Features
1 Feb 18

ALD appoints senior director to develop sustainable growth strategy

ALD Automotive has appointed a senior director to the position of head of corporate and social responsibility (CSR). Stéphane Rénie takes up the role with immediate effect and will be responsible for reinforcing and developing the international leasing and fleet management company’s sustainable growth strategy.

Rénie was formerly ALD’s sales and marketing director. John Saffrett, ALD’s chief operating officer, will now take responsibility for the sales department, and Rénie’s old role will not be directly replaced.

In his new job, Rénie will lead the company’s CSR strategy across all its markets, products and client segments, both within France and across ALD’s international network.

His objective is to create a global approach which ensures that environmental and social principles apply to all of ALD’s activities, in terms of its daily business as well as its longer term plans.

Gilles Bellemère, deputy chief executive officer of ALD, said, “We are committed to supporting our stakeholders whether it be by improving safety on the road, reducing carbon emissions or building responsible relationships.”

Rénie will pay particular attention to the development of sustainable products and services, and one of his first areas of focus will be guiding ALD and its clients through the ‘powertrain shift’ from internal combustion engines (ICE) to hybrid and battery propulsion.

By the middle of last year, ALD already managed a fleet of almost 60,000 plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles, and the numbers are growing rapidly.

“Electric vehicles do not just replace ICE cars in the traditional one employee = one company car set-up,” said Rénie.

“They also have an essential part to play in the world of Mobility as a Service, particularly in the area of car sharing (private or corporate). A large proportion of our car sharing fleet is made up of battery electric vehicles.”

To facilitate the transition to a zero emission world, ALD is working on the integration of EVs into fleet car policies, as well as the acceleration of alternative mobility solutions.

This highlights the challenge of a CSR policy, which by its very nature impacts on ALD’s own operations, as well as its supply chain and the solutions it sells to clients.

“In my view, the common denominator between all these actions related to carbon footprint, HR, sourcing, products, energy saving or citizenship is that they should be positive, real, innovative – and measurable!” said Rénie.

He added that ALD will dedicate a lot of time and energy to communication and stakeholder engagement with its own staff, to make sure everyone in the company understands the part they can play, as well as building the right KPIs and metrics to measure ALD’s CSR progress.

Authored by: Jonathan Manning