Constance Benqué
Chair, Lagardère News
CSR at Lagardère News: employees committed to improving the world around us
We firmly believe that we can help to improve the world around us. As a media group, we have a specific role to play and this is something we take seriously.
With three radio stations (Europe 1, Europe 2, RFM), two news publications (Paris Match, Le Journal du Dimanche), an international press brand (Elle) and an advertising sales brokerage business, Lagardère News attracts 5 million listeners each day, 3.5 million readers each week and 9.4 million unique visitors every month on its digital media. This audience is a way of raising essential social issues. We therefore took the responsibility of signing a climate agreement for our radio stations with the French government and the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom) in July 2022.
The amazing reactions of our staff quickly persuaded us to decide to extend this climate agreement to our press titles. This unprecedented decision is still the only one of its kind within the press industry. We are proud of this and hope that others will follow suit.
Our commitment is currently expressed on a day-to-day basis on our radio stations, in our press titles, on our websites and in our relationships with our advertisers. You can see how far we have come, with advantageous terms for products with a low environmental impact, more responsible advertisements, reports and expert interviews, education and particular attention paid to disinformation, in accordance with ethics rules and ensuring the independence of our editorial content.
We have also stepped up our efforts in relation to three main themes: culture and education, philanthropy and employee engagement. To mention just two examples, our employees have devoted no less than 2,646 of their working hours to supporting non-profits, and more than €14 million of advertising space has been donated to major causes.
CSR is becoming more and more central to how we think and in all aspects of our business. The road ahead is ambitious, but we are confident about what we can do and have our sights firmly set on the future. It is rare that this kind of awareness does not have an impact, both within and outside the Group.
“2,646 working hours devoted by Lagardère News employees to supporting non-profits in 2022.”
Constance Benqué