Social impact on a local scale

SafeBrands goes to great lengths to reduce its environmental footprint and carbon emissions, among others by supporting reforestation projects. What was your reason to take action?

Frédéric: 'We established the company 27 years ago when the internet was still this magical thing. Although we already recycled at the office back then, we never really thought about our energy consumption or carbon emissions. And when we realised that our data centre consumed as much power as a 30,000-seater sports stadium, it was clear we had to do something. Because we didn't have the resources to buy expensive low-energy servers, we introduced a carbon tax. We paid half of this tax ourselves and charged the other half to our customers. The proceeds of this carbon tax were donated to Action Carbone Solidaire of GoodPlanet. It wasn't much, but we were happy to do something.'

'A few years later, our people established the Save Green project  sponsored by the company to reduce waste in the office. We didn't do anything spectacular, but by giving new people a mug, for example, we did away with disposable cups.'

'We also take initiatives to boost our employees' wellbeing of course. For example, family leave is not mandatory in France, but we offer it anyway. The same goes for working from home. Already in 2010, SafeBrands was awarded the Empl'itude label in recognition of its commitment to providing work to people alienated from the labour market, for example by giving job interview training with the supports its own employees.'

Many small actions can have a big effect

Frédéric: 'Indeed. And in retrospect, they prompted a change in our people's mindset in the long run. People now automatically look for ways to consume less, to save energy. And that's not always easy in a sector that uses a lot of energy. To give you an idea: Marseille currently has seven data centres and it's turning into a problem for the city's electricity supply. In other words, no new data centres will be built without a new power plant.'

How did those small actions develop into what you do now? Was there a strategy?

Frédéric: 'Not really. We never drew up a sustainability strategy. We just did what we felt was right. The idea behind our actions was very simple: this is the only planet we have so we have to take care of it. Our main focus was quick and short term achievements. We feel we need to reduce our carbon footprint: what measures can we take? We want to have a social impact on a local scale: how can we achieve this? Obviously, we're not naive and we know that it comes across well to customers, but there was never a plan.'

You're now part of the greater Team Internet Group. Has it changed anything in terms of CSR?

Frédéric: 'It’s changed everything. We have to be carbon neutral, inclusiveness is mandatory, etc. Initiatives also have more impact if they're driven centrally, and as part of a larger group we might also have a bigger impact. It also has consequences for CSR reporting.'

'Not only do we keep our freedom, we can also choose to which charities we give money. For example, we don't give Christmas gifts to customers. Instead we send them an email explaining that we're using the gift budget to support charities. This year we're supporting a local project that's helping Ukrainian children. In the past we supported a project for Cliniclowns, or a local food company that employs long-term unemployed people, etc.'

Supporting local projects seems very important to you?

Frédéric: 'Yes, it is. Initially, our company was called Planet Marseilles, after a rap song by a local band. We love Marseilles and we're convinced it's good to support local projects. It's certainly not the most well-heeled region of France, which is why we talk to schools and young people to offer them internships here. That's why we offer job-seekers from the region this job training. We're very proud to have some degree of social impact on a local level. In fact, I think we have the biggest impact on an ethical level.'

Does it get harder to set new goals when you've done so much for the past 20 years?

Frédéric: 'I think the main difficulty lies in striking the right balance  between your ideals and what's practically feasible. We try to buy locally. I saw that colleagues were buying their mouse and keyboard on Amazon. When you insist on buying locally, you do face opposition. Because on Amazon you have a lot of choice, it's easier, etc. There'll always be resistance and that's why striking the right balance is so important.'

'And if at all possible we'll travel by train. Actually, the SNCF (French Railways) is one of our customers. But sometimes it's simply more practical to fly. But then: if you're flying from Marseilles, RyanAir is the obvious choice. But we avoid RyanAir. Ethically it doesn't feel right because RyanAir doesn't pay taxes correctly which is why we take the train but of course then the travel time is longer. As you can tell it's not always straightforward.'

'When I see our people order food via UberEats, I talk to them about it because you don't know whether someone is taking advantage of the bike deliverer. I know I shouldn't get involved because it's a privacy matter, but I can't help myself. They'll just do what they want anyway.'

CSR has an impact on an organisation's image. How important is that for you? Is it something you communicate to the outside world?

Frédéric: 'We don't make a big deal of it, but we do talk about it on LinkedIn. Because we try to use it as a magnet when we hire people. Finding technical people has never been easy, so it can't do any harm.'

'As a sales argument, I don't feel CSR does much, because all registrars do more or less the same thing. You can hardly make a difference there, but we always include it in tenders. Ultimately the selection depends on the price anyway, unfortunately.'

Find out more about SafeBrands' various sustainability initiatives on their website.