15/11/2022 News

Supporting the local economy with the Etoiles de l’économie

Every two years, Pyrénées Presse, the publisher of the newspapers La République des Pyrénées and l’Eclair, holds a grand awards night for the economic world of the Béarn region: the Etoiles de l’économie.
TotalEnergies is a partner of this event to help support the local economy, and to showcase and celebrate innovative entrepreneurs.
TotalEnergies sponsors the category "Organizational adaptation", a topic which is currently a major concern for international companies and SMEs alike.

Why sponsor the "Organizational adaptation" category?

"In 2021, we chose to sponsor the "Innovation diversification" category, as like all the players in the energy world, we undertook to branch out, drawing on our capacity to innovate to tackle the climate change crisis. And in May last year, the oil & gas group Total became the broad energy Company, TotalEnergies. This watershed moment called for a high adaptive capacity and it was an obvious decision for us to sponsor this category this year," explains Thierry Renard, Head of the TotalEnergies Pau Site, who attended the gala.

On January 1, 2021, a branch was created in TotalEnergies, bringing together all of the Company’s technical and scientific teams in a single entity: OneTech. "This new branch, which strengthens our innovative capacity and our competencies in designing and managing major industrial projects whatever the energy, comprises nine sites in Europe and the Pau Site (CSTJF and PERL) is one of them – it is in fact the largest center: out of 3,400 engineers, researchers, technicians and support team members, 1,600 work at the Pau Site, which represents 60% of the workforce. As you know, this used to be an Exploration & Production site and we’re therefore undergoing a substantial transformation. We'll continue to play a central role in the Company to contribute to its ambition to move toward a low-carbon world, hand in hand with society."

An award-winner expert in the energy transition!

On November 8, more than 300 people gathered together for the grand ceremony that has a positive impact for both award-winners and participants.

Thierry Renard went on stage to present the award to Mehdi Guellil, Director of Kerdos which defines itself as a company, expert in the energy transition of businesses. The jury, composed of leading figures of civil society (and not the sponsors), was impressed by Kerdos’ ambition to continue to expand its activities through the creation of an R&D branch in 2022 and the development of a unique model to meet the transition challenges: an open and independent community of around a hundred experts who hold the necessary skills to meet clients’ specific requests.

"We’re proud to sponsor the category that rewards businesses, which now more than ever, must constantly adapt and change to survive and prosper, by creating synergy between the adaptation of personnel and the changes in their structure. Kerdos is expanding worldwide while remaining loyal to our region; their sense of innovation enables them to take part in demanding projects, while remaining flexible in an increasingly complex world, and staying true to their ambition to share methods and know-how as part of an open-source rationale… Congratulations to them. We sincerely wish them every success in their projects," underlined Thierry Renard.

Listen to the interview of Thierry Renard recorded on October 24, 2022 for "Les matinales de l’économie", a video series program proposed by Pyrénées Presse as part of the 2022 Etoiles de l’économie: