Jean-Christophe Chaussat

D.M.: What is digital responsibility?

J.-C.C: Digital responsibility is the bedrock upon which the Institute du Numérique Responsable was founded. Thirteen years ago, we would talk about sustainable development, but it was complicated. Then we started talking about Green IT, but this didn’t include a social dimension. With digital responsibility, we combine social and environmental approaches. I work in the IT department of France’s national jobseeker service Pôle Emploi and it’s these matters that I deal with, captured in three words beginning with P: people, planet and prosperity.

D.M.: Do you notice the digital divide when working at France’s national jobseeker service?

J.-C.C: Digital technology should be innovative at a technical level but controlled in terms of resources and accessibility. The best action we can take for the environment is to extend equipment lifespan so the poorest can be equipped. We also need to work on digital frugality and accessibility, which isn’t just for people with disabilities. It’s about starting a virtuous circle. We need to work on reuse to create a driver for eco-responsibility. It’s a virtuous circle based on life-cycle assessment.

D.M.: How does this improve the resilience of firms?

J.-C.C: What we’ve realised is that 24% of France’s population struggles to use digital technology. We’re responsible for the digital technology we make tomorrow. Do we really need connected fridges and connected nappies? How can we develop digital technology that’s inclusive? Administrative formalities, for example, are very long. For every activity, we’ve now got digital technology, but it tends to distance us from one another.

D.M.: Yes, it’s about technology serving people, not people serving technology. So here’s another question: what role does ethics play?

J.-C.C: Ethics naturally plays a role. And that role is increasingly important. You just have to look at the issue of cookies being used. Take the example of a Google search: when you type a keyword, you just want your question to be answered. But the further you go, the more your information and connection time is misappropriated to explore your habits. We’re being spied on despite ourselves. In relation to your core business, it’s about changing practices: a buyer of big firms should make sustainable acquisitions. Today, the problem is that it’s software that determines obsolescence of equipment. We need to curtail that. Machines are becoming ever more powerful. There’s cloud computing too: ever more data centres, creating ever bigger energy needs. A Gmail account is duplicated six times, for example.

D.M.: That’s really interesting. The cloud gives the impression its impalpable, but its effects are in fact very palpable. This week, our aim at Econocom is to delete ten million e-mails. We have to explain that to our teams and educate them. It’s vital. So how do you strike a balance between productivity goals and people’s experience?

J.-C.C: It’s up to individuals. Take toothbrushes, for example. Either you buy a very expensive toothbrush that lasts a long time or a poor-quality one that doesn’t last long. The Institut du Numérique Responsable introduced the Cyber World Cleanup Day in France last year, associated with the scheme that’s now global.

D.M.: Because digital technology isn’t palpable, it’s not easy to realise the effects it has. How can we raise awareness of its impact?

J.-C.C: Yes, and digital technology is aesthetically appealing too. Smartphones are all visually attractive. And there’s a social status dimension that goes with them. Having an iPhone can be a way of stating you’re part of a certain category of people.

D.M.: What about the risk of greenwashing? How can we be sure we’ve got the right data? Are there actual control centres?

J.-C.C: Those questions were the reason why we introduced the WeNR measuring tool. We’d already worked on different IT department benchmarks. We work alongside France’s ecological transition agency ADEME, with CIGREF, a French association helping big firms master digital technology, and other players. Our aim is to reach an agreement with experts. It’s about pooling our efforts and putting our egos aside. We’re trying to get a consensus on a deliverable. We’ll then try to get the most-referenced authority to promote the project. Regarding the guide to responsible digital procurement, we wanted to get this promoted by the national procurement division.

D.M.: Are universal accessibility and the approach based on the three U words – useful, usable, used – even possible?

J.-C.C: Yes, we achieve what we want to achieve! It’s up to us to choose the digital approach we want. On an individual level, we can achieve it by fighting to promote our values in our firms. My role is to ensure everyone swings into action and shares their best practices and deliverables. There’s the social and climate emergency too. If we carry on making digital technology for elites, we’ll worsen that divide. You’ve got to be ready to call yourself into question in regard to your management.

Our advantage is that young people today no longer want to work for firms that disregard the environment. It’s a question of survival for companies. You’ve got to believe in new generations. It’s up to them to work on the digital approach we want for tomorrow. Our firms have the duty to share experiences and operating procedures. There has to be several of you to make an impact. One firm alone can’t do anything.

For me and many people in our field, France is one of the leaders in this movement, both in Europe and worldwide.

D.M.: How can we, Econocom, do more?

J.-C.C: There are so many paths, from responsible procurement to reuse schemes. We’re working on a reuse label. It’s a quality label for equipment given a second life.

At France’s national jobseeker service Pôle Emploi, I introduced the REEEboot scheme. I patented this brand and Pole Emploi funded the first operation. An association was then created to collect funds. We’re launching a request for proposals from associations in IT hardware refurbishment. We’ve got applications and panels of judges from big firms who can then raise awareness among their teams.

D.M.: Should legislation go further in your view?

J.-C.C: They’ve already imposed 20% for reuse and recycling in procurement and that’s already pretty good! But we should also ask the question, do we really need – for basic social and professional use – high-performance machines that quickly become obsolete? We should introduce standards. We’d also like to produce a guide to responsible suppliers, in addition to a guide to responsible digital procurement. And we’ve got another idea: to create a commission for communication. It’s about conveying a unique message and helping new developments emerge.