FROM RISK MANAGEMENT TO CARBON CUTTING: SIAL PARIS’ CSR COMMITMENT

Armelle Keromnes is the CSR and Sustainability Manager for SIAL Paris. Between coordinating several security teams and finding new sustainability solutions, Armelle creates a smoother and safer customer experience for each show. She also works hand in hand with SIAL Paris' suppliers, who are professionals in the events industry, helping them adapt by sharing ideas, technical constraints, business considerations and CSR goals. In this interview she explains what her role consists of before and during the exhibition.

What is your role at SIAL Paris?
I am in charge of driving the strategy related to safety, security and sustainable development, in order to give our visitors and exhibitors a smooth and conscious experience in terms of sustainability. 

What is the main challenge?
My biggest challenge is to adapt all the scenarios that we could imagine in preparation for a certain number of conjunctural risks, and to adapt measures to all the political, economic, societal, environmental events that could happen at that exact moment. 

What are SIAL Paris’ main CSR Initiatives?
The main ambition of SIAL Paris in terms of sustainability is to reduce its carbon impact by raising awareness and engaging our exhibitors and visitors and including economic stakeholders from Paris-Nord Vient-Denis.

What’s the busiest time for you when planning SIAL Paris?
The six months that precede SIAL Paris are really fundamental for us, and then intellectually they are intense, and it's a lot of adrenaline.

How would you sum up SIAL Paris in a word or two?
Team spirit. The main objective is to align different practices and professions around a single goal: maximising the customer experience.