Initiatives | Laure Jarlaud, responsable RSE du groupe Rossignol

Rossignol’s CSR Strategy and Business Initiatives

Rossignol formalized its “Respect” CSR program in January 2020, setting environmental targets and directing work across product design, manufacturing, procurement, and new sales models. The company says it had been working to reduce its carbon footprint for around 20 years and joined the UN Global Compact in 2015.

Targets and Investment

• Reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2030.
• Reduce waste from industrial sites by 40% by 2025.
• Invest an additional €15 million by 2026 in the Respect plan, including factory improvements and product end-of-life initiatives.
• Rossignol has conducted three greenhouse-gas assessments. The largest source identified is raw materials and purchased items, followed by factory energy, transportation, and product end of life. No emissions baseline or interim targets were stated.

Frameworks and Execution

• Measure before acting: Use carbon assessments to identify the largest sources of impact.
• Product life-cycle analysis: Assess impacts “from cradle to grave” and use the findings to guide circular-economy initiatives.
• Cross-functional ownership: Involve R&D, purchasing, textiles, and other teams in the CSR program. Rossignol has placed innovation and CSR in the same organizational unit to develop products and initiatives focused on environmental performance.
• Leadership and organizational mobilization: The CSR lead credited an engaged CEO and motivated teams with helping the company move from commitments to new offers and products. Participation in the French Business Climate Convention also helped prompt work on future business models.

Products, Operations, and Sales Examples

• Sallanches factory: Rossignol plans to transform the site into a manufacturing center for eco-designed, recyclable skis and a hub for repair and second-life activities. Rooftop solar panels are also planned.
• Essential ski: A new ski described as more than 77% recyclable, with 73% recycled, natural, certified, or bio-based materials. Rossignol worked with recycling partner MTB to select materials that could be recycled at end of life.
• Open sharing: Rossignol published the ski’s composition online as open data, aiming to encourage other industry players to work on recycling and end-of-life management for outdoor products.
• New sales and reuse offers:
  • Cosmetic defects: Second-choice skis offered through Rossignol’s website.
  • Second Life: Non-skiable skis turned into products such as lamps for sale.
  • Second Hand: Previously used products sold again.

Next Steps and Business Implications

Rossignol planned to assess the greenhouse-gas impact of its athletes, including the relative contributions of equipment and travel, and then target the most significant sources.

The company framed CSR as a change to its business model—not merely a marketing claim—and argued that businesses need to prepare for a more resource-conscious future.

Presenters and sources: Laure Jarlaud, CSR manager at the Rossignol Group; Guillaume, Radio Mont Blanc host.