Corporate Social Responsibility at Smile

Over the past ten years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become an integral part of organizations not only in France, but throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Companies of all sizes, concerned by the challenges of environmental, social and societal responsibility, are implementing action plans to act on the three pillars of CSR: economic, social and environmental.
 

CSR, definition and convictions at Smile

According to the European Commission, CSR is defined as:

"the voluntary integration by companies of social and environmental concerns into their business activities and their relations with stakeholders"

At Smile, we believe it's important to go beyond major projects and to multiply our actions, whatever their size, and to raise awareness among our employees as part of a collective approach.
 
Digital technology is an indispensable tool in our daily lives. At the root of many of today's developments, it is an essential lever for successful societal and environmental transformation. 

We are well aware of the impact of digital technology, and are working daily to limit its effects.

Today's commitment? Develop our practices so that digital technology and sustainability go hand in hand, thanks to our day-to-day commitments.
To this end, Smile is taking numerous steps to promote a CSR approach, by joining leading initiatives such as Planet Tech'Care, an initiative chaired by our subsidiary, Alter Way, and Femmes@Numérique.

 

 

 

 

1 – Governance

 

The strategic plan

In 2022, Smile Group has launched a new project called VISION, which has captured our attention and energy for over a year. The aim of this project was to gather the opinions of all the group's employees on various subjects such as better living together, Digital Sustainability and innovation, our offerings, our brand image and attractiveness, and our international influence. Thanks to the power of collective intelligence, a new strategic roadmap for the next 3 years emerged: our new strategic plan, Open Up.

 

The United Nations Global Compact

Since 2023, Smile Group has been a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact. This membership testifies to the Group's commitment to universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. As a sustainable and impact-conscious company, we are committed to integrating these fundamental principles into our strategy, our operations and our interactions with all stakeholders. We recognize the importance of actively contributing to sustainable development and the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The Smile Group Committee 

At the end of 2022, the Smile Group Committee was created. This group of 9 employees is responsible for steering strategic projects in conjunction with the Executive Committee. Its current areas of focus include reducing the Group's electricity consumption, as well as the collective improvement initiative following the results of the Happy at Work 2023 social atmosphere survey.
-corruption. As a sustainable and impact-conscious company, we are committed to integrating these fundamental principles into our strategy, our operations and our interactions with all stakeholders. We recognize the importance of actively contributing to sustainable development and the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

 

2- Environmental challenges

 

 

Equipment & Consumables Recycling

Thanks to our in-house team of CSR, marketing and general resources managers, and the daily involvement of our employees in environmental impact, we have been able to implement a number of actions:

- Multifunction copiers with badge authentication to reduce unnecessary printing
- Recycling of our used IT equipment through a partnership with ELISE
- Selective sorting in branches, recycling of electronic equipment, recycling of cigarette butts
- Elimination of bottled water and provision of a water fountain 
- Coffee machine set to use cups rather than disposable cups 
- Distribution of reusable eco-cups
- Cardboard cups for water fountains
- On Boarding: since the beginning of 2021, our Welcome Packs are 100% sustainable goodies (recycled or eco-designed, produced exclusively in France and Europe).
- Ethical and sustainable marketing, notably via events and giveaways: commitment to switch to 100% eco-friendly by the end of 2023.
- Collection of unused phones and chargers for refurbishment by Les Ateliers du Bocage. Appliances no longer in service are recycled by the ECOLOGIC organization.
- Collection and recycling of batteries on our premises via the service provider Corepile.

 

 

Transports

 

For a long time at Smile, we have been favouring low-carbon modes of transport through various policies aimed at supporting our employees:

- teleworking agreement: implementation of occasional or alternating teleworking to reduce our impact in terms of CO2, and this, since early 2018. A new telework charter was launched in Spring 2022.
- accessible by numerous means of transport: metro, tramway, bus and train.
- provision of parking for bicycles and other soft modes, depending on the agency.

- reduced fleet of company cars: for business travel, we systematically favor public transport or car-sharing among our teams.
- introduction of the "Forfait mobilité durable" (sustainable mobility package) to support our employees in the purchase of new or second-hand bicycles or scooters (both mechanical and electric), and to encourage people to use environmentally-friendly means of transport through compensation.
- self-service bicycles for employees at Smile's head office in Asnières-sur-Seine.
 

 

Tech for Good and skills volunteering

 

Some of the technology projects we've been asked to support have naturally evolved into skills sponsorship, to enable organizations to switch more easily to the digital platforms they need.
In particular, Smile Group has been involved in skills sponsorship for Project MaVoie, which selects the best partners and provides guidance in finding a job. We also supported the Graine d'orateur 93 project, which encourages young people to become public speakers.

Since September 2022, Smile Nantes has been a sponsor of "Nos Quartiers ont du Talent" (NQT), an association that promotes equal opportunity by helping young graduates with 3 years of higher education, aged under 30, from disadvantaged neighborhoods or modest social backgrounds to find jobs, work-study programs and entrepreneurship.

Because we believe that technology should also serve just causes and help humankind to progress, we are keen to work on so-called tech4good projects with our partners or start-ups. Solutions to food waste, reducing energy consumption in buildings, reducing the administrative burden of procedures, etc., are just some of the subjects we are working on and are passionate about.
 

Planet Tech’Care

Our commitment to reducing the environmental impact of digital products and services is also reflected in our signature of the Planet Tech'Care manifesto, chaired by Véronique Torner, CEO of alter way. The aim is not only to measure and commit to reducing our ecological impact, but also to raise awareness among our stakeholders. In this way, all players in the digital ecosystem are acting on their respective impacts within their spheres of sustainability.

 

Green Coding

 

Energy savings, easier access to services, less travel, better disease prevention... the benefits of digital technology are real.

As a digital company, we must work to maximize the benefits of our industry while being aware of our impacts. This is one of the reasons why we favour the sustainable design of digital services. This approach aims to reduce the amount of IT resources required to run digital services, while improving their performance. Simplicity, frugality and relevance - the watchwords of eco-design - are more relevant than ever in shaping the digital world of tomorrow.

 

Treely Challenge 

 

Thanks to the Treely challenge offered to all Smile Group employees in 2022, we were able to contribute to the planting of 3031 trees in the mangroves of Madagascar, via the NGO Eden Reforestation Project. See the project video

You can also find planting certificates on this website.

 

 

Awareness campaign

 

In 2022, Smile carried out an eco-gesture awareness campaign for all group employees (awareness posters, welcome booklet, e-mail communications).

 

 

New internal training platform

 

In November 2022, Smile Group launched a new internal training and certification platform called "Strong Mind". Today, this platform is focused on digital sustainability and offers bronze certification. It will subsequently be developed for other subjects and at different levels. To date, more than 1000 Smile Group employees have already been certified and made aware of the subject.

 

Biodiversity

 

In 2022, Smile Group became sponsor of a 50,000-bee hive. An environmental action in support of tomorrow's beekeeping. In 2023, to mark World Diversity Day, we sponsored a second hive at Les Ruchers de Mathieu. We thus became sponsors of 100,000 bees.

 

GHG balance measurement

 

In order to be able to measure our environmental footprint and this with the aim of improving our uses, Smile has been carrying out its GHG (greenhouse gas) assessment since 2018 on the different scopes (scopes 1, 2 and 3).

 

3 – Social challenges

The HR aspect of our CSR policy began with the launch and development of a CSR committee, led by employees representing a wide range of professions and departments within the Group. This committee provides a 360° view of the Group and enables us to benefit from new ideas to be implemented or tested. This committee is a real asset in the development of the Smile Group's CSR actions.

 

Diversity

 

Smile is committed to promoting the diversity of its teams, and to non-discrimination through various actions:
- non-discrimination in hiring 
- respect for salaries and gender equality (Equality Index of 89/100 by 2023)

 

We have put in place a Gender Equality plan comprising several measures, including donated leave and days of salary continuation in the event of child hospitalization.

 

- Over the course of 2018, Smile joined forces with Cigref and Syntec companies to help fund the Femmes@Numérique foundation. The main aim of this foundation is to attract and retain women, who are still in short supply, in the digital sector.

In 2023, Smile renewed its commitment to Femmes@Numérique and, with all the other signatories to the agreement, launched 10 major projects to raise awareness of the digital industry.

 

To this end, the foundation is implementing several actions:
- Inform about opportunities in the IT sector, 
- Promote gender diversity, 
- Reinforce the fight against stereotypes and self-censorship, 
- Encourage young women to take up careers in science and technology.

 

 

In 2023, Smile will make disability one of its HR and CSR priorities, by further structuring its disability policy.
 

- From February, we set up a Disability Committee and a number of Disability Advisors. With the support of Agefiph, we launched a Diagnostic Action concerning the integration and retention of disabled people in the workplace: this included a survey sent to employees, which enabled us to assess needs and implement appropriate actions.
- From 2022, introduction of an agreement on the integration of people with disabilities
- Creation of a disability guide
- Since November 2021, Smile has joined the #activateurs de progrès (progress drivers) movement, a community of over 6,000 companies working to combine employment and disability.
- Internal disability awareness campaign (including participation in the European Week for the Employment of People with Disabilities 2022)
 

Smile Group is sponsoring two fencers for the 2024 Paralympic Games! Ludovic Lemoine and Brianna Vidé have already won numerous national and international titles in their discipline. Supporting these two athletes as they prepare for the Games enables us to embody our Group's values. Sport here is a driving force for commitment, citizenship and diversity.

 

Training and career path

 

As part of a sustainable development approach aimed at developing and enhancing human capital, Smile invested nearly 3% of its payroll in employee training in 2022, in order to adapt their skills to economic and technological developments, but also to maintain and promote their employability. In 2022, 53% of employees benefited from training on a variety of topics (technical, management, project management, languages, coaching and personal development, etc.), and over 14,700 hours of training were provided in 2022.

 

Online self-training platforms 

 

In order to respond even more effectively to our customers' need for agility, and in view of the need for constant learning to enhance individual and collective performance, Smile France is stepping up its investment in employee training by partnering with the Udemy and OpenClassRoom self-training platforms. These platforms will enable us to significantly develop our employees' skills, while potentially reducing the carbon footprint caused by travel for conventional face-to-face training.

 

 

Quality of life

 

We are convinced that the quality of life at work is a lever for global and sustainable performance, and for this reason we are implementing various actions that have a positive impact on our teams:

- the implementation of a set of actions to respect and monitor all indicators relating to working hours and work/life balance: examples include the allocation of time to employee activities, annual and professional interviews, medical check-ups...
- teleworking agreement to improve work-life balance and reduce commuting times for our employees
- implementation of various actions to promote moments of well-being through the "Smile Internal Events" entity (workshops, festive events, knowledge sharing, etc.).
- The TrainMe challenge was organized as part of the QLWC (Quality of Life and Working Conditions) week 2023, and Smile took part alongside 150 other companies, representing some 160,000 challenge participants in France. For one week, employees are encouraged to take part in sports and improve their physical condition. 15% of the operation's budget is donated to the Premiers de cordée association, which introduces hospitalized or disabled children to sport.

 

Certifications and Labels

 

- Choose MyCompany's HappyAtWork label: every year, we conduct a survey among our employees. In 2021, the label only concerned France. The following year, the survey was extended to include Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, giving us a score of 4.01/5. In 2023, we were awarded the label at world level, with the survey extended to our 9 countries, and we achieved a score of 4.07/5, for the entire Smile Group and its subsidiaries, placing it sixth in the HappyIndex®AtWork World ranking for its workforce category (over 1,000 employees). Visit our public page

- EcoVadis rating - Rating of 56/100 as a Large company (large companies with over 1,000 employees), higher than the average of our competitors. This excellent improvement places us in the top 25% of companies rated by Ecovadis. 
This score earns us the silver medal. 

 

4 - Sustainable purchasing and ethics

 

In 2022, our Group implemented its CSR policy in its Purchasing function and in its relations with suppliers by creating a Sustainable Purchasing Charter. This charter sets out Smile's commitments, and those expected of its suppliers, to sustainable purchasing as part of a sustainable relationship between the parties. The objective for August 2023 is for all Smile buyers and suppliers to sign the charter.