Opening corporate governance at the heart of the 2022 cycle of “+1, the ecology turned into actions”

les parties prenantes du collectif +1 à la REcyclerie, Paris

Whether it applies to a country, a company or a territorial unit, governance aims to ensure that rules and measures are developed to ensure that an entity functions properly. It is therefore intrinsically linked to transparency, ethics and the usefulness and effectiveness of the actions implemented, with and for a range of stakeholders.
This is the whole purpose of the “+1” mechanism: to offer a framework for reflecting and working in a decompartmentalized way in order to imagine together the most useful and impactful solutions for the ecological transformation for all concerned.

The second cycle of “+1” in 2022 will explore the practical and organizational issues and means, currently existing or yet to be devised, in order to implement our ecological ambitions.

 

The themes of the “+1” meetings in 2022:

 

Session #1

What type of governance to foster territorial resilience?

Crises of different natures, whether health, environmental or economic, are likely to multiply in the years to come. This is why the adaptability of organisations and territorial units is a key asset for ensuring the ecological transformation of our societies.

Does a more open, diverse form of governance guarantee that companies and territorial units will be more resilient, like a biotope whose equilibrium requires the presence of a large number of complementary species? What internal and external alliances should be developed and how should co-operation and complementarity between stakeholders be organised?

During this first session, the “+1” collective will explore various options for developing modes of governance and solutions to foster territorial resilience to tackle the challenges of ecological transformation.
 

Session #2 - Tuesday 27 September

What type of governance to boost and increase innovation?

Given the scale of the environmental and societal challenges we face, our ability to innovate will constitute the cornerstone of ecological transformation. In addition to devising technological solutions, we will need to apply a social dimension to innovation so that the solutions proposed can benefit the greatest number.

How can new forms of governance be found to stimulate co-operation and foster innovation? How can new modes of governance contribute to identifying and promoting innovations whose “value proposition” responds to current challenges?

During this second session, the “+1” collective will explore the various options for developing modes of governance to accelerate and amplify the ability of companies and organisations to innovate in the service of ecological transformation.
 

Session #3 - Tuesday 29 November

What type of governance for employment and social integration?

The climate change challenge and the employment challenge are linked. They need to be tackled together," once declared Cyril Cosme, the then Director of the French branch of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) back in 2015.

Ecological transformation holds the promise of new jobs and opportunities for social integration through the new knowledge and skills that its implementation requires.

How can new modes of governance contribute to creating and sustaining employment and promoting social integration? What role does training play in the creation of new jobs or in the upgrading of existing jobs and how can it be adapted to the needs of ecological transformation?

In this third and final session, the “+1” collective will explore the various options for developing good governance solutions for employment and social integration in the service of ecological transformation.
 

Local operational variations of the “+1”

Local operational variations of the “+1” programme are already being rolled out:

  • At the heart of a contract: The Arianeo project for the Nice-Côte d'Azur Metropolitan Council (France)

The Arianeo project proposed by Veolia’s Recycling and Waste Recovery business line will modernise the process of energy production from recovered waste in Nice thanks to a state-of-the-art sorting centre in the heart of the city’s Ariane district. The facility will also play a role as an educational and exchange centre for receiving schoolchildren, researchers, specialist associations and botany enthusiasts. This authentic social meeting place will host an employment forum with the eventual creation of 30 jobs, primarily for the inhabitants of the district. A High Societal and Environmental Committee will be set up and will have between 6 and 12 members, one third of whom will be representatives of the project partners and two thirds will hail from civil society. This committee will have a decision-making and advisory role in the management of the project and in the multifaceted performance of the contract. The methodology and tools of the “+1” programme will provide support for the implementation of the participatory governance that is central to this initiative.

 

  • At the Business Unit level: Prague, Czech Republic

In autumn 2022, a new “third place” forum will open its doors on the premises of a Veolia Business Unit in Prague, in the Czech Republic. It will be a place for exchange and collaboration between the BU's national and municipal stakeholders and Veolia employees with a view to developing and implementing solutions for the ecological transformation. The experience of the “+1” programme will help the BU to open up to its stakeholders and to strengthen the dialogue with all of them.

 

  • Serving a customer: Bouygues Immobilier

The method proposed by “+1” has also inspired Bouygues Immobilier, a client of Veolia and a member of the “+1” collective. The Group wishes to adapt it to its own business challenges and approach its stakeholder relations in a more decompartmentalised manner. 

AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT:
THE SCHOOL OF ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION
 

To accelerate training in the skills and emerging professions of ecological transformation, Veolia is committed to forming a group of partners to create a School of Ecological Transformation.

The main challenges for the Group and this ecosystem of stakeholders are to define and identify together the solutions for ecological transformation, as well as to facilitate and accelerate the development of the expertise necessary for their deployment in various territorial units.

This collective approach concerns all levels of qualification and aims in particular to promote the employability of people who are not currently in employment or are in retraining.

Close links will be built between this school project and the "+1, the ecology turned into actions" approach.

Tools for adopting and deploying the programme in your own context

  • The logbook qui retrace la démarche du collectif +1 en 2021,