4. Case-study/Comparison
4.4. Pocheco
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4.4. Pocheco
4.4.1. Description of the company and key demographics
Pocheco is a sustainable and ecological French company manufacturing envelopes, inspired by the concept of ecolonomy that states that it is more economical for a firm to be environmentally friendly. It was created in 1928 in the North of France, and when Emmanuel Druon took over the position of CEO in 1997, he realized that the firm was in a catastrophic state: there was moral and sexual harassment, the jobs were hazardous and dangerous, the accounting was irregular, some strange boxes were buried in the courtyard and the information system was obsolete. According to him, this was the opportunity to straighten things out and create a new working environment. Today, the company employs 114 people and has a turnover of US$23.5 million per year mostly coming from the French market (only 10% coming from exports), with a growth rate of 3% annually. It covers 70% of the French market, when it only had 30% of it 20 years ago. In 15 years, the company more than doubled its envelop production with 2 billion envelopes manufactured in 2016, and see its employees satisfied and flourishing in their working environment.
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In terms of green buildings, Pocheco is one of the pioneers in France. In 2010, solar panel were installed to cover 4000 square meters of roof. This installation was twice as expensive as a classic one, but according to the CEO, it makes the firm save 200,000 euros per year and it provides a much more pleasant atmosphere for employees. The company also put in place an ecosystem on the roof so as to absorb the noise of the machines and not bother the neighborhood.
Thanks to this ecosystem, the company produces its own honey! The system on the roof also enables Pocheco to retrieve rainwater and to use it for the factory (80% of the water used in the plant comes from rainwater): it uses it for the bathrooms, plant watering, air conditioning or the cleaning of tools, and enables the company to save 156 liters of water per hour. Pocheco does not rely on natural gas any longer but only on the energy it creates (only 10 to 20% of the energy consumed is not produced by the company itself). Furthermore, the nozzle system used to dry the envelopes and which was dangerous because of the heat it released, was changed to infrared lamps that are more secure and more energy-efficient. It cost several tens of thousands of euros but the working station is now consuming three times less energy than before and its efficiency increased by 5%. A new ink and a new glue that are more ecological (made from water, without solvents nor heavy materials) have replaced the old ones, and hence, employees’ health is not threatened anymore. This also allows employees not to rely on gloves nor mask to work.
Additionally, the interior temperature is regulated by a system that grasps warm air present high up and cools it down thanks to the water retrieved on the roof (this system is called adiabatic cooling), and gas furnaces have been removed. Besides, 99% of waste is recycled. Indeed, paper strips for the cutting of envelopes are recycled outside the plant and used for champagne boxes, and a new system of packaging has been implemented (a giant bobbin called “tornado”)
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retrieved from this phytoremediation technique. Last but not least, employees use car sharing to go to work, which makes them save between 200 to 500 euros per month. The results are significant: 1390 m3 of drinking water and 2,863,000kg of CO2 emissions have been saved in the factory since the beginning of the year, and 227,472 trees have been planted.4.4.3. 7S Model
Pocheco believes in a set of values that enables the employees to perpetually seek to improve themselves both socially and environmentally. Indeed, the company believes in ecolonomy, which is the fact that it is more economical to be environmentally friendly. This value, according to the CEO, is common sense and is understandable when looking at the economies they made by taking care of reducing their impact of the environment. Further than the preservation of the environment, the company believes in the workplace well-being and safety at work. Finally, the company wants to be ahead of regulations. When entering their factory, a signal announces “Do not respect legislation… Be ahead of it”. The guiding principle of Pocheco might, after all, be innovation: they innovate in terms of technologies, workplace organization, management…
As envelopes are the second largest office waste in Europe, Pocheco positions itself as an indispensable actor in the market. His strength is to bring flourishing employees with ecological initiatives, so as to improve the firm’s productivity and economic profitability.
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The organizational structure of Pocheco is flat: a steering committee of three men and three women heads the company, which constitutes the only hierarchical layer of the firm. Every employee works in pair, included the CEO, and the portrait of every employee is hanged on the wall of the firm on the same line. Emmanuel Druon, the CEO, claims that “Here, we decided rapidly and together”, “we are not necessarily geniuses, but our strength is to use collective intelligence to do our work by pleasure and conviction” (interview by Béatrice Héraud).
Emmanuel Druon also changed the remuneration system: salaries now range from 1 to 4, taking as a basis the French minimum wage inflated by 15%. There are no dividends distributed to the shareholders; the profit is directly reinvested in the company to improve the ergonomics of the workstations, or to put in place new technological and ecological prowess. Since 2008, the company adopted the QSE system (Quality Security Environment). It simplified the firm’s procedures and organized its work around a common goal that is to serve the customers over the long run, while respecting the planet and its inhabitants (Pocheco’s website). Moreover, the company follows a motto: “each investment must generate a triple win: less environmental impact, less work arduousness, and an increase in productivity”. The equation is simple:
economy + ecology = profitability + efficiency. The staff of Pocheco is composed of skilled workers (professionals in sustainable development, gardening, machinery, production of envelopes etc…) that the company considers as experts in their field. Hence, employees are welcome and even expected to give their opinion on how to improve the company’s processes, and are encouraged to develop their own projects within the company. This is how Facture Verte was created, an agency that promotes envelopes as printing support. The structure the company adopted entails a democratic style of management (which is supported by the flat structure of the company).
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4.4.4. Social contribution
Pocheco works hand in hand with its Finish manufacturer: each time a tree is cut, four others are planted. The employees of Pocheco are also concerned about the biodiversity of the North of France and created AGORA, an association that plants 10,000 trees per year in the region.
So as to share good practices, Pocheco opened Ouvert, a consulting agency in ecolonomy. It aims at accompanying firms in their transition to reduce their carbon footprint, improve their workplace environment and save money. La Maison de l’écolonomie, an association initiated by the research office of Pocheco, proposes various services aiming at facilitating people’s daily life and saving money by acting in an ecological way. This is the case of “Les paniers de Marianne” (Marianne’s baskets), a service that offers baskets of local organic fruits and vegetables at a small price. Moreover, many employees participate in skill-based sponsorship, when they freely help organizations that need help in their projects.
4.4.5. Economic benefits of being green and social
The company saves tremendous amounts of money by being green, and as discussed earlier, this is the very principle of ecolonomy, which is at the heart of the company’s value.
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4.4.6. Other integrated initiatives
The company invites companies to spend a day within their headquarters, during which they visit the installations, have a conference and a formation by the CEO, enjoy a sport class (with Pilates, running, muscle reinforcement and Nordic walking), and a workshop aiming at raising awareness about beekeeping and reforestation. The firm also welcomes individuals and schools.
Four to five buses come to the company every day, to verify whether what they heard about the company is really implemented and to satisfy their curiosity on how it is possible.
4.4.7. Strategy for the future
The company undergoes some difficulties due to the growing use of technology to deliver messages by customers and the use of envelopes becoming obsolete. However, while many of its competitors have filed for bankruptcy, Pocheco focuses on diversifying its main activity, as well as securing its current market share to ensure its survival.
4.4.8. B Corporation
Pocheco looked into the B-Corporation label but found that the annual fee was too onerous.
The market they are working in is tough nowadays (due to the ever-growing use of online messaging, and hence the decline of traditional postal services), so they prefer to focus on their priorities and spend their money where they need it the most.
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Table 1: Chart comparing the four companies based on the 7S Model of McKinsey and some additional criteria
Ming Yung DA.AI O’Right Pocheco
Demographics
- Product/Service Catering restaurants
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Strategy Offers ramen
in convenient
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Skilled workers 70% female Skilled workers
Style (leadership) Democratic Democratic Democratic Democratic Social contribution
(from 1 to %, 5 being the best)1
5 5 3 4
1 I rated the companies based on their social contribution compared to the other companies at stake. I followed the same reasoning to rate them on the « Other integrated initiatives ».
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Economic benefits of being green and social
Communication on the green/social strategy
No Yes Yes Yes
Other integrated initiatives (from 1 to 5, 5 being the best)
5 2 5 5
Strategy for the future Open
restaurant in
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1. Every company can be green and social
In this thesis, I have analyzed four companies that are different in terms of industry, size, age, country, turnover and growth rate, but that are yet socially and environmentally friendly. There can be many reasons behind the creation of a green and social business, but the most important thing is that there is always a good reason to use business as a source for good. A way for customers to know whether a company is socially and environmentally friendly and for companies to attest their performance is possible with the B Corporation label. Once a company is labelled, it can enjoy side benefits such as monthly meetings with all B Corporation-labelled companies. Those meetings enable firms to gain insights of what they could improve by comparing themselves to the other B Corporations, get new ideas for their business but also brainstorm and help other firms be more sustainable. It might be sometimes difficult to keep being motivated to do the good when feeling alone in the process of being green and social, so regularly meeting with people who are as passionate as one can certainly boost one’s motivation.
However, as we saw with O’Right and Pocheco, this label is not mandatory: companies can still be green and social without being certified. When looking deeper into these two companies and comparing them with DA.AI and Ming Yung that do have the label, the differences are not striking: should the label be free so that every business could apply? Could there be sub-certifications that would enable companies to have the label even when they are only focusing on either social matters or environmental ones? Further analysis is required to answer these questions and could contribute to the expansion of the label.