In order to strengthen its vigilance policy in the face of ethical risks, Econocom set up a whistleblowing platform in 2021. This system enables the collection and processing of reports relating to the existence of situations contrary to the Group’s Code of Business Conduct and/or the regulations applying to the Group.

On the occasion of World Whistleblowers’ Day, the Ethics Committee would like to remind you that you can easily and confidentially report situations or behaviour that contravene our Code of Business Conduct and/or the regulations applying to the Group by using this Group whistleblowing platform, which can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Whistleblowers play an important role in implementing our ethical approach.

For more information, visit the whistleblowing platform or the Onelink Ethics page.

Dear all,

I am pleased and proud to announce that we have made our audio-visual activity Econocom’s fourth independent business line. Audio-visual technology is a very buoyant sector in which we have the capacity to become a leader, given the in-house expertise that we have already developed in this field. That is why I would really like us to announce this news simultaneously, both internally and externally, in all the European countries where we operate, to share this historic, promising new chapter in our group’s growth. 

Please find attached the press release published today. 

Jean-Louis Bouchard

Chairman and CEO

Econocom is convinced that digital transformation should benefit humanity in the broadest sense, that the group should contribute to society beyond its commitments to its employees, clients and investors. Econocom is fully involved in tackling climate change, which is in line with its CSR policy ‘to promote a circular, responsible digital approach for a positive impact.

As part of this, we have decided to set scientific aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions that comply with the SBTi’s criteria and recommendations. For this plan, we will be measuring the inherent emissions of everything that we buy, sell and produce (hardware, software and services) in addition to emissions that we produce directly. This will help us identify and prioritise opportunities to reduce emissions in our value chain. In turn, it will help us, our clients and our suppliers be more sustainable.

This approach will boost our credibility in our ecosystem – especially in the eyes of our clients, who seek to work with responsible firms. Furthermore, it will put us among the leading firms in these issues.

We are at the start of our journey. We now need to work on action plans that we can implement to reach the ambitious targets needed to get SBTi validation.
We are counting on each of you to help us achieve this. We will be keeping you informed of the successive stages.

About the Science Based Targets initiative:

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a partnership between the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It seeks to speed up actions of firms and financial institutes worldwide to halve their emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

The science-based targets are aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions that match the level of decarbonisation needed to fulfil the Paris Agreement goals: to keep global warming under 2°C and pursue efforts to limit it at 1.5°C.

To find out more about SBTi and the list of companies involved, click on this link: https://sciencebasedtargets.org/companies-taking-action#dashboard

For several years, Econocom, a responsible digital entrepreneur, has been committed to fighting cancer alongside Télévie, a charity event organised in Belgium.

Econocom Belux has been supporting Télévie for thirteen years now as a logistics partner for this initiative, which raises funds to finance research in cancer and leukaemia in children and adults. Télévie is organised by the media group RTL TVI in Luxembourg and French-speaking Belgium. Since it began over thirty years ago, it has provided funding for around 3,000 scientists and 2,700 research projects.

The closing evening of its 2023 edition took place on 22 April at the Louvexpo venue in Belgium. Once again, Télévie fulfilled its promise and raised €11,229,081.

But what was this year’s theme? Adventurers! ‘Today, our adventurers don’t always have a cowboy hat and a lasso. But they join forces for maximum effect!’ We do not have full mastery of cancer. Only research helps us attack it and make faster progress in the field. Through Télévie, the resources dedicated to this research are doubled. Each year, Télévie provides fifty percent of cancer research funds and showcases the bravery of patients, researchers and the committee.

We would like to thank the volunteers who worked relentlessly to equip the donations centre in La Louvière with around 200 refurbished PCs. Through this operation, donations from viewers were recorded during the closing evening, which was broadcasted live on the television channel RTL TVI. Technical support was also provided by a team working under Thierry Prete to ensure constant availability.

In return, the RTL group gave Econocom much publicity on site and on screens, including this twenty-second advertisement that was broadcast on the RTL group’s television channels and social media pages.

Watch this video that explains this tremendous charity project.

Research needs you. Together, let’s support Télévie! The dates for the 2024 edition are already set!

Econocom published its results for the first quarter of 2023 on Monday 17 April 2023 after the close of trading.

Revenue of €637 million, up 10.3% driven by organic growth in Technology Management & Financing and external growth in Products & Solutions

The following developments were achieved during the first three months of 2023:

• 16% including 13.6% organic growth². Performance was boosted by the completion of a number of significant deals during the first quarter, whereas in 2022 they were mostly recognised in the second quarter.
• Services revenue (total¹ and organic²) slightly decreased by 1.0% to €127 million, mainly due to the postponement of several projects and hiring issues.

Annual targets confirmed

Econocom confirms its annual revenue growth target of 5%, as well as its target of increasing full-year net profit versus the previous year.

However, Econocom expects growth to slow by the end of June 2023, mainly due to seasonal discrepancies between 2022 and 2023 and the various market environments. Likewise, net profit for the first half of 2023 is expected to be down compared to H1 2022.

Disposal of a business line held for sale.

Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting to be convened to cancel treasury shares

For more information, see the press release in the resources section of this page.

^{1 At constant standards}

^{2 At constant standards and scope}

Following on from our Code of Business Conduct, you will find attached three new ethics procedures that will come into force on 1 April 2023. These procedures aim to reinforce our efforts to prevent ethical risks and further explain the principles of our Code of Business Conduct.

We are taking this opportunity to also send you a revised version of the Gifts and Hospitality policy (attached). This new version stipulates that we strongly advise against giving any gift or extending hospitality to a public official and it clarifies the validation threshold grid.

We are counting on you to read these documents and ensure that the new rules are correctly applied, both by you and by the persons under your responsibility.

You can find the Code and other ethics-related documents on the SharePoint Ethics Page.

For any question about ethics, don’t hesitate to write to us at ethical.committee@econocom.com

25 Security professionals from all Econocom countries and Group’IT Department met last February at the Hub-Paris. Working as a global team, building a fruitful working relationships and lasting trust were the objectives of this two-day meeting consisting of plenary sessions, workshops and team building.

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Angel Benguigui, Executive Managing Director in charge of International and Sponsor for Security, presented the evolution of the group and its financial results. Among other highlights, two key allies of the SX community presented their respective strategies and challenges:

• Danièle Lefur, Group DPO, for Data Protection;
• Philippe Hemmings, Group CIO, for Group IT.

The SX community worked collectively, in smaller groups and all together, on topics that included:

• Security base: the fundamentals to improve our security posture;
• Crisis management: a collective approach to deal with major incidents and cyber crisis;
• 2023 cyber priorities for entities: achievable and local goals that contribute to improve the overall security level.

A few key takeaways:

• Security is a business investment: it protects the business and supports its growth ambitions;
• At the heart of Econocom Security strategy: the Minimum Viable Security (MVS)
  • The MVS describes the security posture that requires the least effort but delivers the best ability to meet current and future security needs;
• Within Econocom, the MVS model relies on three principles: good enough, demonstrable, and collective security posture.

Lastly, warm congratulations to all participants for their active engagement along these two intensive days, and for their genuine commitment to strengthening security at Econocom, as a major business enabler.

You are most welcome to get in touch with Group Security team for any further update:

• François-Xavier Vincent, Group Chief Security Officer
• Rayna Stamboliyska, Security Strategist
• Anne Lupfer, Security Risk Officer
• Frédéric Méchéti, Security Operations Officer
• Marc-Antoine Bertin, Security Project Management Officer

Please find below some pictures of the event:

Please respect the privacy of everyone and therefore do not publish photos of other people on social networks without their prior consent.

The group is broadening its presence in the media. After Jean-Louis Bouchard’s opinion column in the French journal Les Echos, Samira Draoua, Econocom’s Managing Director for France, spoke on the French channel BFM Business in the show JMLECO to talk about Econocom’s business lines, environmental action and entrepreneurial culture.

Here is the link to the interview (in French – 8 minutes) and its translation below. 

A trustworthy partner in the digital transformation of firms

The Franco-Belgian group Econocom, founded by Jean-Louis Bouchard, originally specialised in the trade of IT products. Today, it supports firms in their digital transformation. Here, Samira Draoua, the group’s Managing Director for France, tells us about this sector’s challenges.

Could you tell us about what Econocom does?

We work in three main business lines:

• buying and reselling IT products (refurbished and new) – the field Econocom started out in;
• leasing out IT products and making them available;
• services relating to these devices.

Why do you define yourself as a player in digital responsibility?

You find this notion of digital responsibility in our business lines today, but also in our origins. Econocom started out by refurbishing IT products. So the notion of sustainability is in our DNA. And back then, you didn’t buy and resell IT products to be part of the circular economy – you did so because new IT products were very rare. Fifty years ago, users would turn to refurbished products because they’d have to wait a very long time to receive a brand new IBM device!

How did Econocom survive the pandemic?

All went well for us during the pandemic, even though the period was challenging for our clients. Econocom weathered the storm through its three business lines, which fulfilled their purpose meaningfully during the pandemic. We helped schools and hospitals carry on their operations through our on-site work, especially through our digital services business line.

Our support also proved vital for French firms and public organisations as they weren’t ready for remote working. So our teams increased their efforts to meet the needs of our clients.

One of your aims is to reduce the carbon footprint of digital technology. How do you plan to do that?

Eighty percent of digital technology’s carbon footprint comes from the manufacturing of devices. Yet Econocom doesn’t produce devices – it buys, sells, maintains and refurbishes them. So we can act in the remaining twenty percent: in the sustainability and use of these devices.

Econocom helps reduce this carbon footprint by giving products a second life – even a third life. We also help our clients measure and reduce their carbon footprint through solutions that are effective, practical and straightforward.

Ever since Econocom was founded, it has been based on a culture of entrepreneurship. How have you adjusted to that?

 Like in any business culture, it’s only once you’re on the ground that you can truly understand such an entrepreneurial approach. I see myself as someone who has escaped the shackles of large French firms and multinationals. My encounter with Econocom was very special – there I found free space for expression and initiatives.

The group gives all its employees the chance to take an initiative and bring it to fruition. Econocom can support them simply, for example, in the beginnings of a project, but can also help create new firms. For example, we helped create a joint venture with a CAC 40 company.

On February 14th, Econocom has announced its 2022 annual results.

You will find below key messages of the press release.

2022 targets outperformed

• Revenue of €2,718 million, up1 14.8%, including 10.0% organic growth
• Robust Recurring Operating Profit of €139.4 million, up1 9.2%
• Recurring Net Profit increases significantly to €95.5 million, or €0.53 per share

The full content of the press release is available in the Resources of this page. 

After the success of the first issue, we are pleased to share with you our Group’s new Impact Report for 2022/2023.

As Econocom celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year, our commitment as a Responsible Digital Entrepreneur is just as strong as ever. Complete with figures and testimonials, this report shows how we focus our actions on impact for a digital world that is useful to all.

As a pioneer in the circular economy, Econocom is moving forward in a pragmatic way with a realistic vision in line with our activities. This is why every year we propose more and more offers with a positive impact, useful to all.

And because you are our best ambassadors, we are counting on you all to share our report as widely as possible.

Kind regards,

Jean-Louis Bouchard and Véronique di Benedetto

You can find the report in the Resources section of this page (left margin) or on our website.

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