Integrated ESG Governance: The Examples of Easy Cash and Osmaïa

First to speak, Anne-Catherine Péchinot, CEO of Easy Cash, began by sharing her group’s experience, a company specialized in buying and reselling second-hand products with a network of 165 franchised stores across France. “I am convinced that the companies that will have value tomorrow are those that have placed ESG at the core of their strategy,” she stated upfront, emphasizing the leadership’s ability to drive genuine transformation.

A Strategy Driven by Responsibility

Upon taking the helm of the company, the executive launched several initiatives to structure the ESG approach by embedding it into the overall strategy. This notably involved positioning the CSR unit under the executive committee and integrating ESG as a strategic pillar, with the objective to “establish a company model driven by responsibility,” highlighted Anne-Catherine Péchinot. The approach was supported by the “Enseigne Responsable” certification and the formalization of a corporate purpose.

Engaging with the Corporate Climate Convention (Convention des Entreprises pour le Climat – CEC) further deepened this strategy, leading to structural choices for the business model, such as foregoing new product sales and generalizing repair workshops in stores. “We have all been growth-driven, but in a finite world, we cannot increase volumes indefinitely. This means we need to operate differently.”

This volume reconsideration opened a broader reflection on the company’s role. “We want to help new product players transition to second-hand. Through our training school open to external participants and reinforced territorial partnerships, we aim to be more than just retailers, but also transformation facilitators,” she added.

Osmaïa: CSR as a Structuring Lever

At Osmaïa, the ESG approach is part of an overall structuring dynamic. Specializing in outdoor space design and maintenance, the company is experiencing rapid growth, notably through external acquisitions. In this context, CSR is viewed as a backbone, enabling the unification of entities at various maturity levels: “ESG has been a unifying lever—cultural, extra-financial, and cross-functional—to facilitate structuring, internal dialogue, and clarify collective priorities,” explained Sandrine Martin, Deputy CEO of Osmaïa.

The company has defined a 2030 roadmap around four key commitments: health, safety and well-being at work; carbon footprint reduction; biodiversity preservation; and development of a shared corporate culture. These pillars have been translated into concrete objectives, with particular efforts to engage management, whose variable compensation is, on average, indexed at a minimum of 12% to ESG criteria.

This dynamic was built progressively on a voluntary basis. Employees from different hierarchical levels were brought together in steering committees, which helped “break down silos” and embed CSR culture throughout the organization. “This project created a true team-building momentum to go further,” summarized Sandrine Martin. This approach successfully engaged not only employees but also governance bodies, from the Executive Committee to the Supervisory Board.

Internal Engagement: From Narrative to Proof

At Easy Cash, mobilizing employees and franchisees is also a central challenge. The company chose to personify its 2030 roadmap by emphasizing the importance of storytelling and leading by example: “Positive stories engage teams much more,” explained Anne-Catherine Péchinot. Additionally, each corporate employee participates in the Climate Fresco and Circular Economy Fresco workshops, while new store recruits benefit from tutorials to build a shared vision.

However, beyond intentions, these transformations, which often involve additional costs, must also demonstrate their added value to the business model. “There is an ESG/EBITDA concept that needs to be aligned to prove that these structuring projects bring performance, and in the short term,” stressed Sandrine Martin. This is the only way to convince top-level management.

Hence, transparency and data play a critical role: identifying the right indicators, collecting reliable and useful information, and structuring internal management tools to demonstrate, including internally, the economic and ecological gains generated.

Data: A Structuring Challenge

Data collection and consolidation remain major challenges, especially for network-organized companies, noted Anne-Catherine Péchinot. “Few tools can efficiently collect data from 165 independent entrepreneurs, so a lot is still done manually.”

Sandrine Martin also regretted the lack of IT tools capable of effectively aggregating financial and extra-financial data. “Today, many regulations coexist—deforestation, human rights, vigilance duty—but they are often handled in silos,” observed Vincent Canu, France manager at osapiens. The challenge is to harmonize processes with modules able to audit data and produce comprehensive dashboards. This need is even stronger as data becomes a true strategic management tool. “Everyone agrees on how to calculate EBITDA. On ESG, there remain many methodological uncertainties, especially qualitative aspects,” Sandrine Martin reminded.

Despite uncertainties linked to reporting requirements under the Omnibus law, the CSRD has played a structuring role for both companies, enabling them notably to formalize their double materiality analysis. “It gave us a clear thread and injected momentum by broadly mobilizing teams,” emphasized Sandrine Martin, who urges to “not slow down the pace on these issues.”