Industry:
Cosmetics
Field:
ESG
Location:
France
« Dimension has enabled us to make the directive easier to understand, to structure our approach and to work more effectively with all our stakeholders.»
Marie Thomas, CSR Manager - Groupe Rocher
As the creator of Plant-Based Cosmetics®, the Rocher Group has been using its expertise for over 60 years to create high-quality, effective products for everyone. The group brings together companies which all share an eco-citizen approach and the preservation of biodiversity.
In keeping with its long-standing environmental and social commitments, the Groupe Rocher has chosen to anticipate and structure its efforts to comply with the CSRD directive. Thanks to its in-house CSR expertise and the Dimension portal offered by VPWhite the Group is building a gradual, agile compliance path that reflects the realities of its businesses.
In this testimonial, Marie Thomas, CSR Manager, talks about the context, choices and concrete benefits associated with using Dimension to manage their extra-financial transformation process.
In keeping with its long-standing environmental and social commitments, the Groupe Rocher has chosen to anticipate and structure its efforts to comply with the CSRD directive. Thanks to its in-house CSR expertise and the Dimension portal offered by VPWhite the Group is building a gradual, agile compliance path that reflects the realities of its businesses.
In this testimonial, Marie Thomas, CSR Manager, talks about the context, choices and concrete benefits associated with using Dimension to manage their extra-financial transformation process.
Hello Marie Thomas, could you introduce yourself in a few words and explain your role within the Groupe Rocher, particularly in relation to ESG issues and the CSRD directive?
Marie Thomas - I've been CSR Manager for the Rocher Group for a year and a half. My remit covers the management of the Group's CSR strategy through the implementation of our biodiversity policy, the transformation of our product portfolio, and the Group's regulatory compliance from an extra-financial point of view. As such, I am also responsible for monitoring and managing the Group's compliance with the CSRD directive.
How did you approach the arrival of the CSRD directive, understanding the regulations and the impact on your organisation?
Even though we are not affected by the first wave of application, we wanted to anticipate the requirements of the CSRD, thanks to the skills and expertise of our in-house teams in reading, analysing and understanding the content and requirements of the regulations.
We carried out a rapid impact assessment by business line and department to identify internal and external levers for improvement as part of our preparations for the implementation of the CSRD.
We carried out a rapid impact assessment by business line and department to identify internal and external levers for improvement as part of our preparations for the implementation of the CSRD.
How did the decision come about to equip yourself to support project teams in implementing the CSRD project?
The central CSR team, already hard-pressed, needed operational support to facilitate the analysis and implementation of this new directive.
We opted for the Dimension portal, offered by VPWhite, with whom we were already working on our extra-financial reporting. The aim was to :
This portal has provided a clear breakdown of the directive and made it easier to understand the business challenges. On the other hand, certain functionalities, such as planning and task allocation, were not used, as they were not compatible with our internal operations and organisation.
We opted for the Dimension portal, offered by VPWhite, with whom we were already working on our extra-financial reporting. The aim was to :
- Make the standard easier to read and understand,
- Offer educational support to central teams,
- Structuring the analysis of datapoints associated with ESRS,
- Facilitate exchanges with the brands' and business lines' CSR officers,
- Complete autonomy and methodological support, so that you don't need to call on the services of a consultancy firm.
This portal has provided a clear breakdown of the directive and made it easier to understand the business challenges. On the other hand, certain functionalities, such as planning and task allocation, were not used, as they were not compatible with our internal operations and organisation.
What led you to choose the Dimension portal offered by VPWhite? And how did the deployment of the portal go within the Groupe Rocher?
We were already working with VPWhite on our CSR reporting. So it seemed logical to continue working with the Dimension portal.
Deployment was rapid and the tool is easy to use. Four members of the central CSR team use it on a daily basis to manage compliance and then distribute the allocation of predefined projects to our internal contributors.
Deployment was rapid and the tool is easy to use. Four members of the central CSR team use it on a daily basis to manage compliance and then distribute the allocation of predefined projects to our internal contributors.
How has Dimension helped to structure your internal organisation around the issues governance, stakeholders, roles, validation process, etc. and the CSRD process? Have you seen an improvement in collaboration between the various stakeholders?
One of the major benefits of Dimension is its ability to simplify the standard and identify the tasks to be allocated to each of our business lines. The portal has enabled us to :
- Formulate clear, structured requests to contributors,
- Translate the standard into language that employees can understand,
- Develop turnkey compliance plans,
- Provide central methodological support for all stakeholders.
Following your Gap Analysis, were you able to capitalise on these results to build or adjust your CSRD roadmap?
The Gap Analysis carried out with Dimension was an essential element in our organisation. Not only did it enable us to objectivise our gaps in relation to CSRD requirements, but it also enabled us to build a precise, pragmatic and motivating roadmap.Thanks to the visual structuring of the results, we were able to :
Exploiting the results of the Gap Analysis, combined with our DMA (Double Materiality Analysis), has therefore been decisive in going beyond a simple regulatory diagnosis and ensuring the steering of our sustainable transformation. The Dimension portal has provided us with a consolidated and usable vision, which we have integrated into our steering bodies.
- Effectively raising the awareness of our Executive Committee, by making critical gaps visible and clearly illustrating the efforts required to remedy them,
- Prioritise our actions according to three key criteria: mandatory, strategic and accessible information,
- Build a 3-year compliance plan with a gradual roll-out, starting with qualitative elements (governance and CSR strategy) and then adjusting existing data repositories to meet quantitative requirements.
Exploiting the results of the Gap Analysis, combined with our DMA (Double Materiality Analysis), has therefore been decisive in going beyond a simple regulatory diagnosis and ensuring the steering of our sustainable transformation. The Dimension portal has provided us with a consolidated and usable vision, which we have integrated into our steering bodies.
What do you see as the main tangible benefits of the Dimension tool?
The Dimension portal has brought us benefits on several levels, right from the very first weeks of use. Firstly, it has enabled our central CSR team to save precious time in analysing and understanding the regulatory texts. Browsing the directive, prioritising the requirements and linking to the ESRS datapoints are intuitive and well thought out.
Other key benefits include
Finally, the economic aspect is not to be overlooked: by internalising this Gap Analysis phase with Dimension, we have achieved significant economies of scale. By using the tool, we were able to significantly reduce the costs we would have had to incur with consulting firms, while retaining control of the project internally.
Other key benefits include
- Effective popularisation of the regulatory content, making it easier for contributors to sign up and speeding up internal distribution,
- Une visualisation claire de l’état d’avancement de notre mise en conformité, via des tableaux de bord simples et compréhensifs,
- Une priorisation des efforts fondée sur des données concrètes, permettant d’économiser les ressources sur les enjeux majeurs, sans nous disperser.
Finally, the economic aspect is not to be overlooked: by internalising this Gap Analysis phase with Dimension, we have achieved significant economies of scale. By using the tool, we were able to significantly reduce the costs we would have had to incur with consulting firms, while retaining control of the project internally.
How has the tool been received by internal stakeholders (business contributors, other departments, etc.)? What levers have enabled the tool to be successfully adopted internally?
The ease of use and the clarity of the functionalities largely contributed to the acceptance of the users at central level. We were able to quickly distribute the action plans to the business stakeholders. The tool's autonomy also played a key role in its adoption.
Finally, what are the next steps for the Groupe Rocher in relation to the CSRD directive?
We are pursuing compliance with a three-year trajectory structured around centralised management of qualitative data, the gradual adaptation of our quantitative data and, ultimately, the development of our current digital tools so that they are fully aligned with the ESG data collection process and CSRD requirements.
ESG 
EHS 
LEGAL 
REM 
GRC
PERFO
