Forum de Giverny 2024 - Interview de Christophe Babule

I agreed to come to the Giverny Forum today for three main reasons. First, L'Oréal has historically been a partner of this forum, so we are committed to being present at every edition. Second, the theme of sharing values and creating values really resonates with me as a CFO—it makes sense to speak about it, and I think we have a lot to say on the subject. Third, I wanted to bring a financial perspective to very serious topics where finance has a lot to contribute to the debate. The message I want to convey is that when we talk about sharing values, we must also think about creating values. Value creation must be for all and by all. To highlight what an organization or company can create, it's important for a CFO to really focus on this notion of value creation. Value is not just financial; we need to shift the paradigm a bit—think less about profit and more about value creation, putting a value on human, social, and sustainability issues. That's very important. I feel that finance departments must evolve. My role as CFO must evolve from financial director to director of value creation. Thinking this way will allow us to develop new business models. For example, putting a financial value on training within a company changes the perspective: we think less about cost and more about investment. That's crucial. If we instill this new culture, change the paradigm, and make people understand that finance is important but not exclusive, we will accelerate the transformations underway. The credo is this: financial performance and extra-financial performance must go hand in hand. They are paired; you cannot be performant if one comes at the expense of the other. That's the important message I want to share. The second message, still linked to the finance function, is to think of the CFO as a catalyst for change—someone who pushes investment decisions that steer the company toward a better balance in what it provides: not only value creation but also value sharing. Today, scientists and experts from the IPCC remind us often that there is a climate emergency; we must not deny it. In a group like ours, we believe there is no plan B, so we have to go for it. It's the license to operate. Once that is embedded in the company's strategy, we realize that an actor like L'Oréal must bring its entire ecosystem along. Our sustainability performance will not be achieved if that of our suppliers—our ecosystem—is not also part of this great objective. So we spend a lot of time and energy bringing our supplier ecosystem on board, not just tier 1 but also tier 2, because L'Oréal's performance depends on theirs. My decarbonization trajectory depends 30% on my suppliers. In this area, we lead the dance with our entire ecosystem, and we are fully aware of our responsibility. We must support these actors—large, medium, and small—and we are giving ourselves the means through private debt funds to help with this transition and ensure our suppliers have the financial resources to meet their targets. That in turn helps our group achieve its goals. So you see, we are fully committed. I think it's also the responsibility of all major economic players. L'Oréal is the world leader in beauty, and we have this responsibility on our shoulders: not only to achieve what is within our own scope but also to bring along all the suppliers who are actors in our success.