Interview: Frédérique Alverola
Chief People and Impact Officer chez Provepharm

Why a CSR label?

At Provepharm, we've been involved in CSR for as long as we can remember - it's been in the company's DNA ever since it was founded! We'd already received several awards, mostly local, and our CSR approach needed to be more structured. By choosing a rigorous certification label, we were also able to gain even more concrete recognition for our actions.

 

Why did you choose B Corp in particular?

As a company with active in several countries, particularly the United States, the international dimension of B Corp appealed to us.

I also really like the "Profit for goods" aspect: the label recognizes that we do business and can make profit, but that we want to do it well for all the company's stakeholders. It's a virtuous, pragmatic approach that seems to me more relevant than approaches that are sometimes too theoretical or elitist.

Finally, the high standards of this certification and its holistic approach fit in well with our way of working and our expectations.

Which challenges did you have to overcome?

The certification process was long and uncompromising, and we didn't realize just how much when we set out! At B Corp there are no compromises: no action is worthwhile unless it can be proven. Although we have always been committed to CSR, the documentation of our actions was not sufficiently anchored in our habits. As a result, we had to give up on several points due to a lack of data to justify a particular answer! But at the same time, this is an opportunity to gain extra points when we renew our certification in three years' time.

More generally, the dedication and responsiveness of the dedicated team and all the employees involved were incredible. A number of willing people took the project by the scruff of the neck, and it's thanks to everyone's commitment that we were able to obtain this certification.

What do you expect from this label?

To continue to involve the whole company in our CSR commitments!

Provepharm's raison d'être "Act to improve life" is a mission shared by all our employees. But with our workforce having almost tripled in three years, the recognition of our commitment by the label will help us to solidify this DNA, including with new recruits.

The structuring provided by the B Corp approach gives us a basis for taking our approach to a more strategic and global level. CSR cannot be embodied by isolated actions, however numerous they may be. Each employee is working to establish precise objectives in relation to our CSR approach for 2024, which they will have to carry out personally.

Secondly, the possibility of partnering with other B Corp certified companies will enable us to work together, sharing the same objectives of generating a positive impact. I'm thinking of product packaging, for example, which we'd like to be more eco-friendly. Thanks to the B Corp network, we'll be able to identify companies that manufacture recyclable packaging and get in touch with them.

And we don't intend to stop there! Certification gives us very concrete visibility on our areas for improvement, and will fuel our strategy for the coming years.

So we still have progress to make on our environmental impact. As a pharmaceutical company, this is no mean feat, as the sector still consumes a great deal of water and fuel for the transportation of products. Nevertheless, we have set ourselves ambitious new challenges, including that of moving towards "net zero carbon" by 2050, by committing ourselves to a responsible and innovative low-carbon approach.