Henri Bervick (SKEMA 2010) has one motto: “foster connection”

Henri Bervick (SKEMA 2010) founded L’Équipée Verte in 2020. Through team-building services with a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) dimension, the business offers companies the opportunity to create or restore real cohesion in their teams while also connecting with their environment.

His CSR goal: create connections between companies, employees, and local-area experts. Henri spoke to us about his unconventional career path since graduating from SKEMA.

How did you become a socially conscious entrepreneur? Tell us about your journey since graduating.

After completing my Master's in Accounting, Control and Auditing, I immediately joined Deloitte as a financial auditor. I stayed there five years. In 2015, I was hired by Oney Bank in internal auditing. I did that for two years before moving on to a financial controller position. In 2019, I left Oney Bank to take up a role as director of finance and administration for Subrenat, a family-owned SME established some one hundred years ago, specialising in industrial textiles. 

I’d always wanted to start my own business or take over an existing one. I made the shift to entrepreneurship in late 2020, on the strength of an opportunity and my personal convictions.

How did you become a socially conscious entrepreneur? Tell us about your journey since graduating.

After completing my Master's in Accounting, Control and Auditing, I immediately joined Deloitte as a financial auditor. I stayed there five years. In 2015, I was hired by Oney Bank in internal auditing. I did that for two years before moving on to a financial controller position. In 2019, I left Oney Bank to take up a role as director of finance and administration for Subrenat, a family-owned SME established some one hundred years ago, specialising in industrial textiles.

I’d always wanted to start my own business or take over an existing one. I made the shift to entrepreneurship in late 2020, on the strength of an opportunity and my personal convictions.

Why did you start L’Équipée Verte?

The idea for L’Equipée Verte was born from the following observations:

• To me, the heritage of the Hauts-de-France region is exceptional, varied, but also and more importantly little-known. 
• Over the ten years I spent in the corporate world, I noticed that team-building exercises were often the same, and the number of “green” activities was insignificant considering the region’s potential.
• My leisure activities are all nature-related and I play team sports. I want to engage in activities I enjoy.

Two elements prompted me to launch in late 2020: 

• Companies now take CSR seriously. With L’Équipée Verte, I offer activities that are both “S” (social), because I foster connections between companies and experts in our local heritage, and “R” because the activities are respectful of the environment. Few team-building activities offer these two dimensions.
• COVID: when the first lockdown was announced in France, all my teams had to work from home, despite a company culture where working from the office was the norm. I immediately understood that there would be a before and an after 16 March 2020: there would be no going back to full-time workplace attendance. Employees are less and less present on work premises and the need for team building and cohesion will only increase.

You have created a team-building service with a CSR dimension. Can you tell us how you came to take the plunge into entrepreneurship after so many years in full-time employment?

I’d always wanted to go into business, but I didn’t know when and how to do it. I very nearly left Oney Bank at one point to start my venture, but I had just become a father for the second time so the timing was off.

When COVID hit, I sensed there was an opportunity. It wasn’t an easy choice, because I really liked the company I was working for at the time, and I was learning a lot there. 

I tried to work on my project on weekends, but it was too time-consuming.  I had to make a decision. I made it in ten minutes. I was asking myself a lot of questions, but only one of them was relevant: “What do I have to lose?”. The answer was simple: nothing. I was still employable. 

It is a rewarding experience. Yes failure is possible, but so is success. And in ten years’ time, I didn’t want to regret not doing it. 

One important element is that my employer was very understanding and didn’t try to stop me.

Who is L’Équipée Verte aimed at and what are your goals?

L’Équipée Verte’s raison d’être is to help those living and working locally to discover the richness of the region through orienteering sessions accessible to all. For companies, this takes the form of team-building days; for individuals, events arranged via tourist information offices.

What services do you offer?

For seminars or team-building days, I prepare tailored orienteering sessions in the Hauts-de-France region, as a fun way for people to discover the richness of our region. What does a typical day look like? A half-day orienteering session (on foot or on e-bikes), followed by an estaminet (regional expression for a type of bistro), and finally time as a team in the afternoon for:

• A leisure activity (e.g.: a game of Flemish boule)
• A cultural activity (e.g.: a climb up the Bailleul bell tower)
• Working as a team
• A workshop led by my professional facilitator/coach/trainer partners

The idea is to combine work with pleasure, offer something tailored and different, and save companies from having to spend time organising these days.

My business is slowly but surely shifting toward event planning: right now I can offer an activity over a half day or seminars over several days and, more importantly, something to suit all budgets.

In terms of CSR, what are the most frequent requests you are getting from companies at the moment?

Eco-friendly, inclusive (accessible to all employees) activities and services that are meaningful to the company and echo the values it upholds. In practice, to me that means that each company’s day will be different, depending on their identity and aspirations.

How did you become interested in corporate social responsibility? How did it happen?

It happened quite naturally; in fact, for me it’s just common sense! It’s simply about being responsible, respectful of the environment, and doing things for the good of society.

What does CSR bring companies and leaders?

I think society has undergone profound changes over the last few years and we are seeing a strong trend toward eco-friendliness. 

Focusing on CSR in ways that don’t involve greenwashing brings companies and leaders respect from their employees and, in the case of well-known companies, from the general public too.

These days, employees cannot become part of or feel a part of a company whose behaviour clashes with their values.

In time, CSR will benefit not only society and the environment, but also companies themselves as the core set of shared values inspires more commitment and loyalty from their employees. To be clearer: companies without a CSR focus will have trouble attracting talent!

This year, you joined SKEMA’s CSR Meet-up. What reasons prompted your participation in this project?

There are two reasons: 

• A theme that is important to me
• The desire to become more involved with SKEMA, which has brought me a lot and continues to do so today

What advice can you share with our students and alumni to help them in their entrepreneurial adventures?

Be resilient: there will be tough times and moments when things don’t go so well. If possible, surround yourself with people: don’t underestimate the solitude of entrepreneurs.

Contact: Henri Bervick - Founder of L'Équipée Verte