An interview with Pierre-François Le Louët: "We want to reconcile creativity and responsibility.”
InterviewsPierre-François Le Louët reviews NellyRodi’s sustainable development commitments, what the B Corp Certification means and his vision for creative agencies’ function – today and tomorrow.
NellyRodi is now a certified B Corp business. Can you explain what that means?
The B Corp Certification signifies that a company has been verified in meeting high standards for social and environmental impact, has made a legal commitment to stakeholder governance and demonstrates accountability and transparency by publicly disclosing its performance assessment in its B Corp profile, accessible here.
This certification is the result of an 18-month journey that involved all NellyRodi employees. The process provided an opportunity to review or update many of our practices concerning our clients, community, team and governance, while seeking to reduce our environmental impact. It is immensely satisfying for all of us to join the B Corp network and contribute to a more inclusive and responsible vision of business. B Corp companies are guided by a mission to create benefits for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. This certification is a clear sign of the transformation of our company, which originated as a trend forecasting agency in the 80s and gradually evolved into a leading consultancy in the creative industries sector. Our vision for these industries encompasses a strong commitment to sustainable development.
What are NellyRodi's commitments to people and the planet?
NellyRodi supports brands in industries such as fashion or home, often criticized for their social and environmental impact. How do you see your role in relation to them?
Our role is to bring them along with us and leverage our influence to encourage them to adopt more virtuous social and environmental practices. We refrain from working with certain clients who will never embrace this approach, such as ultra-fast fashion or the tobacco industry, even though they regularly approach us. We aim to reconcile creativity and responsibility and are currently developing methodologies to achieve this. For instance, we have already redesigned our flagship publication “Life&Style” to incorporate sustainability issues both as an object and in its content. The future of our industry will be virtuous or not at all.
Our role is to bring them along with us and leverage our influence to encourage them to adopt more virtuous social and environmental practices. We refrain from working with certain clients who will never embrace this approach, such as ultra-fast fashion or the tobacco industry, even though they regularly approach us. We aim to reconcile creativity and responsibility and are currently developing methodologies to achieve this. For instance, we have already redesigned our flagship publication “Life&Style” to incorporate sustainability issues both as an object and in its content. The future of our industry will be virtuous or not at all.
What will NellyRodi be in five or 10 years?
In five or 10 years, NellyRodi will continue to be the companion of all those who love creativity and innovation. For 40 years, we have been shaping the brands of tomorrow. We don’t aspire to grow excessively, but we want to do our job well and even better by mobilizing an incredible team which boasts precise analytic skills, knowledge of the various components of our sector and diverse backgrounds. We also aim to develop the most accurate tools to continue inspiring innovation worldwide. True to our creative roots, we will remain the eternal phoenix with no choice but to reinvent itself continuously, taking along our clients, supporters and friends who have consistently supported this unique approach for almost 40 years. The B Corp Certification requires this continuous improvement approach, and we fully embrace it.
