Caption: Jean-Philippe Puig, CEO of the Avril Group, Marie de la Roche Kerandraon, Chief Human Resources & Engagement Officer, Emmanuel Manichon, General Director Avril Consumer Goods and Avril Food Processing & Renewable Energy, and Mathieu Thomas, an elite French para-badminton athlete being sponsored by Avril.
Initiated by the Members of the European Works Council and the Group management, the International Charter for Disability Inclusion is testament to Avril's desire to accelerate the deployment of best practices in the countries in which the Group operates, in accordance with its commitment to a collective and inclusive project.
The power of its collective structure enables these commitments to be transposed into action:
• Providing optimum everyday support to employees affected by disabilities, promoting their recruitment, integration and sustained employment
• Improving the Group's visibility among target audiences, ensuring regular communications and awareness campaigns
• Developing a genuinely collective culture of inclusion through training and solidarity-oriented actions
In effect, the Charter serves to harmonize the practices applied by the Group's various Business Units, in France and internationally, around a shared foundation. It gives new momentum to the initiatives already in place, while also enabling its appropriation by the signatories based on the specific culture and social or societal features of each country in question.
This commitment follows on naturally from the Group Agreement, which Avril signed with trade union organizations in France in 2022. That initial Group agreement aimed to structure a shared approach, which would be applicable for a period of 3 years for all companies entering into the Avril network in France.
For Avril CEO Jean-Philippe Puig: "Today we are taking a very important step in alignment with our international development, while also reaffirming our determination to make collective progress in the field of disability inclusion, and establishing a shared vision throughout all the countries in which the Group is present."
For Marie de la Roche Kerandraon, Chief Human Resources, Transformation & Engagement Officer: "The charter we're signing today reflects our commitment to our purpose "for a collective and inclusive project." The subject of disability access, which is supported by our 'Your difference makes the difference' inclusion program, encourages us to change our approach to all types of differences. We strongly believe that disability inclusion in business represents an opportunity to open ourselves up to new profiles and new skill sets, both in France and internationally."