Driving sustainable business transformation at Hager Group – an interview with Matthieu Alexandropoulos
18 October 2023
Matthieu Alexandropoulos is appointed CSR Director in a strategic move designed to turbo charge Hager Group’s sustainability journey. Discover his plans and motivation in an exclusive interview here.
With the creation of a central role of Corporate Social Responsibility Director, Hager Group underlines the seriousness of its approach to sustainability, strategically bringing all three pillars of its sustainability strategy closer together.
In Germany, 40% of respondents in a recent poll believed climate saving measures were the responsibility of businesses. We also know that younger generations put enormous store in questions of ESG (Environmental Social Governance), be it when making consumer decisions or when choosing an employer. However, according to PWC, only 6% of German family-owned businesses have made ESG – also known colloquially as sustainability – one of their core strategy points.
Hager Group is not one of them.
The family-owned company has made sustainability part of its mission and especially in the last few years invested substantially into turning its enterprise into a low-carbon operation. This was not left unseen and at the beginning of this year, Hager Group’s short-term science-based goals to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions had been approved by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi). This was a milestone in the company’s commitment to climate action.
However, it is not only environmental sustainability that Hager Group is putting efforts into. Its sustainability strategy is called E3 and entails next to Environment, also Ethics and Employees. In the end, we all know that social and ecological aspects of sustainability are closely intertwined. That is also a crucial part of sustainability ratings, such as EcoVadis. Hager Group could renew its silver status in 2023. However, criteria are constantly rising and it is becoming harder for companies to fulfil them. Still, Hager Group is aiming for a gold rating. In the company’s Sustainability Report, which was published this year, it gives a detailed overview of its strategy, its achievements, its challenges and provides a detailed overview of its value chain and how it contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals along its value chain.
Powering transformation
The central role of the Corporate Social Responsibility Director is a crucial strategic step to power the sustainable transformation of Hager Group. This role was created to unify the company’s sustainability approach. By bringing all three pillars of its sustainability strategy E3, Ethics, Employees and Environment, closer together the company does justice to the interplay of ecological and social aspects. As of July 2023 Hager Group has appointed Matthieu Alexandropoulos Corporate Social Responsibility Director.
Matthieu Alexandropoulos on a mission for sustainability
Alexandropoulos is not a newcomer to the company. Since 2020, he has built up the environmental sustainability team at Hager Group as Director of Environmental Sustainability. In this role, he pushed for a lot of change in the environmental efforts of the company.
Now, Alexandopoulos is determined to take the subject to a new level. Like most working in the field, he believes that sustainability is “a cross-functional topic by essence”, so it only stands to reason to take the three Es of Hager Group’s sustainability strategy under one wing. We spoke to him recently to ask him about this post and what it means to the company and its customers and partners.
Q: Matthieu, congratulations on your new role. Before we dive into your new challenges, let me ask you one pressing question: What do you consider to be the biggest challenges that we will face in the upcoming years regarding sustainability?
Thank you! One big challenge for everyone is how we can fight climate change and adapt to the growing pressure on our natural resources. Consequences will be numerous on our supply chain, markets, sites, products, solutions. How can we make a good use of resources in a context of potential scarcity,low availability, volatile prices while reducing the impact on the planet ? We are not alone in this; all our customers and partners are facing or will face the same challenges.
But we will also have to solve challenges, like competition for talent, demographic change, educational systems and the growing fragility of our societies due to economic, political and social complexities. In all of these, I plead for resolute action together with our customers and partners in all fields of sustainability: environment, ethics and employees.
Q: What are your goals in this position?
M.A.: My main goal is to elevate sustainability at Hager Group to new heights, including all three aspects of our sustainability strategy E3. Thus, Environment, Ethics and Employees.
I am convinced that we can for example not only make significant strides in reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions, but also help our customers substantially to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Enhancing our focus on ethics, diversity, inclusion, and employee development will be crucial to our business, our current colleagues, and future colleagues. I am convinced that it is critical, especially in today's complex world and that it will strengthen Hager Group as a great place to work. As a family business, we already possess strong assets, and we can build upon them even further. Working with our global teams dedicated to our E3 agenda, I'm excited to drive positive change in these areas.
Q: What challenges do you anticipate in your new role, and how do you plan to address them?
M.A.: There are two key challenges I foresee. First, we need to enhance transparency and engage our customers, partners and suppliers more effectively in our sustainability initiatives. This involves refining our sustainability positioning and ensuring that our stakeholders understand our commitment. We've taken the initial step with our Sustainability Report, but we must do more to involve our customers and suppliers in our journey.
Secondly, we must integrate sustainability seamlessly into our daily operations. Drawing a line between business and sustainability is no longer an option, given regulatory and consumer pressures, as well as our own values and the trajectory which we are on worldwide. As a leading company, we must strike the right balance to meet the expectations of our partners, customers and employees. Working for us must mean working in a place which lives and breathes sustainability in all its aspects, starting from creating a diverse and inclusive workplace to helping our suppliers and customers to move towards a low-carbon economy. It won't be an overnight transformation, but we'll know we've succeeded when we see sustainability fully integrated into our practices.
Q: How will your previous experience benefit your new role?
A: Most of all, I learned one thing: The more you demonstrate the link between sustainability and company strategy, the more you can drive sustainability forward. It's essential for everyone to recognize that only a sustainable business is a healthy one. So let’s connect most people’s natural desire to live and work sustainably with business sense and acumen. This means focusing on concrete data and results rather than lofty ideals. An effective leader is driven by the heart and uses hard data to get results.
Batteries and solar panels for example make people save energy and reduce their CO2 emissions. Plain and simple. Hager Energy makes business sense, it makes environmental sense. Same for our latest acquisition, Efficia. Efficia’s business is about saving energy and releasing less CO2 in the atmosphere.
Q: And one last question: What drives and motivates you professionally?
I come from a family with a strong line in adventure, sense of duty and learning from others. Sustainability is about all of that, so I guess it’s a natural fit. Plus, I am dedicated to leaving a livable planet and better opportunities to the next generation – a dedication, I am sure, I share with everyone at Hager Group and from our ecosystem.
