FEB 2020 - Bris Rocher, PDG Groupe Rocher (FEB TV)

I run a family group, so we are very attached to our home territory. We are very attached to the roots of the company. That's a characteristic of family groups. So yes, the group has internationalized rapidly in recent years, but we have remained anchored in our territories, and it seemed important to us to participate in this forum. In that regard, I would probably add a second reason, which came later: we are going through an unprecedented health crisis, and ultimately bringing together profiles with a form of diversity—it's through collective effort that we will succeed. So it seemed equally relevant for these two reasons. I found it legitimate to participate in this first edition of the forum.

This is one of the greatest challenges of our society. Groupe Rocher has been committed to these issues from the start, since its creation by my grandfather in 1959. In that regard, we became a mission-driven company on October 24 of last year under the PACTE law. It was an opportunity for the company to open a new era, to give it new momentum, and to recommit to these issues that are fully relevant today. And again, it is collectively that we will improve things from this point of view. There are environmental and climate challenges that absolutely must be addressed, and that is part of my group's DNA.

The mission-driven company status questions the company about its reason for being. What makes it useful in the eyes of the public? We drew the group's reason for being from the roots of the company, through the personal experience my grandfather had very young. The company's mission is to reconnect women and men with nature, and it naturally stems from my grandfather's personal experience. You should know that my grandfather always had rather serious health problems, to the point that his parents had to homeschool him. That created a very strong closeness between him and his father. But unfortunately, at the age of 14, he lost his beloved father. So a family tragedy. Put yourself in the context: born in 1944 in a small village in Brittany, not many distractions for a kid that age. What happened? He took refuge in the Breton language for two years. Not that he slept in the forest, but he spent his days there, and it gave him a form of relief, consolation, even protection. And in fact, very young, he realized that nature had a positive impact on our well-being. And when you realize that, in return, you want to have a positive impact on the planet, on nature. So we acted for the respect and preservation of nature and biodiversity. And we see that this personal experience left its mark on the roots of this group. That's why we inscribed this mission in the company's statutes: to reconnect women and men with nature to create a movement and give people the desire to act. Because when you reconnect with nature, you reconnect with yourself, you reconnect with others, you reconnect with the world, and you want to act for the preservation and respect of the planet. And thus you respond to one of the greatest challenges of our society today.

I don't really like the term 'exemplary.' Behind exemplarity, there is almost zero defect, which is not true in real life. We all have flaws. From an environmental point of view, when you have an activity, you inevitably draw on natural resources. The challenge is not to not draw, but to reduce your impact as much as possible. So I prefer to set an example, to give desire, rather than to preach a form of exemplarity that is not really real. So I think our duty is precisely to show the way, to give the desire to act for the planet. And that's what we do by testifying and acting. And acting, you know, is not necessarily wanting to climb Everest immediately. It starts with a small step, and then one step after another. After a certain time, it ends up becoming something significant. To give you an example, in the family we plant trees at each birth. That's part of our DNA. My children have their trees, etc. My uncle Jacques, who is a member of the board of directors, launched a program in 2006 to plant trees. We started small, and today this year we will celebrate 100 million trees planted. It took us 15 years, but it was one step after another, and finally we achieved something significant. So my message is rather: let's start by doing something that tends towards the objective that the company, whatever it is, will set for itself, stick to it, be constant over time, and at some point it pays off, it becomes significant. So rather set an example and give desire.

That's my job, in any case. Yes, my job will be to transmit tomorrow. What?

Listen, I have an extraordinary chance already: I inherited a company that is fully in tune with the times. I could have inherited a tobacco company, for example, but that's not the case. So from that point of view, I already have an extraordinary chance: what was transmitted to me is fully in tune with the times. Now it's up to me to transmit something in 10, 15, 20 years, I don't know when, it doesn't matter. It's up to me to transmit something that is fully in tune with the times we will be in in a few years, and more responsible in light of the challenges of our society.