The 20th
anniversary
edition
March 14 & 15, 2025
at UNESCO • Paris

You have been leading the Nexans group, a pioneer and expert in sustainable electrification, since 2018. How have you positioned yourself as a key player in this sector, what are your main activities, and what are your ambitions for the group?

Christopher Guérin: Since 2018, Nexans has positioned itself as a key player in sustainable electrification, driving progress with its expertise and history in the field. Nexans has played a central role in the electrification of the planet for over 120 years. Our ambition today is to lead the world’s transition to a decarbonized electric future.

Nexans' main activities cover the entire value chain of electrification: energy transmission, distribution, and usage, which we refer to as “power transmission / power grid / power connect.”

My goal is clear: simplify to amplify.

In concrete terms, we simplify our operating model to amplify our impact on the energy transition, our economic performance, and the commitment of our teams.

Our ambition is to provide solutions for a decarbonized world. As I often say, without cables, there is no energy transition. We are at the heart of the third electrical revolution: the one that will rely on exploiting existing assets. We must strengthen our position as a global leader in the energy transition by connecting energy production areas to consumption zones, developing innovative and sustainable technological solutions for the cable and systems market, and investing massively in the circular economy. This way, we will demonstrate that our model allows us to combine financial performance and sustainability.

In the small world of executives of large industrial groups, your management approach is atypical. You developed and rely on a model called “E3,” which is based on three criteria: economy, environment, and engagement. You aim to place the climate issue at the heart of your strategy and make sustainability a driver of profitability. Could you introduce this model? What are the results, and do you think this model could be generalized to other groups?

E³ is the end of silos! The E³ model at Nexans is based on three pillars, un-siloed, to form a unique ecosystem: Economy, Environment, and Engagement. This model aims to reconcile economic performance, environmental responsibility, and social engagement. It is designed to ensure significant performance and profitability within the scope of sustainability.

The E³ model does not seek to oppose the objectives of the three dimensions, but to combine them. It allows us to evaluate all investment projects, which must be compatible with this model in order to be approved. This model allows Nexans to rethink its methods of generating profit by making sustainability an accelerator of performance. Performance is measured based on three key indicators called ROCE to the power of three: return on capital employed, return on carbon employed, and return on skills deployed. To my knowledge, this is unique in the world.

And the results of the E³ model speak for themselves. Nexans has succeeded in all three dimensions: we’ve quadrupled our market capitalization and doubled our profitability in four years, and we have reduced our carbon footprint by 28%. Naturally, these results were achieved without any social conflicts or staff reductions.

We believe that this model can be generalized to other groups because it represents a universal way of thinking. It challenges the old codes of growth and places value creation at the center. It allows companies to rethink their economic models by integrating environmental and social issues. The E3 model is a new management model that enables us to meet the challenges of the 21st century and adapt to a world in “permacrisis.”

Nexans has also committed to the circular economy through an innovative recycling service dedicated to electrical cables, Cableloop. This service won several awards in 2024 for its approach to preserving natural resources. How does this service work?

Cableloop is our response to the shortage of raw materials! It is a turnkey service that collects cable scraps and transforms them into recycled resources. We purchase used cables, whether from construction sites or from our specialized distributors. Cableloop is not just recycling; it’s the future of our industry.

We aim to recycle 30% of cables by 2030. And we must understand that today’s waste is tomorrow’s market. Cableloop is about sustainability, performance, and commitment—E³ in its purest form.

Our goal here is to collect over 800 tons of cable scraps by 2025 and expand the collection and recovery of waste. A web platform allows real-time tracking of operations. The €90 million investment in Lens will enable us to recycle up to 80,000 tons of copper per year.

I should also add that this service has won awards for its approach to preserving natural resources.

You will be speaking on March 14th at the Université de la terre, at UNESCO, about the role of businesses and leaders in driving the necessary ecological transitions. You met Pierre Rabhi a few years ago at l’Université de la terre, and he has inspired and guided you ever since. How do you reconcile your convictions, values, and economic and financial imperatives?

Meeting Pierre Rabhi was a turning point. He taught me to rediscover the Earth with awareness. Today, I’m convinced that we can no longer oppose social, environmental, and economic imperatives. We need a different approach, much more systemic, like the one we’ve created with E³.

It’s this “school of thought” that allows me today to reconcile my values and convictions with economic and financial imperatives.

I can say that, thanks to E³, I feel fully aligned. And these are not just words. At Nexans, electrification is our DNA, but it must be virtuous. My role is to provide sustainable electrification. We can no longer take more from the planet than it can regenerate each year.

We must therefore build growth through value, not volume. We need to rethink the system as a whole. We must have our systemic revolution and build a new performance architecture. For me, a leader’s role is to build ambition and create a vision, not to get lost in indicators.

My role as a leader is not to maximize short-term profits, but to build a long-term vision.

We have chosen to “refocus” on what matters, on our mission of electrification, and to abandon activities that are no longer at the heart of our ambition.

Companies have a major role to play in the ecological transition, and leaders must be the drivers of this change. We must rethink business management in a world in permacrisis and rediscover the drive to “go in the right direction.”

Let us converge the economy, the environment, and engagement for the common good. E³ is more than a model; it’s a philosophy, a state of mind. It’s time to build a new management model. As Mark Twain said: “They didn’t know it was impossible, so they did it,” and that’s what we’re doing at Nexans—with boldness and conviction.