Agri-food sector: three successful examples of CSR certification

We were familiar with corporate social responsibility (CSR) applied at the level of a professional federation, such as winegrowers, communication agencies, or quarry operators, who designed their sector label with AFNOR Certification as part of the CSR Platform. But we are less familiar with CSR applied at the level of an interprofessional organization. Interbev, an interprofessional organization for livestock and meat, has been practicing this for several years. In 2017, this led to a manifesto, the "pact for social commitment," and in 2018, to a formal "CSR Commitment" label. The case of Interbev illustrates a strong trend: the entire agri-food sector has embraced CSR and is questioning its practices with a view to continuous improvement and inspiring confidence. The CSR Commitment label is designed for this purpose. Two flagships of the agri-food sector, Olga and Lactalis, have also adopted it. This label is by no means reserved for large players, as demonstrated by the Coopérative Océane and its 71 market gardeners south of Nantes, which were certified in 2016.

Committed to CSR: social responsibility from pasture to plate

By embarking on a CSR initiative based on ISO 26000, the standard on which the Engagé RSE label is based, Bruno Dufayet, a cattle farmer in Cantal and chairman of Interbev's social issues committee, had a clear objective: "That tomorrow, socially conscious consumers will be able to choose our products with the assurance that CSR criteria are being met at every stage of the supply chain," he summarizes. The advantage of the Engagé RSE label, as opposed to self-proclaimed seals of approval, is that "it attests to a genuine commitment," backed up by arguments verified by an external third party, which is very useful in the event of controversy. And there is no shortage of controversy! Videos on animal abuse, the carbon footprint of livestock farming, the rise of vegan food... Interbev's approach, which covers everything from pasture to plate, predates these media offensives, but in fact, it cuts them off at the knees. "Our commitment is the result of constructive dialogue with our external stakeholders. The certification process is the opposite of a marketing ploy," insists Bruno Dufayet. Olivier Graffin, the AFNOR Certification assessor assigned to Interbev, confirms this: "One of the virtues of certification is that it reveals—in a photographic sense—a comprehensive picture of the impacts, identifying the state of the art in terms of practices to be highlighted and shared. It also lends credibility to a roadmap for responding to challenges."

"We take a sector-based approach in each of our terroirs, and CSR is naturally part of our values, given our long history and the quality requirements of PDO (protected designation of origin) specifications. The challenge was to structure this policy," continues Anne-Claire Pouzelet, CSR and Communications Manager for the Lactalis Group's PDO & Terroirs division. The CSR approach was developed with the support of an external consultancy and in collaboration with our internal and external stakeholders. Our policy is based on our specific circumstances and is unique to us. An initial assessment of our practices was carried out in 2020, followed by the definition and prioritization of our ambitions, based on three pillars."

Interbev: 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in ten years

At Lactalis AOP & Terroirs, the first pillar focuses on issues relating to the quality of life at work for employees and local communities; the second pillar focuses on promoting traditional know-how, recipe quality, packaging recyclability, and raising consumer awareness of the place of dairy products in their diet. Finally, the third pillar focuses on environmental issues, biodiversity, and the circular economy. At Interbev, four categories of issues have emerged: the environment (including greenhouse gas emissions from cattle farming, which it wants to reduce by 15% in ten years), animal welfare (scientifically validated indicators, best practice guides for each stage), nutrition (reasonable portions, quality over quantity), and social issues (fair pay, quality of life at work).

At Olga, a company based in Ille-et-Vilaine that also holds the Engagé RSE label (brands such as Sojasun, Vrai, Petit Billy, Terres et Céréales), CEO Olivier Clanchin sums up all his actions under the term "regenerative economy." "This involves working in partnership with farmers who may be the first to transform their practices, agreeing to produce according to the seasons, asking distribution channels to play along, and producing less if we want to move towards regenerative organic farming," he explains. Citing the AFTERRE 2050 prospective study, he adds: "If we allow consumers to reconnect with this logic of agriculture that is allowed to breathe within its ecosystem, they will naturally vegetalize their diet. As a result, less land will be allocated to feeding livestock. We will then consume fewer hectares per capita than if we had stuck with the model of intensive agriculture and predominantly meat-based diets."

Committed to CSR: the importance of being questioned from the outside

Naturally, Olga felt the need to have this approach certified by a third party and a label. "Others opt for self-declaration and obtain a snapshot at a given moment, whereas we are more focused on continuous assessment and improvement. We realign our business plan with each new assessment, comparing it with the trusted third-party assessor, employees, and our internal and external stakeholders. This allows us to consolidate our CSR strategy and its cross-functional nature," explains Héloïse Le Bars, CSR manager at Olga. For Bruno Dufayet at Interbev, the exercise also has the merit of breaking down a barrier: "the temptation to remain among ourselves." "Thinking in terms of stakeholders means no longer being afraid to listen and engage in dialogue with external partners, as we began to do with environmental NGOs in 2013," he says. It also means drawing on scientific research, for example to combat antibiotic resistance. All this while embracing the spirit of continuous improvement that is central to the approach. With an "advanced" rating (i.e., 3 out of 4) from Engagé RSE, Interbev can reasonably aim for an "exemplary" rating in its next assessment.

But let's not be naive: CSR assessment raises difficulties. "Human and financial difficulties," confirms Anne Claire Pouzelet of Lactalis AOP & Terroirs. Some of our employees have been with us for thirty years; changing their habits is not easy. It requires a lot of awareness-raising. Financially, environmental requirements often mean higher costs. This is the case with eco-friendly packaging and green energy. The return on investment is difficult to see because we can't pass on the cost to our consumers and we want to pass on as little as possible to our producers. It requires a lot of creativity and careful management, using indicators and dashboards. Yes, there are inevitably areas for improvement alongside our strengths. But that is the benefit of an assessment audit. "The Engagé RSE assessment allows us to see what we could no longer see and to see things differently," concludes Olivier Clanchin.