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"Thanks to GCI, I'm able to offer a greenhouse gas emissions assessment as part of my service offering."

🎤 Interview with Barbara Thocquenne, independent CSR consultant, founder of BThConseil, and GCI-accredited expert since 2020.

Can you tell us about your business?

I have been an independent CSR consultant since the end of 2019. I offer consultancy, training and CSR services: implementation of an approach, support in obtaining certification, blank audits, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions assessments, CSR report writing, for example.

How did you discover GCI?

I launched my business at the end of 2019, and took advantage of the confinement to acquire new skills. At the time, the GHG emissions balance sheet was not yet so democratized or mandatory, but it was an interesting indicator that complemented the CSR approach. I discovered GCI through an internet search.

What convinced you to apply as an expert?

I found the path to becoming an expert very straightforward. Mr. Mangeard, the founder, was very accessible and I really liked his approach to democratizing the greenhouse gas balance. Last but not least, there was the possibility of doing it by videoconference (necessary at the time of COVID). I seized the opportunity to complete my consulting offer.

What does GCI bring to your business?

In its early days, Bilan Carbone® was a simple indicator. Today, it is systematically requested and forms an integral part of a CSR approach.

Competitors offer a balance sheet for between €8,000 and €12,000.

Thanks to GCI, I'm able to offer it as part of my range of services, which makes several things possible:

The customer perceives the Bilan as a gift : I prefer this option to a discount on my fees, which would suggest that the implementation of a CSR approach can be done on the cheap!
In this way, customers often opt for the complete solution rather than simply carrying out a GHG emissions audit, which enables them to embark on a genuine, in-depth and comprehensive transition process.
Customers remain loyal to the GCI platform for the same reasons as me: reasonable cost, user-friendliness, responsive support...

The Bilan Carbone® is indispensable, but not sufficient for a complete CSR transition, and the fact that I can include it in my offer makes it a real lever to encourage customers to go all the way with their societal approach, which investigates many other environmental and social impacts.

What does GCI have that other platforms don't?

The platform's major strengths are manifold:

The low costs I mentioned earlier make the platform accessible. Nothing is imposed, you can choose à la carte formulas, everything is detailed, you can see exactly what you're buying, and you buy what you need.

The support team is very responsive to technical questions, and the support provided during training is also much appreciated.

Above all, as a user, you have everything under control. You can configure your input mask (perimeter and emission factors) without having to go through support, without having to pay again, without wasting time and without intermediaries. A company lives and moves: subsidiaries are opened or closed, activities are bought or sold, which inevitably has an annual impact on the perimeter to be considered when calculating the carbon footprint. Not to mention the fact that more and more companies are calculating the carbon footprint of their products: emission factors are becoming increasingly refined. Having control over these fundamental parameters and being able to work independently of the medium is very useful. This is not possible on all platforms.

Last but not least, I appreciate the monthly expert meetings, to keep abreast of the latest developments on the platform.

Do you have any examples for comparison?

I'm working with another platform for an international group, which is carrying out the Bilan Carbone® of its IT department using this other tool.

The IT department was very committed and quickly implemented reduction actions, but these were not really reflected in the N+1 calculations: the emission factors in the Empreinte® database, most of which are used by this platform, are few in number and highly uncertain for IT workstations. So, for assets, I looked for these factors directly from suppliers.
The scope also changes regularly: subsidiaries are opened and closed.

I therefore had to revise all the parameters (the mask) of the calculations to highlight the efforts made and pilot the low-carbon trajectory in a more refined way. This was impossible without going through the support team, which of course invoiced the customer for its services...
I wasted time. My customer needed figures quickly, so I produced the Bilan Carbone® on an Excel file...
With GCI, I could have modified everything independently, free of charge, and obtained the figures on time.

Do you have any examples of how your customers have used the platform?

One of my customers, My Event Agency, is an events agency. They now systematically calculate the Carbone® footprint of the events they organize. It's a great strength for them, and a differentiating factor, to be able to provide their customers with this assessment and make recommendations for reductions.