In this interview, Jules Bouteloup, Procurement Manager at Contentsquare, shares his expertise on how Procurement and the Impact team collaborate to implement an ambitious CSR strategy aligned with ESG issues.

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What are the missions of the Impact team at Contentsquare?

The Impact team’s mission is to make Contentsquare more sustainable through various pillars, with a special focus on the environment and technology.

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Environmental Objective: Reduce carbon emissions with an SBTi-certified commitment.
Digital Accessibility: Promote inclusivity on digital platforms through standards like WCAG.
Digital Trust: Ensure data security and privacy while continuing to innovate.

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These objectives extend across the ecosystem, involving clients, suppliers, and tech partners.

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What key metrics does the Impact team track?

Tracking key metrics is essential to ensuring concrete results and avoiding greenwashing.

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Emissions Reduction: Measure the carbon footprint over the next 10 years, certified by SBTi.
Digital Accessibility: Track the implementation of WCAG standards on Contentsquare’s platforms.
Digital Trust: Ensure compliance with ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications to protect data security.

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What are the biggest Impact challenges?

Contentsquare faces critical challenges like managing growth vs. environmental impact: they aim to maintain ambitious emission reduction goals despite acquisitions, international expansion, and the use of energy-intensive technologies such as AI, which is essential for innovation at Contentsquare.

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Why are tech companies investing in CSR?

As Jules explains, investing in Impact is not only responsible but also beneficial for business in several ways:

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Talent Attraction: Companies aligned with ESG goals attract and retain talent more effectively.
Cost Optimization: Reducing ecological footprints via internal policies (e.g., limiting travel) also reduces costs.
Risk Management: Anticipating new regulations (e.g., in Europe and the U.S.) prepares companies for legal changes.

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Procurement as a Lever to Amplify ESG Impact

Procurement plays a key role in transforming ecosystems, both internally and externally. Here are three levers to use:

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Supplier Influence: Collaborating to optimize server energy efficiency (e.g., AWS, Azure).
Risk Management: Ensuring a resilient and ESG-compliant supply chain.
Contractual Commitments: Embedding CSR clauses in contracts with strategic suppliers.

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How did Procurement and Impact start working together at Contentsquare?

Collaboration between the Procurement and Impact teams started with data sharing. Initially, the Impact team approached Procurement for supplier and spend data, a central point for CSR reporting. This collaboration later evolved with the integration of sustainability criteria into the procurement policy.

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Where does Contentsquare stand today in its Procurement-CSR strategy?

Contentsquare has built a solid foundation for its CSR procurement strategy, focusing on four main areas:

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Reliable Data: Implementing a P2P system for more accurate supplier and spend management.
Sustainable Procurement Policy: Incorporating sustainability clauses in supplier contracts.
Team Training: Raising awareness and training buyers on CSR challenges.
Tools like ECOVADIS: Deploying tools to evaluate and track supplier performance in ESG.

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How to integrate CSR into an existing Procurement function?

To integrate CSR into an existing Procurement function, Jules recommends three key actions:

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Set Priorities: Work with the Impact team to identify strategic suppliers and set CSR goals.
Implement Quick Wins: Incorporate CSR criteria into tenders and contracts.
Align Procurement Policy: Ensure that CSR goals are embedded in procurement policies from the start.

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Three key lessons from Contentsquare’s Procurement-CSR strategy

Jules shares three main takeaways:

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Build Relationships with the Impact Team: Close collaboration allows for better goal alignment and faster progress.
Focus on Concrete Actions: Implement tangible, measurable initiatives to gain stakeholder buy-in.
Adapt Processes Continuously: It’s essential to stay agile and adjust practices based on field feedback.

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How to use reporting to measure the ESG efficiency of your Procurement strategy?

Reporting is essential to track the impact of CSR initiatives and internal marketing. The EPL (Environmental P&L) is an environmental P&L that links spending to carbon impact. Another tool would be Spend Analytics with an Impact axis: enriching Spend Analytics tools with a "Carbon Impact" label or column to track and optimize ESG results.

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To view all the short clips featured in this article and the entire interview with Jules, please check out the full YouTube playlist just here.

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To speak with a Payflows experts and understand how Payflows solution can help your Procurement team to save money, ensure adoption, gain time and reduce risks, book a demo just below !

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