"Sycomore's teams can see themselves in HECTAR's ambition".
Why are Sycomore Asset Management and its Foundation involved with HECTAR, and what do you expect from this partnership?
"Since its creation in 2001, Sycomore AM has resolutely positioned itself in the world of responsible finance by investing in companies that create value in a sustainable manner for all their stakeholders, and in an equitable manner. We support them in their responsible business approach through constructive dialogue, encouraging them to activate the various levers of sustainable performance, such as well-being at work, diversity, equity and training. Thanks to proprietary metrics, we are able to measure the societal and environmental contribution of these companies, thus enabling us to raise our clients' awareness of the impact of their investments. Based on this expertise and ambition, in 2020 we enshrined our mission in our articles of association: "We invest to develop a more sustainable and inclusive economy and generate positive impacts for all our stakeholders. Our mission: to humanise investment". Sycomore AM is now certified as a B CorpTM, becoming the first management company to have adopted the status of a company with a mission.
HECTAR's ambition is perfectly aligned with Sycomore AM's mission and that of its Foundation created in 2013. We have therefore decided to support HECTAR on two fronts: the Sycomore Foundation is a partner of the Maison Pédagogique and Sycomore AM supports the training campus.
The Sycomore Foundation aims to create bridges between young people and the business world. Through site visits, meetings with inspiring bosses or through exchanges with our employees, we enable schoolchildren to discover a world from which they sometimes feel distant. HECTAR's Maison Pédagogique is a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to the agricultural professions and perhaps inspire them to take up a career.
Furthermore, we are deeply convinced that environmental and societal imperatives are inseparable. The ecological transition must take into account the social and societal impacts, particularly in terms of employment, working conditions and work/life balance. Job creation is a key issue, but so are professional retraining, skills development and access to training. HECTAR's training courses, which are highly operational, inclusive and strongly focused on employability, are perfectly in tune with this Just Transition.
These educational issues are at the heart of the strategy of our Sycomore Global Education fund: we have therefore decided to donate part of the management fees of this fund to the HECTAR training campus.
For all these reasons, Sycomore AM and its teams are very happy to be able to contribute, through HECTAR, to the creation of an ecosystem that favours the emergence of tomorrow's more environmentally friendly agricultural companies.
In fact, we have decided to celebrate Sycomore's 20th anniversary on the HECTAR campus with our 70 employees! For a company that borrows its name from a tree deeply rooted in the earth, this partnership has a very special meaning."
