CSR and Event Furniture Rental

CSR in the context of the rental of event furniture

"An absolute necessity"

For Christine Atzémis, at the head of the Camerus group, no. 2 in the rental of event furniture, the CSR request came from customers, in particular organizers of trade fairs, exhibition centers and the Davos forum.

"They started asking us for efforts on packaging… Then they wanted evidence: what were we doing to protect the environment? But it’s really been a year and a half since I realized this absolute necessity: if we did not transform, would the company remain competitive or would it still exist in five years?"

Driven by demand, the leader begins her path towards a more ethical practice.

"If you think about it, renting furniture is virtuous because we systematically reuse it. But we also have a lot of levers to act on, like replacing plastic covers with washable covers to protect furniture. All our 20 cubic meter vehicles now run on natural gas; a big investment, but profitable in the long run."

The entrepreneur recognizes, however, that the need is not always resolved:

"One of our big impacts on the environment is transportation. But there is no such thing as a truly green semi-trailer yet…"

For this fighter, constraint turned into commitment:

"When you are a business leader, you are driven by a vision. We do not have all the skills, so we have to surround ourselves, and CSR is no exception. But it’s up to us to provide the impetus. So we are launching projects. For example: identifying in our stock of 50,000 pieces of furniture those that have the least environmental impact. Or even initiate an "Diag éco-flux" [program intended to optimize costs by reducing energy, material, waste and water losses] with Bpifrance and Ademe, as well as a mission of framing and developing our strategy and CSR action plan…"

Among the actions that motivate her the most: creating her own collection of eco-responsible furniture.

"It will be a real competitive advantage and pride to design our line by working on all aspects, material, design, functionality… We are going to bring in the services of designers, work in a Fab Lab…"

The most complex, for Christine Atzémis, remains to modify the working habits of the employees.

"In this, the Covid-19 crisis has become an opportunity. The company has unfortunately been completely at a standstill for the past year. But now is the right time to roll out the CSR project. The employees are available, they see it as a project for the future and I feel a zeal on their part that perhaps could not have been triggered two years earlier. From that point of view, it’s ultimately very positive."

L'Express, May 20, 2021