Samira Draoua

What services should be developed for the circular economy?

Let us be pragmatic: Tools based on real needs, efficient, specifically adapted to the requirements of each business. Pay-per-use services to monitor budgets as closely as possible, reduce costs to better finance development and the energy transition. Systems and platforms to truly measure and reduce all digital environmental footprints regardless of the size and nature of the client or partner organization.

Investment criteria that make an impact?

We have been applying impact rules to ourselves for a long time. For our investments, we systematically seek to scale up on these criteria. For example, control of the environmental footprint, equity in career paths, or the development of responsible offers.

Why are ethics and responsibility at the core of your strategy? 

Because we are convinced that companies that are seriously committed to being transparent, accountable, and respectful are the pillars of the circular and solidarity-based economy, i.e., the economy of sharing, of sobriety, of intelligence, both now and in the future. The people that use our tools expect us, as a service company, to adhere to strong societal rules.

How can we share the values of boldness, responsiveness, and good faith?

Passing on the values of daring and responsiveness involves promoting an entrepreneurial spirit; we are nurturing this mindset by giving our employees a measure of leeway to express themselves and create. As for good faith, I like to believe in walking the talk. We are a multinational group. We must begin by setting a good example, showing the achievements of leaders that inspired their teams and celebrating these values when successes are achieved. We can be proud to work for a company that is heading in the right direction, with clear values, to be useful to the greatest number.

Les Abeilles are the symbol of collective, humble, and persevering work. What lessons can the group learn from this?

As a group, our crews are an example of high-level management. Towing ships in difficulty on the high seas and in the middle of a storm requires a more than perfect orchestration of all the skills, in an unpredictable and demanding rhythm. That is why we are launching the management school, the school for excellence, the Abeilles International school.

What are you most proud of regarding the latest investments?

We are highly active, it is hard to choose, but recently we acquired a leading industrial player in the refurbishment sector in France. We did this to conquer and "standardize" the refurbished digital market in Europe. This player, which has been recycling and refurbishing thousands of assets every year, is emblematic of what will enable us to grow in a rapidly expanding market and at the same time to contribute to reducing the footprint of digital tools on the planet. Furthermore, gaining access to the consumer IT market enhances our impact investment strategy.

Is our ambition to achieve an ever more positive impact reasonable, realistic, and desirable?

Were we to err on the side of caution, we would not be an innovative company. It is because daring is in our DNA that we can succeed in providing differentiating services to further reduce the environmental footprint of companies. But we are also realists, we are aware that our clients expect effective solutions that can be implemented speedily. Yes, improving impact is to be wished because we are citizens and parents, as well as value creators.