With the publication of its third CSR report, Heppner confirms its position as a committed company

As a major player in transport and logistics, Heppner is pursuing its responsible and sustainable path with conviction and is publishing its third CSR report, which illustrates its achievements and presents its ambitions and objectives.  

 

The strength of a long-term vision and a solid foundation 

Deployed everywhere Heppner is present, CSR and the energy transition are among the Group’s strategic pillars. A vector for team cohesion and the mobilisation of the entire ecosystem, CSR commitment is also a major lever for innovation because of the constant questioning it engenders.  

 

Measuring, acting and progressing: the key words of CSR at Heppner 

The long-term vision and agility that characterise the Group’s development strategy are applied to the actions deployed on CSR issues. The three areas of the Group’s CSR strategy are measured and evaluated, and the results are used to draw up objective action plans with the aim of making progress. 

• The energy and ecological transition, a major challenge for the transport sector, is put into practice wherever decarbonisation is possible (lower-emission vehicles, decarbonisation of routes, eco-driving training, energy-efficient renovation of buildings, reuse of pallets, responsible purchasing, etc.). The Ecovadis and Deepki tools make it possible to measure and monitor the carbon impact of activities and significant investments have been made with a view to converting half of the Group’s fleet to CNG by 2025. Between 2018 and 2021, fleet emissions were reduced by 6% and the target is -20% by 2025. Heppner has gone from a D (2020) to a C (2021) rating in the Carbon Disclosure Project’s assessment, an outperformance compared to the sector average! 

 

• Support for employees, the driving forces of the company – who it is essential to be able to attract and retain – is a major focus of CSR. The subject of inclusion in particular has an important place in it, and referent positions have been created throughout France, with support as close to the field as possible, enabling the Group to achieve an employment rate of 4.2% for people with disabilities in France in 2021 (compared with 3.5% in 2020). The Group’s training policies encourage development and internal mobility, as the range of possibilities is considerable at Heppner. With the Heppner Progress training platform, nearly 18,000 hours of training have been provided to employees. Finally, the opinion of employees is taken into account and measured via the Great Place to Work audit, the second edition of which, in addition to a very high participation rate (76% vs. 59% in 2020), showed an increase in the confidence index of 6 points (64 in 2021 vs. 58 in 2020 in France). The objective for 2022 is to obtain the certification that corresponds to the index of 65. “This model allows us to measure our progress in continuity, but above all, the road ahead so that the employee experience at Heppner is unique”, reminds Emmanuel Ledroit, the Group’s HR Director. 

 

• Contributing to a more sustainable society, the company is committed to all the stakeholders in its value chain, with a responsible purchasing policy and sustainable relations with suppliers who are audited and supported in their CSR policy. We actively listen to our customers in order to have a global vision of customer satisfaction, but also a precise visibility of their expectations according to territories, services and sector. They are given the opportunity to make carbon impact a criterion for choosing a service.  

Employees also take action and get involved in social projects that are rooted in their reality of life and territory, to which the Group gives its full support. Solidarity transport, second chance schools, skills sponsorship, and long-term relationships with associations such as Magie à l’Hôpital (Magic in the Hospital) – whose objective is to make the eyes of hospitalised children in long-term illnesses shine – are also causes dear to the Group and for which all employees are proudly committed. In Spring 2021, Heppner also launched the Solidarity and Territories Initiatives, to support a solidarity project launched by a Group employee. Marina Dittberner, an employee of the Gronau branch, Germany, proposed a project that was close to her heart after losing her daughter to cancer. Heppner provided financial support and she was able to set up her association L.E.N.A., whose aim is to provide support (material, administrative, logistical) to patients at the end of their lives and to their family carers so that they can remain at home under the best possible conditions.  

 

“Pierre de Coubertin’s words “Look far, speak frankly, act decisively” clearly express our understanding of CSR issues at Heppner. The CSR report exercise is indeed a form of introspection that brings us face to face with the responsibilities we know we have, while announcing new challenges to be met. The progress already made gives the Entrepreneurial Spirit that we defend as our Raison d’Être all its credibility. It is a real impetus in the deployment of our actions, with each of our employees proudly embracing the company’s commitments to a more sustainable society.” adds Jean-Thomas Schmitt, CEO of Heppner Group 

 

About Heppner 

Heppner is a specialist creator of transport and logistics solutions and an independent leader in international transport from and to France. Our robust, powerful overland transport networks connect more than 40 European countries, with deliveries in 24–72h to the main European cities. With strong international business connections, our exclusive partnership agreements also enable us to handle ocean and air transport to and from 157 countries around the world. With a turnover of €950 expected in 2022 and almost a century of accumulated business experience, we currently employ more than 3,570 people, 111 of them enrolled on work-study programmes, in close to 80 locations in France and 14 in Germany, with a direct presence in the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Hungary, United Kingdom and Senegal, and more than 10,000 customers. Every day, Heppner works to Foster the Enterprising Spirit of its employees, partners, customers and suppliers in all its areas of business.  www.heppner-group.com/be  

Press contct – Agence Shan 

Eve-Marie Laporte Tel. +33 (0)7 76 04 73 48 em.laporte@shan.fr 

Caroline Knecht Tel. +33 (0)7 76 09 21 71 caroline.knecht@shan.fr