper. To raise the awareness of consumers, these ugly fruit and vegetables get their own aisles and labels (e.g. ‘l’orange moche’). In fact, to enable the shoppers to realise how they are benefiting from buying these ugly but good quality fruit and vegetables at a reduced price, Intermarché goes as far as listing them as separate items on the receipts after checkout! To push the concept further, the retailer designs, produces and sells ‘inglorious’ soups and juices based on the ugly fruit and vegetables. The result: not only have sales at Intermarché has gone up, but also consumers are now a lot more conscious about food waste.

Turning food waste into food source is also happening in

the UK. WOUP, a Cambridge-based social start-up, gets ‘wonky’ (hence the company’s name) and unloved vegetables that have either not been harvested or sold or that are simply too ugly to

reach the market and turns them into soups. One of the two co-founders, Zoë Loughlin, became conscious of food waste when she was working for a charity. So much so, she even served a meal made from food waste (by fellow co-founder Alex Collis) on her wedding day! ‘Sometimes, food is wasted because it cannot be sold. Take leeks for instance. For some farmers, the cost of harvesting them is higher than the price that they can sell them for, or whole fields can be rejected because they don’t meet the stringent cosmetic standards imposed on growers by the supermarkets. Our business isn’t going to eradicate food waste alone, but we see it as a vital step in plugging some of the gaps in the current food system’, said Loughlin. The start-up is focusing on providing a convenient lunch time option for people working in

Cambridge offices – and making them more aware of food waste at the same time.

WOUP is planning to get fresh bones and carcasses, which normally go to landfill, to make stock for some of the soups. In addition, it would like to take old loaves from bakeries and transform them into a range of croutons (called ‘WOUTONS’) to go with the soups.

Certainly, a lot more has to be done before a dramatic decrease in food waste is seen. But these examples represent a very good start. Educating consumers and getting them into the habit of thinking about food differently is therefore the key to get us to have a better relationship with food. Just some food (waste) for thought. I

Against some shocking food waste statistics, Terence Tse, Associate Professor ESCP Europe Business School, Khaled Soufani, Director of the Circular Economy Research Initiative, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge and Mark Esposito, Visiting Fellow at the Circular Economy Research Initiative, consider how a big business and a start-up are addressing the issue

Moi, moche et wonky:RETHINKING FOOD WASTE

1. Fusions (2015) Reducing foodwaste through social innovation 2. FAO (2011) Global food losses and food waste – Extent, causes and prevention. Rome3. www.lovefoodhatewaste.com 4. WRAP (2013) Estimates of waste in the food and drink supply chain


Just a few years ago, bio-bean Founder & CEO Arthur Kay was an architecture student at The Bartlett, UCL, working on a project designing a coffee shop. It was here that he learnt that once processed into your cup of coffee, coffee grounds are considered to

be waste and ultimately end up in landfill. These waste coffee grounds have a very high calorific value, and where others saw waste, Arthur saw an opportunity.

What if this coffee waste wasn’t exactly ‘waste’? What if it could be redefined as a resource that could be recycled into something useful? What if the life cycle of a coffee bean could be increased and it didn’t have to end up in landfill? What if it could be used to produce fuel? Fuel that could ultimately power our buildings, cities and even our cars! With that in mind, Arthur turned his idea into reality and founded bio-bean in 2013, becoming the first company in the UK to industrialise the process of recycling waste coffee grounds into advanced biofuels and biochemicals, and building the world’s first coffee waste recycling factory.

Developing an industrial model that contributes towards creating a circular economyis complex. bio-bean has been building capacity by investing heavily in creating strong infrastructure and operations

It all starts with extensive research and development into higher value products undertaken in bio-bean’s laboratory in London. Working within the existing waste management infrastructure, bio-bean provides a unique waste coffee ground collection service from a range of businesses such as instant coffee factories, coffee shops, office blocks and transport hubs across the UK.

The grounds are then transported to bio-bean’s factory in Cambridgeshire where they go through a range of complex recycling processes to turn them into useful and highly calorific advanced biofuels. The end product – biomass pellets which can fuel buildings – is then sold back to producers of the waste, who would have otherwise spent a great deal of money to get rid of the waste in the first place.

bio-bean has been growing steadily and working towards the factory capacity of 50,000 tonnes of waste coffee grounds per annum (accounting for one in 10 cups of coffee drunk in the UK). Following on the success of their business-to-business model, bio-bean is now expanding and investing in developing consumer products such as biomass briquettes (Coffee Logs) which can fuel homes and appliances such as BBQs, chimineas, wood-fired stoves and ovens and even open fires, replacing the need for coal and wood. IContact: [email protected]

CASE STUDY

Recycling waste coffee grounds

into advanced biofuels

From left to right:R&D in bio-bean’s labsbio-bean collects waste from across the UKBiomass pellets derived from recycled coffee waste



French singer Régine’s well-known song, where she calls for the burning of ‘little papers’, belongs to an economic era that must be put to an end: an age of linearity fed by the illusion

of affluence, in total disregard of the ecological balance, which originated with the post-World War II economic rebound and reached its climax with the concept of planned obsolescence for many electrical appliances. We now have to end this madness. Our generation holds a historic responsibility, for it is able to initiate a new virtuous circle of consumption, that of the circular economy.

Investing in circular economy to foster job creationFor many reasons, paper must be first in line among all the resources we will have to learn to preserve and reuse, mainly because it is easy to recycle, which makes it easier to gain the support of the citizens, first actors of the recycling process

Another reason is that our need for paper will not disappear, but evolve. We will thus be able to find new uses for paper (it can be recycled five times), for example by producing medicine or diapers out of it, and also to generate new applications for it, thanks to green chemistry. This new virtuous circle would be ecologically, but also economically profitable, as the circular economy implies a drop in production costs and optimises the use of raw materials. Although it might initially cause job destruction in some fields, it will at the same time generate new industries and jobs. Thousands of new positions could be created, whether highly qualified (mainly in research and development) or less qualified, as people will be needed to convey waste to sorting and collection centres. We can thus imagine the emergence of ‘neighbourhood caretakers’, who would meet an actual social need and profit from the repurposing of the waste collected. Finally, paper must be put at the forefront of the transition towards a circular economy because it is part of our everyday life; indeed, it is the main household waste product in France, with almost 4 million tons used every year, or 55kg per person.

We are thus facing a big socioeconomic challenge that requires our full attention and mobilisation. According to the European Commission, the adoption of the circular economy model could lead to a 4% increase in GDP and 600,000 jobs being created in Europe, based on a business-as-usual scenario. It would also allow us to spare 25 to 30% of virgin raw materials, which would represent a huge ecological benefit, as well as the reduction of CO2

emissions, even if it is more difficult to assess precisely.

An article from The Positive Book*, translated into English for the first time, questions the ‘waste’ of a resource that can be recycled and reused multiple times

1Conducted in partnership with Ecofolio, the work of the Positive Lab on the Circular Economy of Waste Paper was directed by Géraldine Poivert, General Manager of Ecofolio, and supervised by Vincent Edin, an independent journalist.

Let’s create a future for WASTE PAPER

Winning the intellectual and symbolic battleThe first battle that must be fought is semantic and ideological. The term ‘waste’ implies an absence of value, and we should rather classify waste paper as a ‘secondary raw material’, which can by essence be reused and repurposed. Such a choice of words would allow the general public to get a better understanding of the importance of recycling. Even though we still have a long way to go in terms of eco-friendly behaviours, France is progressively catching up with some of its European neighbours, with 52% of recycled waste, compared to 65-70% in some countries. This evolution shows that the actions of eco-organisations are truly efficient. How can we make this progress last? We must encourage citizens to use the appropriate sorting containers, in residential buildings as well as on the street – for example, by creating designated paper containers like those for glass or clothes collection – even if it means reinventing the urban landscape entirely. To make the sorting process easier for citizens, we could imagine interactive information stands that would indicate which containers are available, and where and when the collection will take place. This would all be part of a global strategy with the sole purpose of improving the efficiency of our paper recycling process. Therefore, we have to foster innovation in the field of waste collection and rethink our cities just as many other countries have.

New tools to turn waste into a resourceIf we really want to speed up the necessary transition of our economy in the near future, we must enter the era of waste resource management by taking action at all levels of the chain, from the conception of paper to selective sorting. Every stakeholder must be involved and integrated in the value chain, and be provided with sufficient information about tomorrow’s industrial sector. We must also think of new institutional tools, and rationalise our production facilities so that the money saved will be reinvested in the necessary adaptation of our industry to our future needs. Finally, we must think of new incentives and innovative means of financing. We have to work together in tight cooperation. It is not a utopia: paper can create worth! The catchphrase of the manifesto for the Circular Economy of Waste Paper1 sums it all up: choosing the path of circular economy means heading towards ‘Zero waste, 100% growth’. I


Positive Planet has set itself the task of aiding people around the globe to create conditions for a better world for coming generations and, in particular, their own descendants. It is

in the interest of those living today to help future populations, who in turn will continue the chain. Such is the definition of a positive economy.

Many beneficiaries of Positive Planet, whether located in Cameroon, Nepal or even in underprivileged areas of France, are already actors in the circular economy, which is of course part of the positive economy.

One of these beneficiaries is Axelle Nick, the founder of the Axelle&Cie start-up. Axelle’s success story began when a friend asked her to contribute to a micro collection of T-shirts. She accepted, but only on the grounds that the clothes respected the environment and the consumer’s health. When it became clear that she could not afford to buy organic cotton, she had the idea of recycling unwanted clothes collected in thrift stores such as Emmaus. The combination of ecological and economical limitations provided the basis for the project!

Axelle came up with a simple but smart process which started with the collection of second-hand clothes that in their current state could not be resold due to being unfashionable, shabby or stained; items that would normally be recycled

or thrown in the bin. She re-cut them and coloured them with natural dyes and in doing so harmonised the collection, whilst keeping every piece a one-off. At the end of the initial collaboration, she decided to continue developing the idea and launch her own business.

This is the moment Positive Planet intervened. Axelle came to us when she needed help structuring her project. She had a unique idea, she even had been able to test a micro collection, but had never completed business school studies. Her Positive Planet adviser coached her step by step so that she could draft a business plan answering all the necessary questions: her target clients, marketing and pricing strategies, her business objectives, etc. Positive Planet gave her the tools she required to go as far as possible… And that’s what Axelle&Cie did! In 2015, she was named inaugural winner of France’s La Social Cup, which allowed her to spend 6 months at the Sensecube in Paris, an accelerator programme for social start-ups. Here, she was able to share an incredible work space with other young entrepreneurs, all specialising in social and environmental innovation. I Marianne Syed, Executive Director, Positive Planet UKwww.axelleetcie.fr

CASE STUDY

Axelle&Cie: Positive Planet’scircular economy project

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17 months, 22 countries and over 100 circular economy initiatives. For entrepreneurs, Jules Coignard and Raphaël Masvigner, this is a world tour with a difference – its aim being to find the most interesting initiatives and show that a large-scale environmentally friendly business model is possible. Aurore Largerie skyped Jules en route in Columbia…

Shared environmental concerns led Jules and Raphaël to quit their jobs at Airbus in Mexico in 2014 to launch a non-profit initiative called Circul’R. To kick it off, they raised funds,

gathered partners and embarked on their journey. Financial partners are covering the team’s living and travelling expenses, while others are providing them with support in kind: Air France with some flights, AccorHotels with some accommodation, Generali with insurance and Patagonia with clothing, to name a few. Institutional partners such as Ashoka, the leading global network of social entrepreneurs, and the Institute of Circular Economy in France, are connecting them with some projects. The pair also launched a crowdfunding campaign, reaching 130% of the target, which amounted to 10% of the world tour budget. But more importantly, it generated additional value by gathering a community around their initiative.

On the road since March 2015, the two entrepreneurs

started their world tour in London at the Resource Event, where they introduced their project. As recent graduates from Toulouse Business School and Sciences Po, they are giving conferences at universities en route, their first was held at the London School of Economics. They are also raising public awareness through social media, articles, and video blogs on their website.

‘The circular economy is quite a new concept to the general public, but if you think about it, it’s using natural resources smartly and not producing waste. Humankind has been doing it for thousands of years. It’s only since the Industrial Revolution that we’ve changed the way we do things,’ says Jules.

The worldwide network they have been setting up while travelling aims to connect circular economy actors so that they can share best practice and even work together. For example, in India, Circul’R connected AccorHotels to Goonj, a social enterprise that hires people in poverty and provides them with

Goonj hires people in poverty from rural India and provides them with basic resources for their work such as textiles

The CIRCULAR ECONOMY around the world

Jules Coignard and Raphaël Masvigner


basic resources for their work. The company is now collecting uniforms from AccorHotels to provide people in rural India with textiles.

‘The majority of projects we’ve seen so far are start-ups because transitioning to a complete circular model for big companies is a big change and takes time,’ says Jules, citing US carpet maker Interface as an example of a large company that took the plunge. When the CEO, Ray Anderson, decided to switch from a ‘take-make-waste’ to a circular model in 1994, its share price dropped drastically, but today it is a world leader in the carpet industry.

Another purpose of the world tour is to look at the differences between circular economy initiatives in emerging and developed countries. Jules observes that in emerging countries the circular economy often goes hand in hand with social goals, such as access to electricity or poverty reduction. While most of the initiatives they have come across could be replicated anywhere, they would have to be adapted to the local culture, legislation and people, and because their needs diverge, some models from emerging countries wouldn’t have the same purpose as in developed countries. One example is a project in Senegal called JokkoSanté which launched a mobile App that acts as a virtual pharmacy distributing surplus medicines to poor people. People can return unused medicines to a pharmacy and get points to use through the App in exchange for medicines they will later need or to give to people who can’t afford them. ‘This initiative could be replicated

in developed countries, although it might face lobbies at first,’ comments Jules. ‘Medicines are really hard to recycle, but those sitting on your shelf are just money sleeping or thrown away. Keeping them in the loop is better for both the economy and the environment.’

From what the pair has seen, the Netherlands is one of the most advanced countries in

terms of the circular economy. Jules was impressed by the number

of projects they uncovered in only a week there. Examples

are Fairphone, which manufactures an easily-

reparable phone, and Philips with its circular project. Jules admits that the circular economy is less developed in France. However, the government is stepping in with

an energy transition bill that encourages a

circular economy.So far, the team has

already uncovered 140 circular economy projects, given

25 conferences in universities and made over 100 connections between

initiatives. When the tour ends in August, Circul’R will continue to promote the circular economy,

but to complement this, Jules and Raphaël plan to launch a social business with a global reach in Paris. ‘The way we do things now is not sustainable. Companies will have to either adapt or die. Those that change before the others will have a key advantage,’ says Jules. Drawing on their expertise and knowledge, their social business will help companies looking to develop activities along circular economy principles by providing them with consultancy and training, and help accelerate the development of circular economy start-ups by giving them easier access to financing. I

The circular economy is quite a new concept to the general public, but if you think about it, it’s using natural resources smartly and not producing waste. Humankind has been doing it for thousands of years. It’s only since the Industrial Revolution that we’ve changed the way we do things

Above: the landfill in Mbeubeuss, Senegal receives 2,000 tons of waste everyday


W hat gave you the idea to do such a book?Catherine Balet: It started in July 2013, when we were at the Arles’ Photography Festival. There, as a joke, I started taking photos of Ricardo taking poses copied from photos that were exhibited, which I put on Facebook. The reaction to them

was so astonishing that we decided to turn the idea into a professional project. Then, by sheer luck, I met the Festival’s director in the Eurostar, who loved our photos so much he offered to screen them at Arles the following year. It didn’t happen in the end, but it definitely boosted our determination to complete the project. One of our photos (A homage to Diane Arbus, A Young Man in Curlers at

Home on West 20th Street) was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Prize in November 2014, so both Ricardo and I went to London. On our way back, we met Martin Parr, once again in the Eurostar and completely by chance. He invited us to talk about the series in Photobook Bristol, which is when the homage developed into a proper reflection into the history of photography.

How does it feel to be photographed after a career of styling others? Ricardo Martinez Paz: I arrived in Paris in 1977, worked for decades as a stylist, dressing Jane Birkin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Carla Bruni and the like for photo shoots. But my first love was acting, which I studied in Buenos Aires, being inspired by Audrey Hepburn, my icon since age 14. The fact is that I’ve always loved posing for photographers, and photographers I worked for as a stylist always loved taking pictures of me, so for me it made sense to finally become Catherine’s model.

And why the golden shoes?Ricardo Martinez Paz: I’ve been buying golden shoes for the past 15 years, and they have become my trademark. I have four pairs which I always wear at parties, and sometime even to cycle around Paris. Now that the weather is turning hot, I should think about buying gold flip-flops! Catherine Balet: To me, Ricardo is the personification of light, which is reflected in the colour of his shoes. The golden shoes are also a common denominator in all the photos, this time as a symbol of the history of photography and its continuity.

REIMAGINING THE MASTERSIt took Catherine Balet two years to put together her book, Looking for the Masters in Ricardo’s Golden Shoes. A homage to the masters of photography, from 1839 to today, it presents an astonishing series of 120 photographs, reinterpreting artists such as Cartier-Bresson, Doisneau, Depardon, Newton and Martin Parr, amongst others. The one common denominator is their model, Ricardo Martinez Paz, a 74-year old Argentinean stylist, and Catherine’s best friend for the past 20 years. They talk to INFO about their project


REIMAGINING THE MASTERS

Which are your best memories and favourite photos from the book?Catherine Balet: For me, the best memory was the homage to Martin Parr’s Luxury series, which we shot like a super-production: we used a make-up artist and friends agreed to pose as models. The shooting was very joyous and the result is both very ironic and very funny.Ricardo Martinez Paz: I agree with Catherine that this particular moment was full of grace and friendship. I am also extremely fond of the photograph of the child and the seashell by Edouard Boubat, which brought me back straight to my childhood. This is the only photo where I feel that I am truly myself- not anymore a 74-year-old man but a seven-year-old child, which made for a very emotional and strong moment. I Interview by Frédérique Andréani

Exhibition from 7 September to 29 October at Galerie Thierry Bigaignon, Hotel de Retz, Batiment A, 9 rue Charlot, 75003 Paris.

Exhibition from 2 September to 31 November, Photography Never Dies at Galeria Glowny in Wroclaw, Poland, European Capital of Culture 2016.

Looking for the Masters in Ricardo’s Golden Shoes, published by Dewi Lewis, 256 pages, 120 photographs, £35.

Top: A homage to Martin Parr, LuxuryAbove, from L. to R.: A homage to Willy Ronis, The Little Parisian, 1952; A homage to Diane Arbus, A Young Man in Curlers at Home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C., 1966; A homage to Robert Doisneau, Picasso and the loaves, 1952.Opposite page, from L. to R.: A homage to Edouard Boubat, Remi listening to the sea, Paris, 1995; A homage to Man Ray, Black and White, 1926

All photographs: ©Catherine Balet


France’s got talent – and L.E.J. gave our guests a demonstration at the Chamber’s Annual Gala Dinner, performing for the very first time in the UK.L.E.J. – Lucie, Elisa and Juliette – came into being in 2013 when

the three childhood friends from Saint-Denis participated in a cover contest launched by Tryo, a French band. The girls won and got to perform on stage with the band. Their talent did not go unnoticed, and asked for more songs by web users, the three friends decided to post covers and mash-ups on YouTube. And then their ‘Summer 2015’ mash-up went viral.

From the Music and Dance Saint-Denis Conservatoire to the Maîtrise de Radio France for Lucie and Elisa, the three friends have established a solid foundation in classical music. Lucie sings, Elisa sings and plays the drum, and Juliette plays the cello.

Two of them envisioned making a living out of their music, but none of them had foreseen so much success. Today, ‘Summer 2015’ has accumulated over 50 million views. L.E.J’s first album, ‘En attendant l’album’, a collection of covers and mash-ups, was released on 4 December 2015, and has already been awarded French platinum status with more than 250,000 albums sold. The 22 year-olds have also been extremely busy touring with 98 concerts scheduled. They have already given 40 concerts since March 2016.

Surprising and original, L.E.J’s style is unique. Who would

have thought two voices and a cello would go viral?Perhaps their boldness explains it: placing the cellist at

the centre, doing an A Capella mash-up of Hip Hop classics or covering Nina Simone. Unconventional, nothing seems to stop L.E.J, and this might just be the reason: the girls have the

capacity to appeal to everyone – neither young nor old, but modern – both classic and avant-garde – the girls are crossing genres and borders.

Taking one step at a time and enjoying what comes their way, the girls have gone from an undeniable French success to touring as far as the US and Canada, while also performing as opening acts to Pharrell Williams, Grand-Corps Malade and others, and participating in the closing ceremony of the Festival de Cannes.

L.E.J has shown so much talent that everyone is curious to listen to their creations. The girls are now on tour and planning on releasing an album of their own original

compositions mid 2017. The artists said the album will mostly be in French, and are writing the lyrics with their manager, Ozarm. All three of them are also writing the music. So far, their only original song, ‘La Dalle’, gives us a taste of their witty songwriting skills. The French song about harassment of girls on the streets features on their first album. But the girls didn’t forget their non-French speaking audience, as English subtitles are available on YouTube. I AL

L.E.J.’S LONDON DEBUT

L.E.J, the French trio, which went viral after releasing ‘Summer 2015’, a mash-up of covers on YouTube, performed at the Chamber’s Annual Gala Dinner on 14 June

The Hans & Julia Rausing Trust has donated £5 million to the Royal Albert Hall, the largest single donation in the 145-year history of the Grade-I-listed building. This generous donation allows the Hall to progress the final phase of the £37m development programme being undertaken to further improve artists’ and front-of-house facilities. Work will commence on site in October 2016 to create two new basements to the south west of the Hall, which will provide more space and significantly improve backstage facilities.

Chris Cotton, Chief Executive of the Royal Albert Hall, said the significant donation would help to generate momentum for the Hall’s remaining capital campaign fundraising efforts. ‘We are enormously grateful to Hans and Julia Rausing for their longstanding and continued support of the Hall. Along with contributions from other generous donors, this significant gift enables us to continue modernising this important Grade-I-listed building to ensure it remains at the forefront of the UK’s live entertainment industry and continues to appeal to a wide range of worldwide artists and audiences.’

In recognition of their outstanding support, the Circle seating level will be renamed ‘The Rausing Circle’. I www.royalalberthall.com

Major donation to the Royal Albert Hall


LIFESTYLE - EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS

Compiled by Aurore Largerie

Painters’ Paintings reveals the private acquisitions of Freud, Matisse, Degas, Leighton, Watts, Lawrence, Reynolds and Van Dyck. The exhibition investigates why these painters acquired other painters’ works – for artistic inspiration, to support fellow artists, as status symbols, as investments, even out of obsession. It also considers the fascinating relations painters had with the paintings, and what happened when they entered public collections. Painters’ Paintings features more than 90 works spanning over 500 years of art history, from Freud’s 2002 ‘Self Portrait: Reflection’ to Bellini’s Agony in the Garden of about 1465. Highlights include Cézanne’s ‘Three Bathers’, once owned by Matisse, Sisley’s ‘The Flood. Banks of the Seine, Bougival’, once owned by Degas, and Gainsborough’s ‘Girl with Pigs’, once owned by Reynolds. I Until 4 September / Open daily from 10am to 6pm, until 9pm on Fridays / Full price £12

Painters’ Paintings: From Freud to Van Dyck

THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON

The V&A Engineering Season highlights the importance of engineering in our daily lives and considers engineers as the ‘unsung heroes’ of design, who play a vital and creative role in the creation of our built environment. It started with the unveiling of a large-scale garden installation fabricated by a robot. The Elytra Filament Pavilion is the outcome of four years of ground-breaking research on the integration of architecture, engineering and biomimicry principles, and explores how biological fibre systems can be transferred to architecture. The 200m² pavilion structure is inspired by lightweight construction principles found in nature and mimics the fibrous structures of the forewing shells of flying beetles known as elytra.

Elytra’s components have been fabricated by a robot at the University of Stuttgart and assembled on site in the V&A’s John Madejski Garden. The pavilion will grow and change its configuration over the course of the V&A Engineering Season in response to anonymous data on how visitors use and move under the canopy.

The pavilion is on display in the V&A’s John Madjeski Garden until the end of the season. On 22 September, visitors will be able to see it evolve as new components are fabricated live in the garden by a Kuka robot.

The season is complemented by a series of other displays, events and digital initiatives dedicated to global engineering design, as well as two exhibitions: Engineering the World: Ove Arup and the Philosophy of Total Design is the first major retrospective of Ove Arup (1895-1988), the most influential engineer of the 20th century. Focusing on Ove Arup’s philosophy of total design, this exhibition

will feature unseen archival materials for projects such as the Sydney Opera House alongside recent prototypes and digital animations by Arup, the global engineering consultancy.Mind over Matter: Contemporary British Engineering features architectural models, drawings and digital renderings from some of the world’s most cutting-edge engineering projects, revealing how British firms are leading the way in architecture and design. I

Until 6 November / Open daily from 10am to 5:45pm, until 10pm on Fridays / Engineering the World: Ove Arup and the Philosophy of Total Design - £7; Elytra Filament Pavilion and Mind over Matter: Contemporary British Engineering – free admission

The V&A opens its first ever Engineering Season

VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

Elytra Filament Pavilion at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Henri Matisse, Self Portrait, 1918, Oil on canvas, Paris, musée d’Orsay.


What prompted this decision? The best of English Sparkling Wine has earned a growing reputation for quality. Champagne Pommery believes that adding the experience and resource of a great Champagne house can create something very special. Now is the time to see what is possible while the market for these premium wines is still relatively undeveloped. Having recently made sparkling wine in California, Pommery feels confident about the value it adds by bringing its skills to new markets.

Why did you choose to work with the relatively new winery Hattingley Valley? We already knew the quality of the wine-making at Hattingley and had a strong sense of their wine-making philosophy. There was also a rapport between Paul-François Vranken, President of Vranken-Pommery Monopole, and Simon Robinson, the owner of Hattingley, and, in turn, between their respective winemakers. Hattingley is our associate in producing a Pommery wine that will be developed entirely separately from their other activities. Thierry Gasco, the Chef de Cave at Pommery, will be working with the award-winning winemaker Emma Rice and her team. We will make wine this year, assuming that we are able to purchase grapes of appropriate quality. Our hope would be that we will have wine in the market by 2019.

Vranken Pommery is the second French Champagne house to come to England to make wine, after Taittinger acquired land near Canterbury to plant vines. Why the sudden French interest in England for this? It only feels sudden because we and Taittinger happened to reveal our plans in the past few months. But there are many

reasons why a growing French interest could rapidly translate into action. It’s hard to ignore the increasing recognition of quality, the growth potential of the category and some of the basic economics, notably that vineyard land in the South of England is a fraction of the cost of land in Champagne! Developing our own vineyards is the natural next step but we know that site selection is not simple and we will proceed with some caution.

Champagne Pommery has, in fact, long had links with England. Can you tell us about its Anglo-French heritage?Alexandrine Pommery, who took control of the company in 1858 following the death of her husband, was a great Anglophile. She had studied in England, spoke the language and was an admirer of Victorian England and its empire. The great Pommery Domaine overlooking Reims was created as a tribute to the English architectural style of the day, largely Victorian gothic and in the 18km of cellars below the Domaine, individual cellars are named after the cities of Great Britain. Most important was that, based on her personal experience, Mme Pommery recognised the English taste for a drier, or brut, style of wine. In 1874, this insight led her to create, for the London market, Pommery Brut, a step that set a new commercial direction for the Champagne industry.

What will be your biggest challenges? Securing the best quality grapes in sufficient quantities every year will be at the heart of producing a great Pommery wine. This will be the biggest challenge in a country with a highly unpredictable climate. It is why establishing a variety of premium grape sources is a more immediate priority than owning a vineyard. I Interview by KF www.vrankenpommery.com/en/ @PommeryOfficial

ENGLISH BUBBLES FOR VRANKEN-POMMERY MONOPOLE

LIFESTYLE - PROFILE

Vranken-Pommery Monopole recently announced that it will be working with an English producer to create a sparkling wine that should be on sale by 2019. INFO asked UK Chairman Nicholas Hyde why a French Champagne house is crossing the Channel to make wine

L to R: The Pommery Domaine; Paul-François Vranken, President of Vranken-Pommery Monopole; Thierry Gasco, Chef de Cave


LIFESTYLE - EAT, DRINK, STAY

Newly opened at TheWesley in Euston, London, The Savannah is an ethical and eco-friendly bar & restaurant offering a fusion

of European, African and Asian cuisine, alongside some classic favourites. In line with TheWesley’s ethical ethos, the food is sourced from sustainable suppliers, artisans and family-run companies. The restaurant has its own separate entrance and is set over two floors flooded with natural light. Its décor, inspired by the savannah, includes murals and hand-crafted pieces by local artists as well as reclaimed materials, and the restaurant will continue to cultivate emerging creativity by projecting the work of up-and-coming animators, film makers and artists on its walls. I www.thesavannah.co.uk

The Savannah Bar & Restaurant opens at TheWesley

The London Jam Factory launches the Jam Bar

A ward-winning jam manufacturer, the London Jam Factory, has launched the Jam Bar – an innovative concept offering

more than 20 different colourful jam miniatures for hotels, to help differentiate their breakfast offer and make their guests feel more at home.

The London Jam Factory sells 90 varieties of its fruit-intense, lower sugar jam online in the UK and abroad as well as to delicatessens, coffee shops, bakeries and specialist retailers, but the company’s founder Pierre-Louis Phelipot has set his sights on expanding in new markets, particularly the hotel segment. To fund this expansion with larger production facilities and more staff, the company

recently raised £130,000 through the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. I www.thelondonjamfactory.com

ENGLISH BUBBLES FOR VRANKEN-POMMERY MONOPOLE Congratulations to Pierre Hermé, named the World’s Best Pastry Chef

P ierre Hermé has been named the ‘World’s Best Pastry Chef by the

World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy. Receiving the award at a ceremony in New York, the French pastry chef-chocolatier, said ‘This award is also a great honour to all pastry chefs, starting with my teams, the pastry chefs preparing my recipes every day, around the world.’ The Academy comprises 972 gastronomy experts across 5 continents, who each submit, by secret ballot, their own personal list of 7 restaurants from the 27 regions,

covering the entire planet. Therefore, it is more usual for a pastry chef from a restaurant to be awarded the title. Pierre Hermé, who began his apprenticeship at the age of 14 with Gaston Lenôtre, and subsequently worked with some renowned maisons, created Maison Pierre Hermé Paris in 1998, and now has boutiques all over the world. He is known for his innovative use of flavours and unusual pairings. I www.pierreherme.com

CHEESE & WINE PRESS

SUN, SEA AND WINE! by Wine Story

When the blue sky finally turns up, we start thinking about the south, sun and the seaside accompanied by rosé wines, dry whites and fruity reds for barbecues. At Wine Story, we spend time over spring and summer visiting the vineyards to keep in touch with our suppliers and find new ones.

After meeting many wine-makers and tasting more than 500 different wines during a three-day trip in the Languedoc region organised by La Maison de la Région Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées, we have shortlisted a dozen vineyards and will be tasting their wines again at La Maison in London. You will read in future INFOs about the Languedoc wines from well-known AOPs such as Minervois as well as new ones like Les Terrasses du Larzac.

I was also recently in Spain where I visited the Vinya Ivo vineyard in Cadaques, Catalonia. Reflecting the artistic heritage of the Alta Emporda region, birthplace of Salvador Dali, Picasso and Miro, Vinya Ivo’s wine labels are created by local artists. The Cuvee Pirata Especial (Especial meaning a blend of few vintages in Spanish viticulture) is the perfect match for grilled lamb cutlets, and the Me Gustas Tu Tempranillo would be ideal with a cheese and cured meat board on a beach picnic. Bonnes vacances! I by Thibault Lavergne

TO ORDER MICHELIN-STYLE WINES TO DRINK AT HOME, CONTACT: E: [email protected]: +44 (0)7921 770 691W: www.winestory.co.uk

GOAT’S CHEESE FOR SUMMER by La Cave à Fromage

Cooking and eating during hot summer days can prove challenging, as our cravings tend to be very different and very much linked to the weather and outside temperatures.

Some of us may have more time to cook, and be on the search for ideas and recipes. Cheese has featured in recipes for centuries. One of the first recorded recipes was published in the early 14th century in what is considered to be the oldest cookery book, Liber de coquina, now kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris. In it, the anonymous author, who is thought to originate from

Naples, explains how to cook pasta with Parmesan. Using cheese in modern day cooking often adds a rich and subtle touch to a dish. Over warm summer days, I can safely recommend beautiful fresh, young and slightly acidic goat cheese for endless combinations in salads, generous when grilled over fresh seasonal vegetables, even quickly baked to accompany sumptuous breads.

Each Mediterranean country will provide a range of fresh goat cheese – all delicious when artisan made. Iby Eric Charriaux

TO BUY YOUR CHEESE, VISIT LA CAVE A FROMAGE SHOPS24-25 Cromwell Place, 148-150 Portobello Road, 34-35 Western Road, Kensington, London SW7 2LD Notting Hill, London W11 2DZ Hove, Brighton BN3 1AF

E: [email protected]: +44 (0)845 108 8222W: www.la-cave.co.uk

Stopping in Paris and Bordeaux for a few exclusive dinners up to 30 July, the travelling restaurant La Table Orient Express is offering

its passengers a unique culinary experience, organised by Potel et Chabot. Chef Yannick Alléno is returning to the kitchens of this iconic train for the second time, and together with Pastry Chef Yann Couvreur, has created menus inspired by the history and romance of the Orient Express, whose story began in 1883. I www.poteletchabot.com/en www.orient-express.com/en/booking

All aboard La Table Orient Express with Potel et Chabot!



LIFESTYLE - PROFILE

TO BUY YOUR CHEESE, VISIT LA CAVE A FROMAGE SHOPS24-25 Cromwell Place, 148-150 Portobello Road, 34-35 Western Road, Kensington, London SW7 2LD Notting Hill, London W11 2DZ Hove, Brighton BN3 1AF

Why did you start your own wine subscription company?I’ve always loved food and wine, but didn’t know much about it. I took some wine-tasting classes and workshops, but quickly got bored, they were too expensive or too difficult!

How did you come to work with your master sommelier Jean-Michel Deluc and sales director Matthieu Lesne?Matthieu and I met at business school and got along very well, so it was very natural for us to work together. I was looking for a wine expert and actually met with several, but none really embodied the spirit of Le Petit Ballon - the friendliness or accessibility. Until I met Jean-Michel. We really hit it off and he really does embody the spirit of our company. Wine is all about enjoyment - that’s something he is always quick to remind us. He was working at the Ritz in Paris and really wanted to share his love of wine with everybody!

What does Le Petit Ballon do differently to other wine subscription companies?We give people the chance to try wines that they wouldn’t have tried before, that you can’t get from the typical supermarket. Our tasting notes and the Gazette, our magazine help people learn about wine at their own pace, in a language they can understand! More and more people are telling us they’re getting into wine and starting to really understand what kind of wine they like, so in that sense yes, I think we are changing how people consume wine.

How does your wine profile system work? Our wines are categorised into ‘wine families’ based on their character, for example, if a wine is very robust, it goes into the ‘robust’ wine family, with other similar wines. Each wine family is suitable for different occasions or moods depending on its characteristics. Master Sommelier Jean-Michel Deluc also suggests dishes you can pair with each wine, so you know exactly what type

LE PETIT BALLON: WINE TO YOUR TASTE ON ORDER

Martin Ohanessian, President of Le Petit Ballon, gives the run down on their wine subscription start-up, that cuts the guff and demystifies the jargon. With already 40,000 subscribers in France, it is now seeking to introduce the British to an enjoyable - and personal - wine experience

of wine goes with what type of dish.

Having established yourselves in France and Belgium, how did you break into the UK market?Our 40,000 French subscribers helped us develop the brand through word of mouth, telling people about us here in the UK! We’ve been here for six months and have 500 subscribers – and rising – not only in London but also around the rest of the UK. The first of our monthly aperitifs was held on 19 April and it really exceeded our expectations; the reaction was great. I think people enjoy the approachability of Le Petit Ballon. It’s something

Jean-Michel, Matthieu and I really enjoy doing – meeting our subscribers in person and getting to know what they want.

Have you noticed any national characteristics with regard to wine preferences?I think in France, as there’s a large number of domaines and châteaux, French people tend to stick to French wine, as it’s good quality and convenient. Obviously there are great domains appearing all over

the world, so people are now starting to explore things from further afield. In the UK, for example, people are

now realising you don’t have to be an expert to really enjoy wine. However, I’d say the main difference is that UK wine

drinkers like to explore new things – they jump straight in, which is great for us, as we can really show them something they’ve never tried before.

Do you service all subscriptions from France? Our headquarters are based in Paris, where we also have a shop. We found a partner here in the UK for our distribution, meaning subscribers in the UK get the same high quality service as those in France and Belgium.

Where do you go from here? The sky’s the limit! We want to transform the way people consume wine, not just through providing hidden gems and lesser known appellations to consumers, but also through helping them understand wine and understanding exactly what they enjoy drinking. More than just a business – this is an opportunity to create a whole new way of thinking about wine! I Interview by KFwww.petitballon.com/uk/


Just like its traditional Caïpirinha, Brazil has a taste of tangy sugar and exuberance. Following the perpetual movement

of Rio de Janeiro, our trip is filled with varied discoveries and with the urban and tropical jungle for background. Through the clouds, Chris the Redeemer raises his hands to heaven whilst at the summit of the Sugar Loaf parades the incredible panorama of the Guanabara Bay.

We quickly leave the aesthetically perfect beaches to go for a walk in Santa Teresa, home to many hidden artistic workshops and rehabilitation projects. One of these projects, called Morrinho, is a unique piece created by the youth of the Pereira da Silva community. It represents a modern vision of a favela through the use of recycled materials and was declared a contemporary work of art at the 2007 Venice Biennale.

Above Santa Teresa, the tropical jungle Tijuca covers the city in emerald tones. When it is time for a drink, the old tram takes us to Copacabana, filled with an enthusiast crowd of people of all colours. We have a drink at the elegant terrace of Copacabana

Palace or at the popular bars of Lapa where the furious rhythm of samba and Brazilian pop come to the street. The beat of this joyful music compels us to discover more... the multicoloured features of Pelourinho, the historical suburb of Salvador de

Bahia. We head back to the Sao Joaquim markets where the ‘Baianas’ in their traditional costumes carry their sacred herbs whilst a Capoeira demonstration – a mix between a martial art and a tribal dance – is improvised.

Under the porch of the Baroque churches, colourful bracelets, symbolising good luck, move with the wind.

We swap the African and colonial soul of Brazil for the little village of Trancoso on the edge of the Atlantic. In this village, Wilbert Das, Diesel’s former artistic director, has transformed

fishermen’s sheds into a simply crafted little haven facing the Quadrado. Under the wild vegetation that borders the beach, converted in a cocktail bar, we secretly enjoy the 1960s’ bohemian atmosphere of the ‘Trancoso hippie’. I

THE COLOUR & RHYTHM OF BRAZIL

For more information E: [email protected] T: +44 (0) 7931 099 269 W: www.exclusifvoyages.co.uk

This column brings inspiring travel and destination stories from our members in the industry. This time, Exclusif Voyages immerses us in ...

By EXCLUSIF VOYAGES


LIFESTYLE - BOOKS

THESE BOOKS, RECENTLY PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH, WERE SELECTED BY THE FRENCH INSTITUTE

CONSTELLATIONby Adrien BoscPublished by Serpent’s TailTranslated by Willard Wood Original title: Constellation

On 27 October 1949, Air France’s Lockheed Constellation F-BAZN left Paris Orly Airport for New York. Hours later, it disappeared on approach to a scheduled stopover in the Azores. It was found on a mountainside five miles from its intended landing zone. There were no survivors.

Constellation tells the true stories of the 48 passengers who died, their place in the world and their hopes and dreams for the life awaiting them on the other side of the Atlantic; of a heavyweight boxer flying to New York for a world title fight; of a 30-year-old virtuoso violinist; of five Basque shepherds emigrating to America; and of the whole constellation of untold stories that tragedy scatters around it like so much debris.

Bosc’s magnetic, moving novel is a memorial to an air disaster that happened half a century ago, and a profound exploration of the nature of collective tragedy. I

ABOUT MY MOTHERby Tahar Ben JellounPublished by Telegram (Saqi imprint)Translated by Ros Schwartz & Lulu Norman Original title: Sur ma mère

Since she’s been ill, Lalla Fatma has become a frail little thing with a faltering memory. As her mind becomes more muddled, Fatma starts to believe that she is in Fez in 1944 – where she grew up – not in Tangier in 2000, where the story begins. During his visits, Tahar, her son, patiently sits by her side and listens as she summons members of her family who are long dead and quietly yearns for her first and only love. Guided by these fragments, Tahar vividly reimagines his mother’s life in post-war Morocco: married while still playing with dolls; widowed too young; and for whom resignation was the only way out.

Written by award-winning Moroccan novelist Tahar Ben Jelloun, About My Mother explores the sacred bond that exists between a mother and her child. I

The man known as Blutch is one of the giants of contemporary comics, and Peplum may be his masterpiece: a grand, strange dream of ancient Rome. At the edge of the empire, a gang of bandits discovers the body of a beautiful woman in a cave; she is encased in ice but may still be alive. One of the bandits, bearing a stolen name and with the frozen maiden in tow, makes his way toward Rome – seeking power, or maybe just survival, as the world unravels. Thrilling and hallucinatory, vast in scope yet unnervingly intimate, Peplum weaves together threads from Shakespeare and the Satyricon along with Blutch’s own distinctive vision. His hypnotic storytelling and stark, gorgeous art pull us into one of the great works of graphic literature, translated into English for the first time. I

PEPLUMby BlutchPublished by New York Review BooksTranslated by Edward Gauvin Original title: Péplum

Alpha is a graphic novel about a refugee’s journey from Africa to Europe. It counters the dehumanising discourse around refugees that shows no signs of letting up. With pared-back text and powerful imagery, it has serious impact and is a perfect example of the power of graphic novels to speak to a wide readership of adults and teenagers. With sensibility, Barroux shows the horrors of life as a refugee, his drawings providing a moving insight into this kind of journey.

Alpha is emblematic of the refugee crisis today – he is one of millions on the move, some fleeing war and others in desperate hope of a better life for their families. I

ALPHAby Barroux & BessoraPublished by Barrington StokesTranslated by Sarah Ardizzon Original title: Abidjan – Gare du Nord


May and June have been very busy months at the Chamber, as these

pages will attest. Two of our most important annual events – the AGM and the Gala Dinner – took place, and we have held numerous others – an Ambassador’s Brief, an Economic Update, a Breakfast with Michael Borrell, Senior VP Europe and Central Asia, Total, two Rendez-vous Chez and several Patron events.

Our forums and clubs have also been in full swing, holding sessions ranging from ‘Winning hearts and minds around climate change’ to funding and liquidity for start-up and SME growth requirements, engagement and retention as well as digital transformation, which was the topic tackled at the second meeting of our Women’s Business Network. These are all very current issues that go to the

heart of business practice in the UK, and by providing these platforms, the Chamber has ensured that our members can engage, discuss and learn from each other.

Overshadowing everything has been the EU referendum, and now that the decision to Brexit has been made, the Chamber will be reacting to provide support and guidance for our members. We have convened an Extraordinary Board Meeting to discuss the Chamber’s strategy in the new context and the next issue of INFO will be focusing on the impact of Brexit on business. The Chamber has confronted crises before, and we will, as always, be looking to turn threats into opportunities.

On the membership front, we have had a spate of new members, and less attritions, so our number has topped 600. Recently seven Corporate members and

20 Active members joined our ranks.In line with our strategies set out at

the AGM, we have continued to focus on supporting start-ups with various initiatives including the Start-up Lab pitch competition, the first of which took place on 17 June, and will be reported on in the next issue, and the planning of our next Franco-British conference under the ‘Small meets Big’ banner. Out of a brainstorming meeting involving both big and small companies came the title for it – ‘Disrupt or Be Disrupted’. It promises to be an inspiring day and we will keep you informed as the programme develops.

By the time this issue of INFO is published, thoughts will be turning to summer holidays and for some, activities winding down for a well-deserved mid-year break. May I wish you all a good one! I FG


CHAMBER HAPPENINGS - SHORTIES

Our Annual Report 2015 has been published, and should have landed on the desks of all main representatives. Detailing the Chamber’s

activities and results for last year. the report provides many interesting facts and figures, an overview of all our services with testimonials from members and clients, as well as the outlook for 2016. It showcases what we have been doing for the benefit of our members and in particular, the new initiatives in line with our strategy: supporting start-up development and digital transformation, encouraging greater access between categories of members especially through ‘Small meets Big’ events, and further endorsing Corporate Social Responsibility. I

Look out for our new Annual Report

The Chamber has welcomed nine new Advisory Councillors: Florence Njamfa, Global Creative and Brand Communication Director,Orange Brand Services Limited; Jules Minvielle, Founder & CEO, Mozoo; Fabrice Bernhard, Cofounder & Chief Technology

Officer, Theodo; Tanuja Randery, Zone President UK & Ireland, Schneider Electric; Louise Tingström, Managing Partner, Chandos Communications; Catherine Palmer, Legal Director, Joseph; Aino-Leena Grapin, CEO, Paddle8; Sylvain Ercoli, General Manager, Bulgari Hotel and Residences, London; Pierre-Louis Phelipot, Founder, The London Jam Factory Ltd. The Advisory Council consists of up to 66 members – including the Directors of the Board – and hosts three sessions a year with a view to advising the management of the Chamber on strategic decisions. The role of the Advisory Council is to increase the effectiveness of the Chamber by actively participating in and leading its activities as well as recruiting new members. I

Welcome to 9 new Advisory Councillors

Hats off to...PHILIPPE HENRY has recently been appointed Global Head of a newly set up Corporate, Financials and Multinationals Banking unit (CFMB) at HSBC. This change occurs as HSBC has restructured its investment bank. Philippe had been Head of Global Banking for all Continental Europe and Africa since March 2012. He will remain based in London.www.hsbc.com

ANTHONY SAKROUGE is the new main representative for Russell Cooke, replacing Geraldine Fabre, who has moved to Sherrards Solicitors as Partner and Head of the French Desk. Anthony is the Head of the Employment and Immigration Department at Russell-Cooke LLP. The team has been recognised in the legal directories for its work advising organisations, many of which are based abroad, in both areas.www.russell-cooke.co.uk

New main representative


CHAMBER HAPPENINGS - NEW MEMBERS

CMB WEALTH MANAGEMENTWealth management and offshore private bankingRepresented by Julian Soper, Managing Directorwww.cmbwm.co.ukCMB Wealth Management is the London subsidiary of Compagnie Monégasque de Banque, a leading private bank in Monaco, owned by Mediobanca. The company specialises in combining private client services with the institutional investment expertise of the Mediobanca Group to meet the financial needs of wealthy clients: portfolio management, mortgage arranging and offshore banking.

EDWIN COE LLP Law firmRepresented by Alexandre Terrasse,Head of French Inward Investmentwww.edwincoe.comEdwin Coe is a high-quality, commercial law firm providing tailored and integrated legal services across a wide range of practice areas to both UK and international companies and private clients.The firm is ranked at 109 in the latest edition of The Lawyer ‘UK-200’ law firms and has a dedicated French Inward Investment team.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUPBuilding stable, trusted markets since 1801Represented by Serge Harry, Member of the Executive Committeewww.lseg.comLondon Stock Exchange Group is a diversified international market infrastructure business. It operates a broad range of international equity, bond and derivatives markets. The Group, a global leader in indexing and analytic solutions with FTSE Russell, offers thousands of indexes, benchmarking global markets. LSEG is also a leading developer of high performance trading platforms, capital markets software and testing capabilities for customers around the world, through MillenniumIT, GATElab and ExactPro.

MICROSOFT ACCELERATOR LONDON Scale-up tech businesses via Series ARepresented by by Kevin Monserrat, Social Media & Marketing Managerwww.microsoftventures.comMicrosoft Accelerator London is an intensive four-month programme that enables entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to the global market. It works with big corporations as well as emerging tech companies to help bring crucial innovation for business growth in a disruptive environment.

DEVIALETHigh end wireless speakers& amplifiersRepresented by Joachim Fritsch, General Manager UK & Irelandwww.devialet.comFrom amplifiers for audiophiles (Expert), awarded best sound in the world, to all-in-one wireless speakers (Phantom), Devialet offers a clear, pure sound with no distortion. Launched in Harrods a year ago, now in Westfield and Apple, Devialet aims to become world leader in audio in the coming years.

RYDER CUP EUROPE - PGA EUROPEAN TOUR Organisation of professional golf eventsRepresented by Tim Shaw, Group Sales Directorwww.europeantour.comRyder Cup Europe owns the rights of The Ryder Cup when the competition is held in Europe and is responsible for all matters concerning The European Team and the staging of the event which will be hosted in France for the first time ever in 2018 at Le Golf National near Versailles, Paris. Ryder Cup Europe LLP also works closely with the French Golf Federation in developing the game in France and the wider promotion of golf generally.

7 CORPORATE MEMBERS

WADDINGTON CUSTOT GALLERIES LTD Art gallery - postwar contemporary & modern artRepresented by Jean-François Cécillon, Managing Director (Acting)www.waddingtoncustot.comWaddington Custot Galleries, based in Mayfair, specialise in contemporary and modern works of art: painting, sculpture and works on paper. They have very substantial inventory from Albers, Chamberlain, Matisse, Picabia, Picasso, Rauschenberg, Stella, Tapies, Wesley, etc. They represent artists including Peter Blake, Ian Davenport, Robert Indiana, Barry Flanagan estate, Jean Dubuffet and Patrick Heron estates.


CHAMBER HAPPENINGS - NEW MEMBERS

Adaptive Channel - Software and content provider in the travel marketadaptive-channel.comRepresented by David Fairand, CEO

Anglicity Ltd - French to English digital marketing: copywriting, editing/transcreation, translation, blogging www.anglicity.com Represented by Karen Andrews, Director

Breguet - Swatch Group UK - Swiss luxury watch brand founded in 1775 www.breguet.com

Represented by Amandine Hammari, Marketing Executive

Children of the Mekong - Supports under-privileged children in South-east Asia through education and child sponsorships www.childrenofthemekong.org

Represented by Eugénie Prouvost Munakarmi, Chief operating officer

Clareville Communications - Public relations, digital and social media experts www.clareville.co.ukRepresented by John Starr, Managing Director

Consulting Quest - Consulting platform serving both clients and providers www.consultingquest.com Represented by Elodie Bocquet, Key account Manager

eOffice - Design-led coworking space in central London www.eoffice.net Represented by Pier Paolo Mucelli, Founder & CEO

F-Initiatives - Consulting, innovation financing, R&D tax reliefs www.f-initiatives.uk Represented by Vincent Fournié, Managing Director

GB and Smith - Provider of self-service security management and audit solutions www.gbandsmith.com Represented by Jonathan Brochet, UK Sales Manager

Grenoble IAE - Business school www.iae-grenoble.fr

Represented by Emily Rankin, Language and International Work Placement Coordinator

Groupe Mulliez-Flory - Workwear & corporate clothing consulting www.mulliez-flory.fr Represented by Nicolas Streichenberger, Country Manager

Headley - Printer manufacturerwww.headley.co.uk Represented by Karine Mazuy, Business Development Manager

Hold-On Productions - Mega rear advertising on buses across Europe www.holdonproductions.co.uk

Represented by Arnaud Cassat, EMEA Sales Manager

Internshipmapper - Specialist in finding internship opportunities in the UK for European students www.internshipmapper.co.uk Represented by Maud Grenier, CEO & Founder

Le Petit Ballon - Wine subscription www.lepetitballon.co.uk

Represented by Pauline Satiat, Country Manager UK

Lepetitjournal.com London - Information & Online Newspaper for French community www.lepetitjournal.com/londres

Represented by Laurent Colin, Director

Made.com - Furniture design & e-commerce retail www.made.com

Represented by Julien Callède, COO and Co-Founder

Orchid Creation - Design of marketing presentation content www.orchidcreation.com

Represented by Tafika Ramiaramanana, Account Manager

Skylar Group - Galaxis Capital LLP - Financial group providing asset management, wealth management, investment services and corporate finance advisory across Europe and Africa www.skylar.eu

Represented by Grégoire Schöller, Director

The Universal Matrix LLP - Acting CEO / interim management / restructuring & turnaround

Represented by Jean-François Cécillon, Founder & Chairman

20 ACTIVE MEMBERS


What are the challenges?Low oil and gas prices are creating difficult conditions for oil and gas companies like Total to operate in. Given that this is such a cyclical business, the situation is not unprecedented, but with oil at well over $100 a barrel for a sustained period, a certain amount of complacency had crept into the industry, volumes were chased and money invested based on assumptions of continued buoyancy. Since 2014, the price has collapsed, getting to as low as $30 a barrel at the end of 2015. In a world that consumes roughly 95 million barrels of oil a day, what has changed? In short, US shale oil production has seen a huge increase and this has been coupled with a decrease in demand, mostly driven by the Chinese economy. Geopolitics will always play a role, but the core fundamental in the price is the supply/demand balance.

So what happens in the future? This is a long-term industry by nature, and production will continue from projects started in previous years, but lower prices will spur demand and stop investments coming up, so at some point the price will recover. The question is timing.

Gas is the other part of the equation, and is particularly important for the UK and Total’s business. The gas price is likely to stay low for longer than oil because of the production of shale gas in the US, less of a link to oil prices and lower demand. But gas is part of the solution for climate change, generating half the CO2 of coal, which is why Total’s strategy for its energy mix has been to go from a third gas, to half today and two thirds in 15 years’ time.

The UK’s oil and gas is extracted from the UK Continental

Shelf (UKCS), which has four main producing areas: Southern North Sea; Central North Sea; Northern North Sea; and West of Shetland. Out of 375,000 jobs associated with the offshore industry, 65,000 have been lost since 2014 as a result of low prices. In 2010/11, taxes from the oil & gas industry were in the region of £4-6 billion, representing 16.5% of the total tax take, but this was down to £100 million in 2015. Past investment in the North Sea has been huge – £590 billion. But at 50 years old, it is a very mature basin, and one of the big issues facing the industry going forward is decommissioning infrastructure at the end of field life at an estimated cost of £76 billion. North Sea infrastructure is highly interconnected with cost-sharing benefits, so the risk is, if the oil price stays low for a few years, and platforms start coming off stream or being abandoned, the remaining ones will be left to bear a higher proportion of the costs. Thus, the UK government is encouraging the sharing of infrastructure and co-operation between oil companies. From 2.7 million barrels of oil a day, the UK now produces 800,000, which is only half of its 1.5 million barrel consumption. Coincidentally it also produces only half the gas it consumes. UK operators and assets are consequently facing low returns and negative cash flows, particularly in almost half of the oil fields that have operating costs above $30 a barrel.

Total’s three large offshore assets are Northern North Sea, which is in late life, Central Graben in mid life and West of Shetland, which has just started production. The latter, Laggan-Tomore, entails two fields 140km west of the Shetlands, drilling 5km down in 600m water. The production facilities are all located on the sea bed and connected to the dedicated Shetland Gas Plant facility onshore by two pipelines. It is a harsh environment in which to operate, and only possible thanks to innovative subsea technology that is being used for the first time on the UKCS. For the older fields, to make the most of existing infrastructure and extend production, Total has tied in surrounding fields and additional reservoirs. Production is now predominantly gas, with 50% coming from these satellite fields.

What is Total’s response to these challenges?When you can’t control the price, you control the things you can and do it really well. The first one is safety – a core value

ECONOMIC UPDATE - 18 May

Over breakfast at The Berkeley, Michael Borrell gave a clear and fascinating account of the oil and gas industry in a global and UK context, setting out the challenges and opportunities for the energy giant in a period of change

Breakfast With...Michael Borrell, Senior Vice-President Europe & Central Asia, Total

Total is the largest solar power provider in the world, and it is aiming to become a leader in biofuels... Total has the ambition to become ‘the responsible energy major’


PATRON & CORPOR ATE EVENT - 11 May

The second Ambassador’s Brief of the year was unusual in that the Ambassador giving the briefing was not HE Ms Sylvie Bermann, French Ambassador to the UK, but HE Mr Jean-Pierre Thébault, French Ambassador to Ireland. The Ambassador had especially

made the trip to London, accompanied by three French Foreign Trade Advisors – Olivier Melennec, Managing Director, CACI Ireland (Crédit Agricole); Jean-Manuel Lejeune, Business Operations Manager, RPS Group; and David Jullo, Head of EMEA Mobile Strategy, Google Dublin HQ – in order to present what they consider to be the great potential of the Irish economy and opportunities for French businesses.

The discussion revolved around the revival of the ‘Celtic Tiger’, which is the fastest growing economy in Europe, with 7.8% growth in 2015, and a projected 2.9% average annual growth rate over the next four years, according to the IMF. The most interesting sectors for investment and business are Energy, particularly renewables in the wake of COP21, Housing & Construction, Health and Infrastructure. The latter three sectors have seen little investment or activity for five years, and are thus ripe for development and revamping, particularly as Ireland has Europe’s youngest population and growing needs. The Irish government plans to invest €27bn in infrastructure over the next five years. While the numbers are impressive, macroeconomics don’t tell the whole story. Ireland’s population may be relatively small at 4.5 million, but it is a market that is greater than the sum of its parts because it is an easy place to do business, a hub for multinational companies’ EMEA HQs, and often a reference market for English-speaking countries. With the UK already doing €1 billion worth of business a week with Ireland, and Germany double that of France, French companies won’t find themselves alone.

Also highlighted were the skills, pro-business environment and world-class expertise, particularly in insurance, reinsurance and fintech, that make Ireland so attractive as a European hub. Its ITC sector is especially dynamic, representing 4.4% of GDP currently, and projected to be 13% by 2020. Indeed, 10 out of the world’s top 100 tech companies are in Ireland, and US companies have an increasingly strong presence, with companies such as Google and Facebook employing thousands. Ireland is also the first capital in Europe for investing per capita. For all the potential opportunities, there are some risks and considerations: a bit of political uncertainty; a highly competitive market because of its openness to successful economies; the need to find local partners for the best chance of success and upward pressure on wages. Above all, it is a market that needs to be closely watched to see where the opportunities lie.

After the briefing, Peter Alfandary, Senior Vice-President of the French Chamber chaired a debate and Q&A session. I KF

Ambassador’s Brief: focus on Ireland

and a reflection of operational excellence, which makes good business sense. The second is delivery of projects on budget and on time. There is room for improvement on this score, as the Laggan-Tormore project in the Shetlands showed, and performance and production efficiencies are being targeted. The third is costs – managing the cost base so that projects are economic. When oil prices were high between 2000 and 2014, costs skyrocketed, affecting rates of return, but significant reductions were made in 2015 with more aggressive targets for this year and next. Finally, cash has to be managed to allow for continued development and this includes targeted divestments of non-core assets like mature infrastructure.

HE Mr Jean-Pierre Thébault, French Ambassador to Ireland speaking at the briefing

Transitioning to a lower carbon energy mixSo how does a leading producer of oil and gas address the climate change issue? Total has adapted its strategy to fit the International Energy Agency scenario based on the 2-degree Celsius target in 2035. With the aim of supplying a responsible energy mix with steadily decreasing carbon intensity, it has placed a high priority on gas as the cleanest fossil fuel. Renewables are forming an increasing part of its portfolio too. Total is the largest solar power provider in the world, and it is aiming to become a leader in biofuels. It is also expanding its interests in energy storage, which is essential for renewables. An energy major it certainly is, but Total has the ambition to become ‘the responsible energy major’.I KF


Big Fernand hosted 35 Chamber members for a convivial evening of networking in their refined

brasserie. Mathieu Durand, ‘Hamburgé’ Ambassador to the UK at Big Fernand, and looking very French, welcomed guests with mini homemade gourmet burgers. The winner of the lucky draw received a dinner for two at Big Fernand.Big Fernand opened in London in 2015. I AL

RENDEZ-VOUS CHEZ... Big Fernand

RENDEZ-VOUS CHEZ - 28 April

Mathieu Durand introduces the French-styled ‘hamburgés’ to French chamber members

RENDEZ-VOUS CHEZ... The Dentist GalleryChamber members had the rare opportunity to enter what reviewers are calling a ‘unique and relaxing place’ for an exclusive

photography exhibition of artists Philip Volkers, Toby Tremlett and the Chamber’s own MD, Florence Gomez. The Dentist Gallery, brainchild of Dr Jérôme Sebah, is the first of its kind – a private dental surgery and art gallery space, and this

Rendez-vous Chez provided the opportunity to showcase its unusual charms, along with the varied and rich photographs on display. Around 40 guests enjoyed networking in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere with the artists, possibly mindful of what they were eating, given the setting. But who wouldn’t want to visit this dentist? Our thanks to Dr Jérôme Sebah for making the event possible. I AL

Dr Jérôme Sebah talking to guests Admiring the exhibition


French Chamber President Estelle Brachlianoff opened the meeting and chaired the proceedings, starting by thanking Reed Smith, and in particular Senior Vice President Peter

Alfandary for hosting the AGM and cocktail reception at the Reed Smith offices, with their magnificent views over London, for the seventh year running.

With the order of business out of the way, she introduced the French Ambassador, HE Ms Sylvie Bermann, who addressed the meeting. The Ambassador spoke about the relationship between Great Britain and France, describing the dialogue and cooperation between the two countries as constant and strong, especially in the realms of defence and climate change, and noting the dynamism bilateral economic and trade relations. ‘The French Chamber has played a key role in developing this relationship on the ground,’ she said, paying tribute to the tireless work of the Chamber’s President Estelle Brachlianoff and Managing Director Florence Gomez. She also thanked the Chamber for supporting French start-ups, which are high on the agenda of the French government, through various events, such as the Franco-British Digital Conference and initiatives such as French Tech Hub. These and other activities, she said, ‘prove that the French Chamber is an essential partner of our economic diplomacy. We are privileged to enjoy a great relationship with you.’ The Ambassador ended with a few words about the impending EU referendum, and the substantial impact a Brexit vote might have.

This was followed by the Managing Director Florence Gomez’s operational report, providing a visual overview of the Chamber’s activities and key figures in 2015, a year which saw the Chamber’s turnover reach £2.14m. She also set the course for the Chamber’s strategic direction: boosting start-up development, focusing on digital transformation, endorsing CSR and further developing links with art and culture. Nicolas Ribollet, Treasurer and Director of the Board then presented the Financial Report for 2015 and

the Auditor’s Report. Following that, all the chairs of the Forums and Clubs came up to give presentations on their respective achievements and activities over the year and outlook for 2016.

Formal proceedings continued with the votes, the renewal of Board Directors, namely Ian Fisher, Chief Country Officer and Head of Coverage & Investment, Societe Generale; Brian Gosschalk, Head of President’s office, Ipsos MORI; and Christian Porta, Chairman & CEO, Pernod Ricard EMEA, and the re-election of Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President UK & Ireland, Veolia, and Stephen Burgin, Vice-President Europe, GE Power Strategic Accounts, as President and Deputy President.

Brian Gosschalk then reported on the EU Referendum survey of 667 member companies of seven foreign Chambers, including the French Chamber, in which 82% of respondents from the French Chamber indicated that Brexit would have a negative impact on their businesses and 64% indicated that future investment decisions would be negatively affected.

Estelle Brachlianoff then thanked all those involved with the Chamber for their motivation and hard work. But before closing the meeting, she gave a special tribute to Peter Alfandary for his 30 years of service to the Chamber’s Board, and a surprise video was played showing Peter at the Chamber over the years, to which he responded with an uncharacteristic loss of words and deep blushes. Members then convened for a networking reception, complete with a glorious sunset over the city skyline. I KF

ACHIEVEMENTS AND AMBITIONS

ANNUAL GENER AL MEETING - 6 June

In time-honoured fashion, 120 members convened for the 81st AGM of the French Chamber of Great Britain to review 2015’s activities and achievements, as well as find out about the Chamber’s future ambitions

L to R: Stephen Burgin, HE Ms Sylvie Bermann, Estelle Brachlianoff, Peter Alfandary


In true French style, the evening began with guests mingling at a Champagne reception in the beautiful glass-roofed atrium, before they repaired to the ballroom, which was resplendent in pink peonies, for dinner. Chamber President Estelle Brachlianoff welcomed the gathering and thanked the sponsors and partners who had made the evening possible – gold sponsors Ardian,

HSBC, PwC and Ceolia, silver sponsors Accor Hotels, Colas Rail, EDF Energy and PSA Groupe, wine and Champagne partners Perrier Jouët Champagne, Le Conseil des Vins de Saint-Emillion, Les Vins de Graves and Les Vins de Pessac Léognan, Chanel, which had presented each guest with a bottle of perfume, and Profirst which had dressed the room. ‘Tonight we should celebrate a vibrant and dynamic Chamber which is buzzing - bringing real value to businesses, whatever their size or sector,’ she said. ‘The reality is, it’s all about you!’

Jacques Attali’s organisation Positive Planet was the beneficiary of the evening’s fundraising, which centred around a silent auction of 23 lots, and a live auction of the top two, all generously donated by Chamber member companies. In total, £23,485 was raised, and a cheque presented to Jacques Attali at the end. It was a manifestation of the ‘selfish altruism’ that he had spoken about, as the money will go towards enlarging a project launched by Positive Plante in Madagascar to improve access to health for vulnerable populations through the creation of mutual health organisations and a technical support platform. Amidst the surfeit and glamour of the occasion, it was a timely reminder of some of the hardships that hamper people’s economic and social development around the world. Giving it more immediacy, Madagascan musician, composer and songwriter Nogabe Randriaharimalala’s heartfelt performance brought his homeland’s rhythm and soul right into the room.

The chance to hear the renowned Jacques Attali speak and enjoy a sumptuous evening of food, wine and enter-tainment, brought 430 guests together for the Chamber’s annual gala dinner at the Landmark London Hotel

A positive performance

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1 Raymond Blanc OBE with HE Ms Sylvie Bermann, French Ambassador to the UK2 Jacques Attali with Estelle Brachlianoff, President of the French Chamber of Great Britain3 A guest bidding in the silent auction4 Nogabe Randriaharimalala performing his Madagascan music5 L.E.J. in full swing6 A cheque for £23,485 for Positive Planet being presented to Jacques Attali 7 Jacques Attali addressing a captive audience

Current affairs were also ever present, remarked upon by HE Ms Sylvie Bermann, the French Ambassador to the UK, in her address, and shaping much of Jacques Attali’s speech. The Ambassador focused on much that was positive, particularly in Franco-British business relations, dialogue and cooperation in counter-terrorism, migration, defence & security, nuclear energy as well as climate change. She was particularly complimentary about the Chamber: ‘At the Chamber’s Annual General Meeting last week I was once again struck by the quantity and quality of the events that the Chamber has organised over the past year. I am especially impressed by the way the Chamber has been able to keep a very forward-looking focus, by organising events and launching initiatives on climate change, cutting-edge technology or gender diversity.’

Jacques Attali called it ‘a strange moment’ when the country was at a crossroads of deciding to continue to be open to the world, accepting and taking what is best, or embark upon a ‘march of folly’ by closing in on itself – ‘suicide’, he called it. ‘The core ideologies of “me first” and “better before” are a recipe for disaster,’ he said, adding that given its history of openness, the UK should be the last country to do this. ‘The ideological challenge is whether it is better to be alone or better to be with others,’ he said, going on to stress that we need the success of others, which is the philosophy that underpins Positive Planet’s mission to create a better world for future generations. ‘It is in our selfish interest to help people to develop,’ he said. ‘It is rational; technology is moving in that direction through networking, and we see the fruits in our projects in places like Lebanon and Madagascar.’ He concluded his stirring and inspiring speech with the words: ‘This is my humble way of saying, I believe in selfish altruism.’

Spirits were lifted by French band L.E.J, (see page 55) whose rousing performance of their distinctive ‘mash-up’ songs, had feet tapping, bodies swaying and the less inhibited dancing. The evening ended on an overwhelmingly positive note, in more ways than one. I KF

It is in our selfish interest to help people develop ... I believe in selfish altruism

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GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORS

PARTNERS


Acontingent of 46 Patron members gathered at the Royal Festival Hall for an exclusive evening listening to Honegger, Saint-Saëns, Dukas and Debussy masterpieces performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Vladimir Jurowski,

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor. The night started with a Champagne reception in the beautiful St Paul’s Pavilion, where members enjoyed canapés and an amazing view of the Thames. Guests had the privilege of meeting some of the artists performing. Our thanks to Timothy Walker, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, for hosting the event. I AL

PATRON EVENTS

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Swan Lake Dress RehearsalPatron members enjoyed an exclusive evening watching

the English National Ballet dancers rehearsing for Derek Deane’s critically acclaimed production of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall. The Tchaikovsky classic was a choreographic kaleidoscope with 60 swans dancing in stunning costumes and sensational lighting transforming the Hall into a magical lake.

At the Champagne reception that followed, Mehdi Aoustin–Sellami, Head of Programming, spoke to guests about the Royal Albert Hall’s forthcoming programme. Our thanks to James Ainscough, Chief Operating and Finance Officer of the Royal Albert Hall for hosting this event once again. I AL


Around 20 women business leaders, as well as the French Ambassador to the UK, HE Ms Sylvie Bermann, were present

at the second meeting of the Women’s Business Network, hosted by Chanel in the Salon Privé of their New Bond Street flagship store. The guest speakers – Ursula Morgenstern, Global Head of Consulting & Systems Integration at Atos, and Nina Bjornstad, Country Manager UK & Ireland at Google for Work – spoke on Digital Transformation, a transversal theme chosen by the members at the inaugural session.

Ursula Morgenstern started with an overview of what Digital Transformation means and how it is impacting all business, government and society. ‘It is the first time that IT is really moving from nerd territory into how you do things in business,’ she said. She noted that it is in the making sense of structured and unstructured data that business opportunities are believed to lie. Digital is impacting all business functions, but, she warned, most companies are going digital without a strategy: 88% report that they are undergoing a digital transformation, but only 25% have a strategy. ‘Every company needs to sit down and decide what they are going to do, which is why it is a business topic and not a technology topic any more,’ she said. She noted that the UK is one of the most advanced digital economies in the world, with 10% of its GDP contributed by the Internet (bigger than manufacturing and retail), but it is dealing with a skills shortage. Lack of digital talent is one of the key challenges cited by companies. In France, the digital economy accounts for 5.2% of GDP. As a middle-tier digital economy, France has very good broadband infrastructure, but its businesses are slow in take up because of organisational inflexibility, lack of digital talent, tight margins that hamper

investment and the absence of top management leadership. According to Mckinsey, French companies could unlock 40% revenue gains if they undergo digital transformation.

Nina Bjornstad then presented a more personal perspective on the impact of digital. She said her greatest concern was that the industry was becoming fatigued by the concepts before it had come close to achieving what is actually possible. ‘The mobile phone is a good example of what is digital,’ she said. ‘I am the centre of the universe on my mobile. We are all completely different in the way we like to communicate and connect. We have the opportunity to be individual, but still connected as a community. It has what inspires me, what calms me, what distracts me. It encompasses me as a person. There is a constant stream of innovation and inspiration on my mobile; we learn by play, intuitively.’

In comparison, she observed that our desktop work computers largely lack this creative interaction and connectivity. ‘When you think about what happens so organically and quickly in our personal lives, it is almost a tragedy that we have not allowed that into the work world. In the work environment, we treat people the same and all that is doing is limiting them and their contribution,’ she said. She went on to explain that technology is not the point at all, but rather the backdrop for leading cultural change.

Noting that the reality of getting to an end game is far from linear, Nina pointed out that business processes and plans are actually inhibiting our ability to respond to the market and take advantage of it. She ended with a challenge ‘to think about how, by engaging your employees, doing things in new ways and thinking more flexibly, you can evolve your business model to take advantage of what technology is providing.’ I KF

Digital transformation & innovationDigital transformation and innovation was discussed and debated at the second meeting of this new forum, of which Estelle Brachlianoff, President of the French Chamber, has become Chair

Every company needs to sit down and decide what they are going to do, which is why it is a business topic and not a technology topic any more

Technology is not the point at all, but rather the backdrop for leading cultural change

URSULA MORGENSTERN NINA BJORNSTAD

WOMEN’S BUSINESS NETWORK - 22 April


FINANCE FORUM - 5 May

Alternative funding and liquidity for SMEs

Since 2005, when the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) segment first emerged, the Alternative Lending sector has been growing

rapidly. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and individuals struggling to access the funds they need from traditional lending routes since the financial crisis struck in 2008, are turning to peer-to-peer lending, equity crowdfunding, invoice trading and many other models to secure finance for growth.

Alternative Lending Business ModelsThere are nine types, each with their own specificities and for particular funding needs: 1. B2B Lending: Similar to P2P lending for businesses. It enables SMEs to obtain the necessary funding for growth directly from a pool of online investors. Most needs are for expansion or growth capital2. P2P Lending: Built as a dedicated online marketplace where individual borrowers take unsecured loans from other individuals. 46% is for purchasing a vehicle, and most of the money is also used for home improvement or debt consolidation3. Equity-based crowdfunding: Enables entrepreneurs and start-ups to raise early-stage capital in an online marketplace directly from individual investors, angel investors and venture capitalists in exchange for the equity of the company. Half of businesses are seeking expansion capital, the other half, seed or start-up capital

4. Invoice Trading: Enables small businesses to sell their invoices or receivables to many individual or institutional investors at a discount for working capital. Used to raise working capital5. Community shares: A recognised way of raising finance for projects which then go on to generate a benefit for the community (form of share capital also called ‘withdrawable shares’). Help to fuel a local business6. Reward-based crowdfunding: A collective effort involving a group of contributors and a project creator to fund a specific venture through an online platform. Contributions are exchanged for current/future of goods/services. Used to start selling new products7. Pension-led funding: A business owner needs funding and has accumulated pensions from present or previous employment. Several owners/ directors could act together to pool their pensions and create a bigger ‘investment pot’. Mainly used to increase employment but also to raise working capital8. Donation-based crowdfunding: Allows donors to support charitable, social causes or civic projects for no financial or material returns. Most of the time used to promote a campaign9. Debt-based securities: Enable long-term investments focused mainly on renewable energy firms (for instance, to finance wind farms or solar panel installations).

Stéphane Eyraud, CEO of Chappuis Halder & Cie, and Nicolas Jacquier, Business Development Director at CrowdBnk, outline the non-traditional funding options available to small and medium-sized businesses


Alternative lending is one of the most attractive fintech segments for the corporate sector as a source of new potential clients. It also serves the objective of democratising financial services for each company that needs cash but may not qualify for traditional bank loans. A rising number of new entrants keeps this market active and enables it to respond quickly to new financial product development. Banks themselves are starting to be involved, which is a good signal that the Alternative Lending sector is maturing.

One recent example of this maturity is CrowdBnk. This fintech is a digital crowdfunding platform that allows businesses in the UK to raise funds from investors and supporters. This platform is unique in that multiple investors from different locations are offered the opportunity to directly lend to exciting UK businesses and participate in their success. CrowdBnk recently helped businesses such as the English sparkling wine producer Hambledon or the exams revision app Gojimo. For more information visit crowdbnk.com I

They say knowledge is power. You may be forgiven for thinking that climate change is the exception to the rule;

those who have the most knowledge – climate scientists – seemingly have very little power to influence how much action we take about it. Instead, 120 years after human-caused global warming was first mentioned, and despite a 97% scientific consensus, a lot of people – including politicians and a large section of the media – still appear to believe ‘the science is not settled’. What is it about this particular issue that makes it so hard for people to change their view?

Climate change is possibly the biggest story of our age; its impacts are far-reaching, and have the potential to threaten our way of life. But then, the scale of action needed to limit its effects (assuming we are still in time to do this) is so vast that our way of life would also need to change to tackle it, especially in the West with our high individual carbon footprint.

It is, of course, but human nature to delay difficult decisions and postpone unpleasant tasks. This may explain why the debate is still stuck on whether the changes are actually happening, rather than being about what action we must take now in order to avert them – although this is slowly starting to change.

The media also bears its share of responsibility for this, playing on our fears and still giving disproportionate exposure to the ‘denier’ camp. Look closely, and vested interests come to the surface: political, financial, and industrial, all of which very often go hand in hand. Our neoliberal economies are centred on free markets and minimal government interventions. Action on climate change requires big government – and new, more ethical markets. It would require not only a massive shift in how we consume, how we travel, what we eat, but also in how we relate to our environment. It would require us to change the way we apprehend the world – how we define ourselves.

Never mind that, even without climate change, our way of life is unsustainable; it would take three planets to support us if everyone on earth had a UK lifestyle. For things to change, we, successful, wealthy Westerners, would need to let go of our sense of entitlement. And that may be the biggest challenge of all.

But if we can see beyond that, and embrace the opportunities presented to us by necessity, we could, possibly, make a better world, not only for ourselves, but for all who share the planet with us. A world in which not only the costs, but also, above all, the benefits of climate action are shared more equitably – making possible fuller, richer lives for as many of us as we can.

It’s up to us, which climate story we want to tell. I

CLIMATE CHANGE FORUM - 25 April

What is your climate story ?

... it would take three planets to support us if everyone on earth had a UK lifestyle

Stephanie Godderidge, Climate & Us Programme Manager at EDF Energy, asks why so many people still find it so difficult to accept climate change


ENGAGEMENT RETENTION

Engagement is hard to define. It is not a recognised academic construct, so definitions are many and varied. Yet we all have an intuitive understanding of what it

means. Ipsos measures it in terms of three components: 1. Involvement : satisfaction; motivation; fulfillment; giving one’s best – a willingness to go the extra mile for the organisation2. Alignment: having willing employees is not enough; all the energy should go in the same direction. This involves trust in senior management; an understanding of one’s contribution; an appreciation of corporate culture and support for strategy3. Loyalty: important for sustainable engagement, it involves pride, advocacy, optimism and intent to stay.

In the UK, employee engagement and retention recovered quite quickly after the crisis, but has subsequently dropped and is now stable, on a par with worldwide average levels. Drilling down, the UK measurements show that although there is a readiness to ‘go the extra mile’, alignment and loyalty have both dropped. Most striking, larger employers have seen a significant decline in engagement over the past year, meaning large organisations are struggling to engage their staff. Why this is happening is still being investigated, but it seems that performance management and recognition are getting

more complicated. The entire appraisal system is becoming meaningless for an increasing number of employees. Also, the future is about initiative and collaboration, something large organisations struggle with. Too much change is having a destabilising effect on employees too, and many feel that their employers are not fully interested in their well being.

Leadership as a catalyst for engagementHow can organisations move from a culture built around silos, ‘command & control’ and ‘think & act’, to a different one encompassing collaboration, co-creation and ‘try & learn’? Within the virtuous circle of employee engagement, leaders have a key role to inspire and empower. One potential issue is that there is a widening gap between managers and the rest of the organisation. Employees increasingly don’t have confidence in the decisions made by their senior leadership team.

Employee feedback mechanisms90% of large organisations have an employee engagement programme in place, but only about a quarter use employee feedback to its full extent. The number one thing they struggle with is quality of action plans, followed by engagement activities between surveys, middle management buy-in and linkage to business metrics. I KF

In the prevailing war for talent, engaging and retaining employees is no longer just an HR issue, but an important business issue. Jean-Baptiste Aloy, Executive Director-Employee Research at Ipsos, sets out the broad trends, while Brendan Collins, Director of HR at Mazars LLP and Rachel Blackett, Head of Culture Change & Engagement, Royal Mail Group relate how their two very different companies are approaching the issue

HR FORUM - 11 May

How can organisations move froma culture built around silos, ‘command& control’ and ‘think & act’, to a different one encompassing collaboration,co-creation and ‘try & learn’?

&



Mazars

The global professional services firm has over 920 partners and 17,000 employees across 77 countries. Engagement is a priority for the company because in a really

competitive service industry market, attracting the right sort of talent is difficult. Retention is another problem: an attrition rate of 23%, when ideally it should be around 15%, indicated something was wrong. For a business whose success depends on its people to grow, it needs employees who are really motivated and at the top of their game.

Mazars’ approach started with Leadership Commitment, demonstrated by a quality and integrity code of conduct. Team engagement was central to this with an objective to improve it from 70% to 75% and ultimately over 80%. A shared Definition of engagement was set as being ‘when people can maximise their own personal idea of success while maximising their contribution to the business’. Training & Development programmes were set up for Partners and team members. Conversations were started around career development, moving away from performance reviews to more coaching and mentoring, while Streaming was introduced to take account of different talents.

Measurement is undertaken all the time, through the Great Place to Work survey annually and Pulse surveys quarterly. The results are communicated and acted upon, and people are made accountable for them. Action Planning takes place at both national and local level, with improvement teams given responsibility and accountability. HR support is vital, but crucially it does not belong to HR; everybody owns engagement. Reviews are undertaken regularly. Finally, regular Rewards and Recognition are given to people for increasing their own engagement levels and those of others.

As a result of these efforts, attrition rates have reduced in those areas where the leadership has taken engagement seriously; there have been higher levels of performance; a higher number of applicants; engagement levels have increased from 58 to 70% (the threshold for a Great Place to Work); and interestingly, client satisfaction has also increased.

LESSONS LEARNT

1. The importance of leadership: where leaders have embraced this, engagement is up to 78% compared to 54% where they have not2. Listening and responding to feedback: where things are not done, engagement levels go down3. Regular communication: on what is being done and why4. Constant measurement5. Team involvement: shared ownership in the improvements and action plans is vital6. Importance of individual conversations & relationships: where there are high trust levels, there are high engagement levels.

Royal Mail Group

The 500 year-old company, which is the UK’s designated Universal Postal Service provider, has over 140,000 employees across the country, and delivers around 1.1 billion parcels and 15.6 billion letters a year to more than 29 million addresses, six days a week.

The company was listed in 2013, and most employees are shareholders. Having a target culture is still new for the company, and it was defined in a bottom-up way through employee focus groups,

alongside three core values – Be positive; Be brilliant; Be part of it. A gradual integrated approach is being taken to introducing this to the workforce rather than a big bang, as it is a big step for the company to be looking at how people are achieving things rather than purely judging on metrics and KPIs.

Traditionally a command and control organisation, Royal Mail Group is looking at how to improve change management by empowering managers to engage in a two-way iterative process. There is a big focus on cultural drivers to create a consistent culture that will ensure engagement is sustainable; and providing the foundations for colleague learning and development, not just progression, but rather broadening and enhancing skills.

Working with Ipsos MORI, Royal Mail has set up ‘Archway’, a system that allows the company’s 2,800 teams to action plan, access results, track trends, comparisons, benchmarks and pinpoint areas they need to focus on. A holistic plan to engage colleagues is not easy in an organisation where the majority of the workforce is not connected because of the nature of their work. Most colleagues complete the Employee Survey on paper and the company has found cost-effective ways of promoting engagement such as a thank-you card scheme for managers to give personal recognition for jobs well done, conducting frontline one-to-ones for the first time, an extranet site and initiating ‘The Big Conversation’, which is a way of building and evolving engagement by asking questions about why Royal Mail matters, what the company looks like at its best, and how that can be achieved.

CASE STUDIES



LEGAL FORUM - 20 April

Data protection compliance: taking your first steps

After years of discussion and debate, we now finally have a date for when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDRP) comes

into force: 25 May 2018. From that date, national data protection laws will be replaced by a single, EU-wide regulation.

That may seem a long way off, but for most businesses this is going to set a challenging timetable, with early action required to be ready in time. The new law tightens up the rules for processing personal data, and imposes swingeing fines (up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover, whichever is the greater) for non-compliance.

The changes are wide-ranging, but include: • Tighter rules on when consent is needed and how it can be given• Rules to ensure data protection risks are assessed and documented• An obligation for many businesses to appoint a data protection officer• Scrapping the £10 fee for subject access requests, which is likely to lead to an upsurge in requests• ‘Data portability’, enabling users to transfer their data between different service providers• A requirement to report all data breaches within 72 hours• Parental consent for processing data relating to children (defined as those aged under 16, though individual states can lower this to 13)• Direct obligations on data processors as well as data controllers. The new law will also apply to non-EU companies that provide goods or services to EU residents or monitor EU residents’ behaviour within the EU.

So what are the immediate priorities? This will vary according to your business, but here are some steps to consider: • Ensure your senior decision makers are aware of the GDPR and its potential impact• Start to assemble the teams and working parties you need to prepare for the GDPR• Consider appointing a data protection officer – there is likely to be a severe shortage of candidates by May 2018• Start mapping your personal data so you know what you have, where you hold it, which suppliers are processing it for you, and what your legal basis for processing the data is• Start to update your privacy policies and data capture notices: failure to do so now could mean you lose your ability to use the data in future, if you can’t show you have clear consent where required. • Ensure that contracts with data processors are ‘GDPR-ready’• Ensure that new products are GDPR-ready, with data protection impact assessments, data protection by design and default, and data portability where required• Establish procedures for detecting and reporting data breaches. I

With the date set for the General Data Protection Regulation to come into force, John Halton, Assistant General Counsel for the Financial Times outlines steps businesses need to take to prepare and Laurie-Anne Evra-Ancenys, Senior Associate at Gide Loyrette Nouel Paris, considers where things stand with the Privacy Shield, given recent European Court of Justice rulings

The future of the Privacy Shield The ‘Safe Harbour’ adequacy decision was invalidated by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on 6 October 2015, in the Maximilian Schrems case, as it allowed the Safe Harbour principles to be limited ‘to the extent necessary to meet national security’ of the US without showing how US law may limit such interference to what is strictly necessary. Thus, the Commission’s purpose was to draft a new adequacy decision explaining how personal data transferred to the US is protected from undue surveillance under US law and showing that such protection meets the EU’s standards.

On 29 February 2016, the Commission issued a draft adequacy decision, along with 7 annexes, intended to form the future Privacy Shield. These annexes mainly contain letters from the US administration explaining how national surveillance is limited by law and internal mechanisms, and how a new Ombudsman will handle enquiries and complaints from EU authorities and citizens. However, these letters mainly explain US law and do not correct what may fail to meet EU’s standards. Thus, the Commission admitted in its draft decision that US agencies still intend to conduct bulk collection of personal data and that Europeans’ right to access data held by such agencies may actually be ineffective.

As such, on 13 April, the Article 29 Working Party (comprising the Data Protection Authorities of each EU member state) issued a mitigated (but non-binding) opinion on the draft decision. It outlines that US law does not fully exclude collection of massive and indiscriminate data, while both the Article 29 Working Party and the ECJ have consistently held that such collection is an unjustified interference with the fundamental rights of individuals. It also expressed concerns as to whether the new Ombudsperson will have sufficient powers to work effectively. On 26 and 30 May, the European Parliament and the European Data Protection Supervisor respectively expressed similar concerns. Currently, the Privacy Shield is being discussed by the Article 31 Committee, comprising ministers of each member state; such process may delay the European Commission’s decision.

The future of the Privacy Shield is therefore uncertain: if the Commission finally enacts its adequacy decision despite numerous criticisms, such decision may still be challenged before the ECJ and invalidated just as the Safe Harbour was. Considering such risks, companies intending to transfer data to the US may choose alternative legal basis such as contractual terms or binding corporate rules.


TheodoAt Theodo we provide agile tech-teams-for-hire to build web and mobile platforms for a wide range of clients, from LaFourchette to BNP Paribas and Societe Generale. One of the key reasons we achieve a 97% referral rate from our clients is the excellency of our teams. We hire the best and brightest from top UK and French universities and train them to become tech and agile experts. Being very selective has not prevented us from growing from 15 to 120 employees in four years. Here are three key tips we learnt along the way:

If you hire a magician, ask him to show his tricksAll our applicants have to show their skills in action. Tech candidates have to solve three algorithmic exercises and then pair-program 30 minutes with an architect. Sales candidates go through three different sales simulations. Not only have we reduced the hiring mistakes from 10% to 2% since, but also have become more attractive to the best candidates: they prefer to join the company that detected their full potential.

The offer is made by a founderJoining a company, especially a small one, is a stressful moment for a candidate. Candidates can start to doubt: what if this is all fake? The opportunity is certainly better than in a big corporate but less tangible.

My co-founder and I decided to make the offer ourselves and face-to-face. The acceptance rate went from 50% to 90%. Only a face-to-face meeting allows us to share our passion, our long-term vision and clarify the moral contract that will bind us in the coming years.

To retain talent, create a clear progression pathHiring smart people and training them well means that our employees get many opportunities outside of Theodo. Our strategy to retain them is simple: we make sure we remain the place where they will learn and improve the fastest. Our progression path is divided into five levels. To move to the next level, you need to convince a jury that you have achieved well-defined targets and are ready to move up. Your manager is there to help you along the way and ensure you progress as fast as possible.

We are proud to say that our continued efforts to attract and grow the best talent has enabled us to move from the second best start-up in 2015 to the best scale-up to work for in France in the 2016 HappyAtWork - Les Echos ranking. I

AkoyaAt Akoya, we think that pragmatism and humanism should no longer be antagonised. That is why we created a strategy consulting firm dedicated to people. We support HR teams of major companies on three dimensions: HR Analytics, Business Partnering and People Innovation.

HR Analytics are not only for blue chipsAs a consulting firm, Human Capital is definitely our primary asset. We therefore pay huge attention to each recruitment. However, in 2015, we had reached a point which we considered unsustainable: we had spent no less than 108 man-days in recruitment activities for only four hires. We realised that we had to make it more efficient. This is why we decided to apply to ourselves the very same tools that we deploy for our clients: HR Analytics.

Using HR Analytics to improve the recruitment processFirst, we broke down the recruitment process to get the conversion rate at each step. Out of 604 received applications, 8% were invited to a first interview, mostly focused on personality. 45% of them made it to second round, out of which only 33% passed the business cases. Only 8 people out of 22 met our analytics standards and we were discovering it after only two screening steps. To make the process more efficient we decided to set up an online analytical test prior to the first round of interviews. More interestingly, by having discussions with our target population we realised that having such an online test also reinforced the process credibility in the eyes of young graduates.

Using HR Analytics to improve HR marketing mixAnd we pushed the analysis further. We wanted to better understand the efficiency of our application sources. And we discovered that more than 50% of the applications were coming from job boards but none of them passed the 2 rounds of interviews. By contrast, very few applications came from our sponsoring activities but they counted for half of the proposals we made. Considering they were comparable investments, we transferred our job board budget to more direct relationships with our target universities.

Key takeawaysHR Analytics are not for blue chips only. Using them can make you spare both time and money on the short term. And last but not least, confront your solution options with your target population. It can make you realise collateral benefits that you would not have thought of in the first place. I

How start-ups can attract and retain talent

START-UP & SME CLUB - 24 May

Start-ups are not immune to the talent war, and just as susceptible to the problems of recruiting and keeping choice employees as larger companies. Antoine Aubois, Partner at Akoya Consulting, and Fabrice Bernhard, Co-founder and CTO at Theodo, relate their own experiences and lessons learned


START-UP & SME CLUB - 12 April

Are you ready to exit?

What is a good exit?In our experience of working with business owners, we often find there can be a gap between the value expected by key stakeholders and the value actually realised on exit. Where valuation expectations are realistic, this suggests that value is being left on the table by shareholders.

Of course, it is important to be realistic. Management needs to be comfortable with the business’ performance and its expectations for future results. Not only are the results and forecasts often scrutinised during a due diligence process, but also remaining shareholders and management will typically be tied up for a number of years after the deal through payments made through an earn out mechanism which is calculated based on actual performance post-deal.

As a result, the objective for a good exit should not be to maximise but to optimise the value. Simply put, the exit valuation should remain realistic in light of performance and prospects but should be as high as possible given the underlying qualities of the business and the management team being sold.

Mechanics of value driversThe value of a business is in most cases the result of a normalised performance benchmark (i.e. EBITDA) times a “multiple”. The performance of the business is usually well known by the seller. The multiple is intangible and often not well understood. The multiple reflects the bidder appetite and their views on the future opportunities for the business (also called the “equity story”).

In assessing the equity story, a bidder will generally build a view on how he can grow the business and, in doing so, he will look at the current trading conditions (customers, contracts,

markets, staff, tax status, ongoing claims, etc.), as well as expected future performance and the capacity of the company to achieve that planned performance.

Value is not optimised when there is a lack of conviction or clarity around the equity story or the performance of the business is not in line with the vision being presented. That generally creates the value gap.

Pitfalls to avoidThe table below is an illustration of the common pitfalls and value downsides which can be avoidable as long as management prepares appropriately to address bidder concerns and key questions.

This diagram shows the key elements of any business’ preparation for an exit.

By following a process such as this, implementation plans are agreed and management is then free to execute accordingly or may consider seeking expert assistance in certain areas in order to ensure that implementation is a success.

In summary, being exit ready requires a well-thought plan including a challenging internal diagnostic in order to avoid any flaws which would only negatively impact the outcome. This process needs to start well in advance of a sale so that actions are realised and results are confirmed as much as possible before the exit. A well-executed exit plan is not conceived at the last minute. Owners and managers should give themselves time to succeed rather than being disappointed when bids are received.Indeed, an “ideal” scenario a motivated buyer will look for can be summarised as below and this should be used as your guide as you are preparing for your exit. I

Adam Thorpe and Fred Caharel share KPMG’s experience of preparing businesses for a successful exit

CLARITY OF THE EQUITY STORY BEING TOLD

Concerns over the growth potential and equity story is not seen as strong enough or believable / credible

The business strategy is not clear or is unfocused

The external view of the business is critical or raises concerns over competitive positioning and leadership in the future

Product development and innovation concerns

Growth plans are not fully justified (documented) and limited actions have been taken to date

A lack of detailed action plans and responsibilities leading to growth or improvements being perceived as possible upside rather than embedded in valuation

Management does not appear aligned

A difference between the growth ambition and theactual business performance

Slowing growth or sales performance which is not as strong as budgeted or behind peers

Lack of coherence between sales plans and the operationg model, skillsets and capabilities – leadingto concerns on execution risks

Negative market feedback, customer feedback and reputation issues

Margin concerns and lack of clarity and track recordon delivering planned performance improvements

Quality of earnings adjustments or current trading concerns

Reporting (KPI dashboards), controls and information systems which are not properly supporting the business

Ambition is not backed by the cash flow generation ofthe business to date

PURE PERFORMANCE ISSUES

Addressed? Addressed?


Selling my baby - how to become stronger with othersMarie Fouris, Co-founder and COO of Edit-place, tells her story

Start phaseI co-created my own company in October 2010 with my partner Julien. Previously I was a sales director in a start-up that I loved but wanted a new challenge as our company had been sold, and I was no longer a leader but a follower. It was a big jump from wanting to change the rules to creating my own company, but Edit-Place was born with the mission of delivering web content to companies in 40 languages and building editorial content strategies with our clients to increase their organic traffic.Edit-Place was initially based in Paris and we opened a London office in February 2014. By January 2016, the company had grown to 40 employees.

Run phase Our company was built with young people and an incredible spirit. Year after year, we created new products and improved our services. After a few years, in the face of competition, we decided to take steps towards internationalisation. During this time we asked those members of our team who wanted to, to take on more responsibilities. Despite team turnover, we stuck to our original DNA: Agility, Speed and Test & Learn. During this phase, we tried to raise funds through a private VC, but were unsuccessful, so continued to grow with family funds.

Decision to sellWe realised that competition was getting fiercer and if we wanted to continue with a 20% growth in turnover each year, we needed to face reality. Being stronger implied being better leaders.We wanted to find an international partner in order to launch in new countries. We wanted to recruit more senior people to help us in our daily mission; my partner and I were ready to see our baby company live without us.

The saleThe job is huge and you realise quickly that you need an investment bank to help you. The investment bank knew us very well as they had tried to raise funds with us twice before, and knew in particular our strong entrepreneurial spirit. They organised everything over a short period as it takes time in your day-to-day business. This exercise of selling our company was extremely clear for us. We wanted to find a real financial partner to help us grow in terms of products and internationalisation. We were crystal clear in all our discussions, even when an URSSAF1 control letter has arrived on my desk during negotiations. We faced this problem and even today our best weapon remains our transparency and business anticipation. The company that bought us (Webedia Group) has allowed Julien and myself to remain the heads of our business and has kept all our employees.

After sellingAfter six months, I would not change anything. We sold part of our company and will continue working with them for the next three years. When you decide to sell, you realise that although your energy is always strong with your co-founder, it is better deployed when you find partners to help you take a new step.

• Clarify your planned equity • Highlight strengths and weaknesses • Asses underlying performance •Get external feedback - such as customers, partners and suppliers

• Once diagnostic completed, define priorities or levers of value• Share findings and highlight potential actions to consider• Discuss and agree key options

• Agree an implementation plan• Give clear responsibilities and timelines• Define target KPls

• Address the value gaps, or:• Agree a plan to resolve them

DIAGNOSTIC PRIORITIES ACTIONS EXECUTION:12 to 18 months plan implementation

Identify the value Drive the value Realise the value

CASE STUDY

1 URSSAF (Unions de Recouvrement des Cotisations de Sécurité Sociale et d’Allocations Familiales, meaning the Organizations for the payment of social security and family benefit contributions) is a network of private organizations, created in 1960, whose main task is to collect the employee and employer social security contributions, which finance the Régime general (general account) of France’s social security system


Legal Forum - By application only14 September, 9.00am – 11.00amChair: Olivier Morel, Partner, Cripps, Vice President of the French Chamber Deputy Chair: Ken Morrison, Legal Director, EurotunnelTheme: Potential legal consequences of BrexitSpeaker: TBC

Climate Change Forum - By application only 27 September, 10.00am – 12.00pm Chair: Richard Brown CBE, former CEO & Chairman of EurostarDeputy Chair: Jean-Philippe VerdierTheme: Update on the science behind Climate Change: the Met OfficeSpeaker: TBC

All sessions take place at the French Chamber.For more information, contact Nils Jean at [email protected] or 0207 092 6638

FORTHCOMING FORUMS & CLUBS

RENDEZ-VOUS CHEZ LE VIEUX COMPTOIR Where: At Le Vieux Comptoir, 26-28 Moxon Street, London W1U 4EUCost: £20+VAT per person

Join us to discover Le Vieux Comptoir in the heart of one of the most typical villages in London, Marylebone. You will have the opportunity to meet the team of this beautiful wine shop, while enjoying charcuterie and wine in a convivial atmosphere!

For more information, contact Anne-Claire Lo Bianco at [email protected] or 0207 092 6643

14September

18.00 - 20.00

CHAMBER HAPPENINGS - FORTHCOMING EVENTS

DÎNER DES CHEFS AT BELMOND LE MANOIR AUX QUAT’SAISONSCost: £120+VAT per person for a Champagne reception, canapés, a 4-course menu, petits fours, Grands Crus Classés and CognacIn partnership with: Les Grands Clus Classés de Graves and Pernod Ricard UKTransportation kindly provided by Renault

6September

17.00 - 23.00

Join Chamber members for an exclusive dinner at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons with one of the UK’s most celebrated Chefs, Raymond Blanc OBE. Le Manoir has held two Michelin stars for 31 years.

For more information, contact Nils Jean at [email protected] or 0207 092 6638

LONDON BRANCH

Patron Members of the French Chamber in Great Britain

Enhance your career in Energy and Agribusiness Management at ESCP EuropeThe energy and agriculture sectors are rapidly changing and growing. Today’s managers need to have a broad perspective with an integrated view in order to cope with the complexity of these thriving industries and have a clear understanding of antagonisms across players in the ever-evolving Energy and Agribusiness markets.

On these grounds, ESCP Europe has developed three specialised programmes in Energy and Agribusiness Management that will prepare students for a successful career in these expanding sectors:

MSc in Energy Management Master in Agribusiness Management

Executive Master in Energy Management

18 month, full-time postgraduate programme, starting in September 2016London, Paris – taught in English16 week integrated internship and master thesisInternational seminar in Houston (Texas-US)escpeurope.eu/mem

18 month, full-time postgraduate programme, starting in September 2016London, Paris – taught in English16 week integrated internship and master thesisInternational seminar in Crete (Greece)escpeurope.eu/mam

12 month, part-time executive programme, starting in September 2016London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid – taught in EnglishInternational seminar in Houston (Texas-US)escpeurope.eu/emem

A unique Research Centre for Energy Management

All programmes are supported by a specialist faculty and the Research Centre for Energy Management (RCEM), based at ESCP Europe’s London

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energy cooperation, government agencies and the academic community, in preparation for a new energy era. Find out more at www.rcem.eu

Established in 1819, ESCP Europe is at the forefront of education preparing the leaders of tomorrow. One of its core missions is to develop the next generation of

leaders in Energy Management and Agribusiness sectors across the globe.

To find out more about our unique energy and agribusiness programmes, visit our website or contact Viktorija Nikitina on +44 (0)20 7443 8873 (for the MSc in Energy Management and Master in Agribusiness Management) or Crochenka McCarthy on +44 (0)20 7443 8823 (for the Executive

Master in Energy Management).

ESCP Europe is among the 1% of business schools worldwide to be triple-accredited.

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