Customer FEATURE ARTICLE

When you are leading communities into a zero-carbon world? Who do you partner with? 

We sat down with JCDecaux’s Jose Sanz, Production Transit and Sustainability Director, to talk about the company’s sustainability journey and partnering with ZEN Energy.

Tell us about JCDecaux
JCDecaux is the number one out-of-home media company worldwide, with more than one million advertising panels in more than 80 countries and more than 13,000 employees. We strive to deliver exceptional experiences for brands, partners, and their people.  Our purpose is to connect brands with communities and enrich urban life.

What is JCDecaux’s approach to sustainability?
We take sustainability seriously and won’t settle for “good enough”, says Jose Sanz. “We look for partners with the shared values and passion, but our decisions also need to make financial sense.

How did you find working with ZEN?
Our team found ZEN’s service outstanding, with knowledgeable consultants.  Working with ZEN, JCDecaux Australia, and New Zealand proved how a sensible budget can achieve a gold standard solution.

How do you demonstrate your commitment to sustainability?
JCDecaux was the first Out-of-Home Media company to join the RE100 initiative, re-affirming our commitment to the climate and renewable energies. As part of this commitment, we set bold targets to reach RE100 certification by 2022. ZEN Energy worked with our team to navigate how we would achieve these targets— developing a simple and transparent contract structure, through the purchase of large-scale generation certificates. ZEN guided JC Decaux through assessing and measuring their requirements and facilitated the process to ensure they could reach their targets.

How does this commitment continue through the business?
We are committed to fostering a company-wide culture of sustainability by educating and communicating with staff and clients through the launch of JCDecaux EARTH. JCDecaux EARTH is an employee-led internal committee with ambitious standards. Collaboration between stakeholders fosters continuous improvement in a greener, more sustainable business.  By partnering with ZEN, that commitment became a reality.

Why do you think it is essential for large businesses to be sustainable?
Any business that isn’t considering being more sustainable on multiple levels, i.e., environmentally, socially, and financially is missing real opportunities to thrive in a broad spectrum of fields. Environmental sustainability is an area that is mired in expectations for little return from significant investment.

Anthony Garnaut, CEO ZEN Energy – tell us about working with JCDecaux
JCDecaux’s commitment to sustainability and societal impacts permeates everything they do.  Likewise, at ZEN, every decision we make, we make with the consideration of the social, financial, technological, and environmental impact of that decision. JCDecaux is the same. This is how we make the world better.

Our vision is clear. We aim to lead the charge to make Australia a super-power in the new zero-carbon world.  The world needs a reset. We want to work with people who embrace our vision and are committed to being the change. JCDecaux is part of that change.