For this final episode before the summer break, we sat down with Céline Delaey, CSR officer at Dassy, a leading producer of workwear. In her role, Céline is shaping and implementing a sustainability strategy from the ground up, a strategy that touches everything from product design to employee engagement.
Her journey is a refreshing reminder that change doesn’t always come from the top, sometimes, it starts with one person who dares to stay persistent. In this conversation, we talk about the evolution of CSR at Dassy, the importance of a solid strategy and how getting everyone on board is key to real progress.
Key insights:
- Sustainability can start from any role, not just the top
Impactful change often begins with personal drive and persistence, even without a formal title or department in place. - A solid strategy is the backbone of sustainable progress
A clear strategy provides direction and helps embed sustainability into the core of business operations. - Internal engagement is key to lasting impact
The power of involving employees across all levels to foster ownership and creating a network of sustainability ambassadors, turning CSR from a siloed task into a company-wide effort, can not be underestimated. - Progress over perfection
In rapidly changing landscapes, waiting for ideal solutions can hinder action. Companies should take the first step, however small, and build momentum through learning and adapting.
A personal journey into purpose
Before diving into her current work, Céline shared what fuels her passion for sustainability. A pivotal moment came during an internship in Kenya nearly a decade ago, where she was exposed to global inequalities and the complex dynamics between the global north and south. That experience steered her towards a degree in sustainable development and, eventually, to an unexpected realisation: “I originally thought this degree would lead to a job in an NGO … but I discovered that the real impact and real change could be made in corporate life.”
And so began her journey into CSR, with an internship at JBC. “During my internship at JBC it all came together: my passion for textiles and my passion for sustainability. It clicked. That’s when I knew: this is what I want to do with my life.”
From R&D Assistant to CSR Officer
When Céline joined Dassy in 2019, the company didn’t have a dedicated sustainability role. At that time, positions in corporate social responsibility were still uncommon, especially in smaller companies. She applied for a job in the R&D department, but with a clear ambition in mind: she wanted to grow into a full-time role focused on sustainability.
From the beginning, Céline was transparent about her goals. She saw the R&D role as a stepping stone toward building something bigger. Back then, CSR at Dassy was mostly linked to social compliance, mainly due to the company’s own production site in Sri Lanka, where ethical labour practices were already a priority. A comprehensive CSR strategy, however, was still very new territory.
Céline steadily took on small sustainability projects, gradually demonstrating their added value. Just one year later, she was working full-time in CSR. Convincing the management to establish a dedicated CSR department marked a significant milestone and a personal victory.
Strategy first, always
When Céline got the green light to focus fully on sustainability, her first priority was to develop a clear and structured CSR strategy. For her, this was the only way to build a credible and future-proof sustainability approach, something that could serve as a reference point for every decision, and a guiding red thread for the entire organisation.
At Dassy, the resulting strategy is built on three pillars:
- Circular product: focusing on preferred materials, researching end-of-life solutions and exploring repair options.
- Sustainable operations: working on carbon footprint reduction, improving health and safety, and eliminating hazardous substances.
- Transparency and due diligence: strengthening communication, gaining better insight into the supply chain, and implementing tools like lifecycle analyses and digital product passports.
A clear strategy provides direction and helps embed sustainability into the core of business operations. For Céline, developing Dassy’s strategy closely resembled the double materiality analysis they were required to carry out under the CSRD. That process helped determine the company’s focus areas, ensuring they aligned with both impact and stakeholder expectations.
From paper to practice
Once the sustainability strategy was in place, the next challenge for Dassy was to bring it to life. As the company grew from a small to a medium-sized business, many sustainable practices already existed, but often informally. Céline and the team focused on structuring these efforts, turning them into clear policies supported by data.
A crucial step in this process was calculating the company’s full carbon footprint across all three scopes. This allowed Dassy to move from general intentions to concrete actions, complete with targets and a roadmap. “Before, we were already working with more sustainable materials, but it wasn’t backed by data. Now, we’re working with targets and a roadmap. That changes everything.”
With regulations like the CSR evolving rapidly, having a solid foundation in place provides stability. Their double materiality analysis confirmed that the chosen focus areas are aligned with both impact and stakeholder expectations, giving Dassy the confidence to stay on course without constant adjustments.
Getting everyone on board
Convincing others was, and still is, part of the job. “When you’re new in a company and you start talking about change, people don’t always welcome it. They’ve been doing things a certain way for 20 years. And now you’re telling them: we have to do it differently.”
Céline’s approach to internal engagement is all about repetition and consistency. Every presentation she gives starts with the same visual: the strategy. She deliberately ties each topic back to the bigger picture, constantly reinforcing the questions of why it matters and how it fits into the overall plan.
Workshops also play a crucial role. For her, involving people in both the development and implementation of the strategy is essential: when employees feel that sustainability efforts are being imposed rather than co-created, it’s much harder to gain their support.
What makes her message resonate even more is her genuine enthusiasm. Her energy and passion for sustainability often inspire others, and colleagues have told her more than once that her drive is contagious, something she considers the greatest compliment.
Building a culture of ambassadors
Céline believes that true success in CSR comes from engaging the right people at every level and turning them into active ambassadors for sustainability. Rather than treating employee involvement as a mere formality, she sees it as a vital component for driving real change. To achieve this, the approach focuses on fostering shared ownership and encouraging collaboration, where everyone, from the CEO to workers on the production floor, feels responsible for the company’s sustainability goals.
Key to this success is maintaining a clear and sharp focus on just a few strategic topics. This helps avoid spreading efforts too thin and ensures that everyone understands and aligns with the company’s priorities. In addition, involving the right colleagues across departments creates a network of CSR ambassadors who champion initiatives within their own teams, making sustainability a collective effort rather than a siloed task.
Another important factor is linking sustainability efforts to financial benefits. Demonstrating how CSR initiatives can contribute to cost savings or open new business opportunities helps gain broader support, especially from those motivated by business results.
For those who remain sceptical or less engaged, evolving legislation provides an important external driver. While not everyone may become a passionate advocate, upcoming laws and regulations ensure that sustainability becomes a non-negotiable part of doing business, creating a firm incentive to comply and progress.
Together, these elements create a strong foundation where sustainability is embedded in the company culture, with everyone playing a part in driving it forward.
Balancing safety and sustainability: the circularity challenge in workwear
Looking ahead, Céline remains confident in a positive evolution towards sustainability. The path the company is taking shows that ideal circumstances or a formal title are not required to drive change. What truly matters is making steady progress, with a clear view of the bigger picture.
At the same time, she acknowledges the specific challenges the workwear industry faces in becoming more circular, particularly when it comes to safety. Protective clothing must meet strict certification standards to shield wearers from hazards such as flames, chemicals, or molten metal. This often requires the use of specific materials and substances, like PFAS, which are increasingly scrutinized for their environmental impact. Yet, in some cases, safer alternatives simply don’t yet offer the same level of protection.
Circular practices like repair and reuse also face limitations. For example, repairing a multi-norm jacket isn’t straightforward: only certified threads can be used, even for embroidery, and patching holes can compromise safety. Reuse brings its own barriers, both technical and cultural: a painter, for instance, may not want to wear a secondhand jacket already stained with paint.
These complexities highlight the tension between safety and sustainability, an industry-wide challenge that calls for collaboration and innovation.
The message to others in the industry is clear: don’t wait for the perfect solution to start acting. Begin where you are, keep learning, and adapt along the way, sustainability is not a destination, but an ongoing process of improvement.
Conclusion: progress over perfection
As Céline aptly puts it, “Don’t let perfection stop progress.” Her journey at Dassy is a clear reminder that sustainability doesn’t require flawless plans or ideal conditions to begin with. Especially in complex industries like workwear, waiting for the perfect solution can mean never getting started at all.
Célines message to other companies is clear: “Take the first step, keep learning and adapt along the way. Sustainability is, above all, a process of continuous movement”.