At the helm: Annlore Defossez appointed CSR Officer for Belgium and Luxembourg

Happy to announce that Capgemini Belgium Country Board has officially appointed Annlore Defossez as the new CSR Officer for Belgium and Luxemburg & Prevention Officer for Belgium, effective 1/1/2022. With our commitment towards positive change and positive futures, Annlore’s leadership will help our ambitious CSR programs align with our values to achieve our goals. In conversation with Annlore Defossez.

Hello Annlore! Congratulations on the new role! How does it feel?
Annlore: Great! It’s an amazing opportunity becoming real. I still can’t believe it’s really happening!

Tell us about yourself and your current role at Capgemini
Annlore: Currently I’m a Managing Consultant from Brussels in Belgium – part of the Insights & Data practice. Over the last three and a half years at Capgemini, I have mostly taken up advisory and transversal roles linked to data and companies’ transformation. Apart from this role, I’m also keenly interested in Capgemini’s impact on the world as a company and for over two years now, I have been involved in our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. In 2019, I received the FS Employee of the year B&NL award, and was selected among the top 5 of Young ICT lady of the year award in 2021.

What does this new role mean to you?
Annlore: It is a great honor for me to have been appointed the Capgemini CSR and Prevention Officer. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Country Board for their trust and faith in me. I’v been deeply interested in CSR topics since my university days and it was actually the subject of my master’s thesis. When I joined Capgemini, I had the opportunity to get involved in various CSR projects, always with a lot of energy and passion. Working in CSR has always been part of my career objectives, so this role is sort of a dream come true!

What would be your definition of CSR?
Annlore: At Capgemini, the principles of corporate social responsibility are defined at global level and they go beyond legal compliance and philanthropy. Our leadership in corporate social responsibility excellence is driven by a bold and influential approach that encompasses three dimensions:

• Environmental sustainability: Minimizing our environmental impact, building business resilience against climate change, and supporting clients with their sustainability challenges
• Diversity: Building an inclusive workplace and attracting and retaining a diverse workforce to enable Capgemini and our employees to thrive
• Digital Inclusion: Using our skills to help societies address the impact of the digital and automation revolution

Apart from that, as a Capgemini Belgium Prevention officer, I will also be looking into the health and safety related topics. The ambition in this dimension is to strive to create an environment where everyone feels physically and mentally safe.

How do you see CSR evolving within Capgemini?
Annlore: CSR topics have become more important over the past years, and even more during the pandemic. In the past, it used to be just an additional component to the core activities of a company. Nowadays, we see CSR impacting all components of our core and supporting activities and we recognized the need for our own strategy. That is why, I expect CSR topics to be increasingly important in the days to come within activities such as, recruitment, branding, client relationships, and business offering (green offerings) that we currently do.

What value do you think you would bring to your new role?
Annlore: I believe that my unique and specific set of skills (data management, transformation expertise, delivery experience, and strong soft skills) will give me the necessary tools to look at the CSR topics in a different way, closer to our business model. And, my transformation expertise, will help me change and raise the awareness and the importance of this topic within our organization.

What would be your plans and goals in you new role?
Annlore: I still need time to refine my detailed plans and goals. But my ambition is to further professionalize our CSR approach and bring the CSR topics closer to our business model, while positioning Capgemini as a strong player in this area in the years to come.

Do you think it is important to follow industry best practices in CSR?
Annlore: It’s a no-brainer! Firstly, from a legal perspective, there are rules we need to respect. Secondly, the CSR topics are rapidly evolving. So it’s not about following the industry best practices but rather be the one to create them! It’s a momentum where we can create and inspire others to follow us in this inspiring journey! Let’s be ambitious!

How do you think our CSR initiatives can help us differentiate our brand?
Annlore: In the past year, you couldn’t have missed the strong statements and commitments of our CEO Aiman Ezzat on our CSR initiatives. It has already become part of the key strategy objectives of our group and it will soon become part of our DNA. The key differentiator in our approach to CSR topics is that, we are very serious about the topic and committed to extremely ambitious goals. For example, our mission is to become Net Zero by 2030, although there isn’t a carbon free solution for aviation yet. We are convinced that it’s by setting ambitious goals that we can respect and recognize the importance of CSR.

As the CSR Officer for Capgemini Belgium, how do you plan to make CSR initiatives more engaging and inspiring for our employees and customers?
Annlore: Per definition, our CSR approach at Capgemini is strongly based on employee engagement. We are doing everything we can to make our employees feel good and proud to work at Capgemini. That is why, we cannot develop a CSR approach without all of you dear readers! And that is why, I would like to engage many of you in this journey! I will be available and strongly supporting everyone that is interested by the CSR topics in our company and I also intend to strengthen our current set of CSR opportunities and partnerships. Besides that, we will also be engaging more with our clients on CSR related discussions that can conclude with joint initiatives to strengthen our relationship (e.g. Impact Together Week, where we have already invited clients this year), or business discussion with the development of green offerings etc.

How do you think technology can help enhance our CSR initiatives?
Annlore: As a technology provider, we are the drivers creating innovative technology solutions. We have a card to play when it comes to creating disruptive technology allowing us to answer the societal challenges we all are facing. We need to continue on the path we engaged in, e.g. investigate how AI can help in climate strategy. Apart from that, we also have a responsibility to close the gap in digital inclusion and we need to thrive to create digital solutions that are as inclusive as possible (e.g. adapted to the majority of the population but without neglecting the minorities).

How has Capgemini helped you shape professionally and as a person?
Annlore: Over the last three years at Capgemini, I have been incredibly lucky to meet so many inspiring and supportive people who helped me develop myself and support my ambitions! Without them, I would have not been the person I am today! My colleagues, managers and the Capgemini organization as a whole, always supported me in all my choices and even offered greater opportunities along the way (like this one). ‘Master of your own destiny’ is what we say at Capgemini, and I can tell you that it’s true! I’m always surprised and thankful for all the opportunities that I’ve created for myself or that are coming my way unexpectedly, and that’s how Capgemini is helping me shape my career!

That was an insightful conversation indeed! Thanks Annlore, and many congratulations to you once again on your new role! All the best!