“Being in the right place to initiate change, support it and multiply its impact.”

A Veoliaforce assignment that leads to the position of CSR trainer is quite unusual. How did this project come about?

Quitterie de La Villegeorges: I'd already come across the Foundation's path on several occasions, notably at 2EI Veolia when I was in charge of the Water and Waste Social Innovation project. But I didn't have any technical skills in the water sector, so it wasn't clear to me how I could be useful. It was a mistake! And then the Foundation approached me, with an issue - which I wouldn't have suspected - around Bioforce, a training establishment for humanitarian professionals in France. The Veolia Foundation had already taken part in a number of Bioforce's training courses, but they were more focused on water, sanitation and waste management. The teaching team was looking for a speaker on the theme of CSR / CSO [Corporate Social Responsibility]. So I was commissioned under the Veoliaforce skills sponsorship program run by the Veolia Foundation.

I didn't have any technical expertise in water, so it wasn't clear to me how I could be useful. It was a mistake!

In your day-to-day work, were you already involved in training activities?

QLV: Not at all. It was a completely new exercise for me: I had to design a 14-hour training session. Of course, the subject is part of my day-to-day work at Veolia's Plural Performance and Sustainable Development Department, but orchestrating content that is both theoretical and practical, while making it as interactive as possible to hold the attention of 15 students, is... challenging!

Were you already involved in training activities in your day-to-day work?

QLV: Not at all. This was a completely new exercise for me: I had to design a 14-hour teaching session. Of course, the subject is part of my day-to-day work in Veolia's Plural Performance and Sustainable Development Department, but to orchestrate content that is both theoretical and practical, while making it as interactive as possible to sustain the attention of 15 students, is... challenging!

In terms of content or form?

QLV: Both. You have to get everyone on board using formats that meet expectations: videos, case studies, role-playing to get a real feel for the issues at stake. I've also created a “kahoot” between two sessions, at the request of the students, to make the restitution of knowledge more fun. Basically, they're young, committed, with a real sense of criticism and a capacity for contradiction that can shake things up. For example, they talk about the end of capitalism as the only way forward...

To which you reply...?

QLV: We shouldn't forget companies when we talk about positive impact. Young people dream of NGOs, not big corporations. I've tried to show that it's possible to be part of a progress-oriented approach within a company, that private players are not absolving themselves of their social responsibility, and that commitment within multinationals is also a way of being in the right place to initiate change, support it and multiply its impact.

How do you put this into practice?

QLV: By example! The role-playing exercises provided an opportunity to approach the issues of access to water in India, waste collection and recycling in Indonesia, and to show that NGOs are also taking action on ESG criteria. The example of the decarbonization strategy of the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières appealed to them.

What did you retain from the mission?

QLV: It enabled me to look back over my eight years of CSR experience within the Veolia Group, and to see the richness and diversity of the missions I've been entrusted with. It's both stimulating to make accessible what you put into practice every day, and very gratifying to imagine the best way to pass it on. These four days have reminded me that CSR is about tools, requirements and common sense, but above all about listening to and collaborating with stakeholders. By adopting a sincere approach, the aim is to make an impact.