IMS - Entreprendre pour la Cité

Focus on a Partner - December 2008

On the occasion of the Annual Conference organised by IMS - Entreprendre pour la Cité on 9-10 December 2008 in Paris, CSR Europe presents insight into the event and an overview of the French organisation's work in their CSR Laboratory on Mainstreaming Diversity in the Company from the perspective of Henri de Reboul, Executive Director of IMS.

IMS is organising a high-profile event in December in Paris. Could you tell us more about its agenda and objectives?

Henri De Reboul

Contribution to socio-economic development, development of new business models for the base of the pyramid, creation of new financial products and services, support for social entrepreneurs in developing countries... European companies are increasingly innovating in favour of poverty reduction and the development of Southern countries, by building new partnerships with public actors, donors and members of civil society. This new environment deserves to be highlighted in a showcase event, at a European level.

This is why IMS-Entreprendre pour la Cité, in partnership with the French Agency for Development (AFD), is organizing the symposium "Investing in Development" as part of the official agenda of the French Presidency of the European Union. The event will gather hundreds of experts from international businesses, Southern companies, NGOs, donors, public institutions and academics in order to highlight new trends of corporate investment in development and to extend possible partnerships between private actors, public actors and NGOs' associations to scale up the movement.

This symposium will be based on two events on 9-10 December 2008.

On the first day, after an introductory plenary session led by high representatives such as Kandeh Yumkella from UNIDO, six working groups will take place between corporate and development experts to identify the key success conditions in various development areas. These include companies' contribution to developing the territories where they do business, providing innovative financial products for development (micro-credits, SRI...), access to water and sanitation, Base of the Pyramid innovations, development of fair trade, and support of human and social rights.

On the second day, after a reporting session on the main outcomes of the thematic workshops, with reactions from pioneering companies' leaders and from development practitioners, the afternoon will be devoted to prospective roundtables. Debates will focus on how to scale up the movement via potential corporate innovations and new coalitions between companies and their stakeholders, insisting on roles and responsibilities sharing. The symposium will be closed by Christine Lagarde, French Minister of the Economy, Industry and Employment.

IMS is facilitating the CSR Laboratory on Mainstreaming Diversity in the Company. What is its relevance to French companies?

When it comes to diversity issues, French companies are very keen in meeting and exchanging with other companies, in order to have an overview of the various issues specific to different sector of activities and to share best practices.

In France, IMS-Entreprendre pour la Cité, through its network of over 200 multi-sectoral companies, proves to be one of the greatest places where companies are free to join networking events and to participate in workshops. Through the exploration of new themes - such as supplier diversity, marketing & diversity, or economic performance & diversity for example - companies feel supported enough and are confident enough to implement a concrete diversity policy within the workplace.

The CSR Laboratory on Mainstreaming Diversity in the Company, which has been facilitated by IMS together with L'Oreal since its beginning 18 months ago, seems to be the adequate continuation of such networking activity at a European level. Indeed, we are more and more confronted to demands from companies which are expanding, or planning to expand, to other countries.

Those French companies which have subsidiaries in other European countries in particular, find it very relevant to share with other counterparts confronted to issues at a continental level. They are thus backed up in the mainstreaming of their diversity policy within their European subsidiaries.

More information

Read more about IMS at www.imsentreprendre.org.

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