Lactalis Ingredients is committed to a CSR approach organized around three pillars. One of these commitments “Responsible for our people”, is itself divided into three key areas: strengthening health and safety at work, promoting the best possible professional development and encouraging employee engagement. All CSR actions implemented or to be implemented as part of this approach are led by our employees themselves. And, since it is those principally affected who are best placed to provide insights into the effectiveness of these initiatives, we wanted to give them a voice. Through interviews, four of our employees spoke about the actions carried out and their respective outcomes. 

A wide range of CSR actions at Lactalis Ingredients

Popular training courses for the professional development of employees

Every year, we offer a wide range of training courses to our employees. At Lactalis Ingredients, it is important to us to help team members develop their skills in multiple areas such as product quality, management and learning a new language. In fact, it is one of our most appreciated CSR actions: none of the employees interviewed failed to mention it!

The courses on offer also cover complex technical and specialized subjects: Antoine Teissier, an energy engineer at the Verdun plant, was particularly enthusiastic about the training provided “by the Armstrong company on water vapor as a heat transfer fluid”.

We make sure that diversity is also reflected in the formats offered. The theoretical courses are held either  face-to-face or by videoconference, making them easily accessible, and can also be supplemented by practical scenarios. Laurent Bocqueho, Operations Manager, opted to combine these complementary formats: “I was able to take advantage of the theoretical courses and practical situations to progress […]  The offer is wide-ranging […], the challenge is to be able to organize ourselves in order to follow those that interest us. »

This wealth of available training options is an aspect of the company’s CSR approach that the company actively intends to sustain in the long term: driven by the desire to encourage the personal development of employees, it is important to us to offer them quality training.

Quality of life at work constantly improving

The well-being and health of our employees is one of our top priorities. As a result, improving quality of life at work (QWL) is a key pillar of our CSR approach. For example, in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, where Laurent Louboutin works as plant manager, “there are more than 40 actions in [the] roadmap”, which was also developed with employees. The aim is, on the one  hand, to offer unifying activities  between employees and, on the other, to improve their working environment. Thus, the employees of Saint-Florent le Vieil have participated in sporting events (marathon, soapbox race) and benefit from an  “osteopath available on site for 1 day every 2 months” while team members at Pontivy receive “seasonal fruits in the break room”. 

Safety actions: a priority in the daily lives of employees

Regardless of the site, “team safety is a priority for all of us.” As such, we have set up two  annual job safety visit. Laurent Bocqueho presents them as a “tool based on observation and exchange, […], an essential element in the prevention of occupational accidents”. During the daily meetings, a time dedicated to safety completes these exchanges. This is an ideal opportunity to review a safety rule or raise awareness about an event that has occurred. And as we take every opportunity to raise awareness, we actively participate in the annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work to highlight other related topics such as chemical risk or working at height. Finally, projects such as the installation of lifelines or the securing of loading docks make the premises safer and more secure.

CSR actions to improve our impact

In addition to influencing the daily lives of our employees, our activity impacts both our environment and our end consumers. It is therefore essential to act on these two aspects as well.

With this approach in mind, Antoine Teissier drew attention to “a modification of the instructions for sorting the water from our evaporators in order to make our boiler room almost self-sufficient in water”. This resulted in the saving  of “ an additional 2,500 m3 of water per month”. Finally, Céline Mangin, Quality and Laboratory Manager, highlighted the YOPI approach, which aims to remind employees of the sensitivity of end consumers.

Visible and effective results

The numbers speak for themselves…

In terms of safety, all previous records have been broken! The Verdun site celebrated its 1st anniversary without any work accidents or lost time. With regard to unifying actions, the involvement of employees is evident: 110 employees participated in an internal escape room event in St-Florent and, at the level of Lactalis Ingredients, more than 200 of them got involved on World Cleanup Day and managed to collect 770 kg of waste.

… And employees are also expressing themselves.

Being at the heart of our actions, employees are the first to see signs of success, especially in their daily lives. Over several years of hands-on involvement, Céline Mangin has witnessed this: ” The health and safety of all is more than a value […] “I work towards making this a reality every day”. The training also quickly bore fruit. Antoine Teissier is proud to have been able to “perfect [his] knowledge”. For Laurent Louboutin and his team, they have made it possible “to increase the skills of all [the] new arrivals”.

Beyond these concrete results, Lactalis Ingredients’ CSR actions have changed the general mood of our employees. An atmosphere of solidarity and conviviality is created through such activities. During the soapbox race event, Laurent Louboutin acknowledged an atmosphere that “had never been so good in the department“. On the training side, it creates a sense of inclusion in the company among our employees. The same employee said that participation “fosters a sense of belonging to the company”.

At Lactalis Ingredients, we are proud to have implemented a range of CSR actions and to be able to draw a positive balance sheet together. This pushes us to further develop such initiatives while maintaining a dynamic of constant improvement. We look forward to continuing this approach with our employees!

Any questions? Contact-us !