Brussels-based communications agency VO Group is taking the communications industry a step further towards greater sustainability with its ‘My Impact Tools’ project. Nominated among 8 other Belgian companies at the Circular Business Awards, Alexandre Velleuer, Co-CEO of the company with Xavier Vincent, talks about the concept behind this innovative project.
The communications sector also has its place in the circular economy. On 14 March, the first edition of the Circular Business Awards was held, a gala honouring the environmental projects of Belgian companies. Organised by the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (VBO - FEB), the ceremony presented the 8 Belgian companies that had been selected from 44 entries. Among them: VO Group, an agency that has been active for 32 years in the communications and events organisation sector in Brussels and Europe. Its innovative project? ‘My Impact Tools’, a platform that propels the communications sector towards a more sustainable economy. In what way? Interview with Alexandre Velleuer, CEO of VO Group.
‘My Impact Tools’ has been nominated for the Circular Business Awards. Can you tell us more about this platform?
Three years ago, with my partner Xavier Vincent, we decided to shift towards a more circular and sustainable business model. We want to make events and communications more sustainable. In all our projects - and we organise over 360 a year - we integrate the ‘My Impact Tool’ platform that we developed. It enables us to measure the environmental and social impact of our communications and events projects, and above all to improve our environmental and social performance and reduce the negative impact of our activities.
How do you integrate it into your projects?
The tool is integrated into our methodology and our work process at VO. Each project manager has completely decentralised the use of this tool. We expect them to have expertise in sustainability and to integrate this dimension into their work, by encoding a certain amount of information that they gather from their suppliers or from a location. For example, they measure biodiversity, circularity and inclusion, sustainable development objectives, CO2 emissions, etc. All this data is entered into the tool as it is collected by the project managers. They then automatically generate a report that they share with our customers to raise awareness of the impact of the activities they have carried out with us and, above all, to raise awareness of the positive impact of their activities and how they can be improved.
You were nominated for the Circular Business Awards among 8 other Belgian companies. What does this mean to you?
We were nominated among 44 projects. I wasn't expecting it, and it's very satisfying, especially as circularity projects are often linked to the industrial use of materials. They can therefore, through a circular process, promote a reduction in the use of resources, which is not the case for us because we are not an industry, we are a service company. I think that what the jury rewarded was above all our desire to innovate in a sector that is not at all circular, and to set an example.
How can including the circular economy in the communications sector be innovative?
It's true that it's not very common. And yet we produce communication tools and media that we disseminate in campaigns. We have the opportunity to think about ways of being more circular in the development of communication. That's what's innovative. And we are convinced that, precisely because we are major players in this sector, we have a role to play in this. We're trying to help the sector move towards greater sustainability. What's more, we're working on lots of new projects to go even further, because reducing the use of resources in a sector as ephemeral as communication and events is very complicated, and there's still a lot to be done.
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