Our approach to CSR

Alongside the men and women who have been its driving force for over 240 years, DESCOURS & CABAUD develops its business based on the values of trust, fairness and ethics.

Its CSR (corporate social responsibility) policy details the Group’s priorities and commitments to create value for all its stakeholders: customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders, and to leverage everyone’s skills.

DESCOURS & CABAUD acts to make its CSR actions a reality on a daily basis. Its ambition is formalized in the Positive Program, created in 2013 and intensified since the launch of a new dynamic in 2023.

Its CSR policy is fully aligned with the Group’s commitments to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

It applies to every DESCOURS & CABAUD subsidiary and global facility, and all its employees.

 

> See our CSR policy

A MONITORED AND MEASURED CSR PROCESS

Our Declaration of Non-Financial Performance (DNFP) covers all the French sites within the DESCOURS & CABAUD Group’s scope of consolidation, and partly includes the European subsidiaries (outside France) and North-American subsidiaries.

This declaration has been constructed in such a way as to enlighten our stakeholders in a fully transparent manner about the social, societal and environmental effects of the Group’s activity.

> See our 2023 DNFP

See other DNFP : > 2022 > 2021 > 2020> 2019> 2018

The Positive Program

This collective goal is formally described in the “Positive Program”.

Our approach:

  • Propose a responsible commercial offer in each product range
  • Reduce the environmental impact of our activity and that of our customers
  • Uphold flawless business ethics
  • Develop our employees
  • Work with socially responsible economic and institutional players

Since we are aware that the path to sustainable development is a long one, this approach is part of a continuous improvement strategy.

See our Positive Actions

 

Propose a responsible commercial offer

All our customers’ business sectors are at the heart of the fight against climate change:

  • The industrial sector is evolving and transforming into an industrial system that must become ever more efficient and sustainable.
  • The players in the construction industry are fully committed to building new, low-consumption buildings and renovating existing buildings with efficient insulation and high-performance equipment that consumes renewable energy.
  • The water- and landscape-related activities are faced with ever-increasing demands for water and energy savings.

Irrespective of their sector, we support their eco-responsible initiatives by building a responsible offer that combines technical competitiveness with energy efficiency and environmental performance. We co-build this offer with our supplier partners and evaluate it according to of sustainable development criteria, throughout the product life cycle.

Reduce the environmental impact of our activity and that of our customers

Optimise the environmental performance of our business

We have been committed to reducing our environmental footprint for several years and are constantly stepping up our efforts and multiplying our initiatives to significantly reduce the carbon impact of our business.

Fewer logistics flows

Select cardboard suppliers close to our platforms in order to reduce flows.

Less cardboard

Adapt the height and size of the boxes to their filling rate and gradually reducing the number of boxes used in favour of reusable bins.

Fewer trucks

Optimise flows to increase the volume of materials transported and reduce the number of trucks on the road.

UPHOLD FLAWLESS BUSINESS ETHICS

Work in accordance with our values

Guided by the values of unitytransparency and daring, DESCOURS & CABAUD ensures that these values are embodied in the daily activities of each of its employees. From our attitude to our actions and the statements we make, to the decisions we take, we have a collective responsibility to our shareholders to guarantee the integrity, fairness and honesty of our actions. This holds true for our teams, our customers and our partners, but also for territories, citizens, local players and, of course, our environment.
Our code of conduct confirms our values and ethics in business and in the world around us.

Access to our ethical charter

Access to the DESCOURS & CABAUD Supplier Code of CSR Commitments

Develop our employees

More than 40 years ago, DESCOURS & CABAUD founded its own professional academy, Tech’up, which trains more than 4,500 employees every year. The young talents who join Tech’up benefit from a tailor-made curriculum: for 9 months. They alternate periods of theoretical learning with weeks working in the field, in one of the Group’s 450 outlets. During this programme, which is entirely paid for by the Group, the young recruits, who are mentored by an experienced employee, discover various areas of specialisation, with a guaranteed permanent contract in one of the subsidiaries of our DEXIS, PROLIANS or HYDRALIANS brands.

It is the ideal way to acquire skills, learn a trade and join a Group that offers many opportunities for career development.

 

Tech’up also offers the Group’s employees the possibility of following training throughout their career, with a catalogue of more than 170 courses. These courses aim to meet the specific needs of each branch, facilitate retraining and enable all employees to continue on the human adventure that the Group offers.

Work with socially responsible economic and institutional players

Reflecting the Group’s belief in the values of solidarity, social commitment and proximity, DESCOURS & CABAUD’s patronage policy supports initiatives in the fields of training, culture, social integration, the economy and health.

The Emergences foundation

The Emergences foundation encompasses a community of 49 Lyon-based companies that support the sponsors of entrepreneurial projects (i.e., creators of social bonds and employment) through voluntary skills transfers and networking. It aims to motivate and encourage entrepreneurs to take stock and to help them to expand, by supporting them in both their successes and their difficulties. The Group participates in certain projects by engaging with these entrepreneurs throughout their adventures. By participating in the emergence of innovative and cross-sector initiatives, the Group demonstrates its commitment to the expansion of a responsible and sustainable local economic landscape.

The Catholic University of Lyon

Founded in 1875, the Catholic University of Lyon was initially established in the Place Bellecour, in the centre of Lyon. Nearly one and a half centuries later, in 2010, it moved to the former Saint Paul prison, which had been converted into a university campus. The Group supported it in this major project combining humanism, the ecology and respect for our heritage. Since 2015, the campus has also offered a range of tools and events to encourage meetings between students and entrepreneurs. This is a means of promoting a taste for innovation and a spirit of initiative, both of which are dear to DESCOURS & CABAUD. The Catholic University of Lyon currently has 12,000 students, including 8,000 students on courses that lead to a qualification.

The Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon

Founded in 1804 under the terms of the Chaptal Decree that aimed to create collections of paintings in 15 cities in France, the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon has become one of the major French and European cultural institutions over the decades. As a long-standing member of the Club of the Saint-Pierre Museum, DESCOURS & CABAUD has contributed year after year to the enhancement of its collection and its educational programmes. Initiatives such as the restoration and  acquisition of works of art, the publication of catalogues and the creation of theme-based programmes all help to preserve an exceptional heritage and contribute to the cultural influence of the city of Lyon.

Fondation des Hospices Civils de Lyon

Returning human values to the heart of the healthcare process for both patients and doctors. This is the challenge that the Fondation des Hospices Civils de Lyon has taken up. With the backing of DESCOURS & CABAUD ever since its creation in 2013, the HCL Foundation, which was recognised as an organisation that serves the public good in 2017, has multiplied its initiatives by donating latest-generation equipment and innovative infrastructures to the second-largest university hospital in France. These facilities include gardens for the elderly, open-air terraces for terminal patients and a 3D biology unit. Everything is designed to “reinvent” medicine and develop new techniques for accommodating, supporting and treating patients.

Sport dans la Ville

“Sport dans la Ville” is the leading association in France for social integration through sport. The range of sporting initiatives and programmes for guidance and integration into the world of work enables young people from underprivileged districts of the city to find the route to success. Through its local initiatives and its personalised assistance, the association helps to promote equality of opportunity by providing preferential access to training and employment. This educational framework enables young people to develop values that are vital for their social and vocational integration, such as respect, commitment, open-mindedness, perseverance, discipline and hard work. Since 2012, DESCOURS & CABAUD has been engaging with this association to provide support for the 7,000 young people who are registered members.