DAMIEN
CIRCULARITY LEADER
AT DECATHLON | NABAIJI

I am a Project Manager and Leader for product circularity within the ecosystem we have created.

This ecosystem encompasses the brands NABAIJI and SUBEA and the Dry (towels), Aqua (textiles, for swimsuits), WTI (neoprene) and Optics Industrial Processes. The idea is for us to work together on projects for which we face the same challenges.

The ecosystem is built around two strategies: product excellence (offering the best product to the user) and circular economy.

Due to the brand's expectations, projects would continue to move forward, but more slowly because they would no longer be monitored, and potentially other brands present on the market could overtake us and gain the upper hand.

I am mainly involved in the early stages by trying to define which redesign of the product will be the most suitable. Our aim is for all the products we design to fit into one of the following categories: reuse, repair or recycle. Not all products will fit into all categories. For example, for a swimsuit, we will set aside "reuse" and "repair" in favour of "recycle". On the other hand, for swimming goggles, we will essentially be looking to fulfil the "repair" and "recycle" criteria. All of this must be thought of at the start of the product development phase. My role is primarily to define how products can be repaired, collected and recycled, and if necessary to work with the brand's designers to create products in line with these end-of-life processes.

In my profession, there are not really any performance indicators that are purely quantitative. My job is about exploring possibilities, so the goal is to make things doable. I am therefore monitored in terms of the progress of the projects. This does not prevent us from having schedules, with deadlines by which we challenge ourselves to achieve the targets we have set.

It really varies depending on the subject matter and the project. Of course, I interact with my team (made up of three people) on a daily basis as well as the ecosystem's "sports" and "process" design teams.

Apart from that, I also collaborate with other people within DECATHLON who are working on topics related to circularity as well as external research and development centres where recycling processes are tested.

First of all, you need to be able to visualise things. You have to be able to picture the end goal, even if it is very far away and evolves as the project progresses. Secondly, I would say that you have to be very pragmatic, in the sense that everything you approve has to be right and double checked in order to be able to move on to the next step. In short, you have to be a bit of a dreamer and think big, while keeping your feet firmly on the ground! Thirdly, I would of course say that you have to be collaborative and know how to work as part of a network. In this profession, we have many different contacts, at all levels, covering all subjects (retail professions, external companies, research and development firms, engineers, etc.). Finally, you need to be opportunistic by creating opportunities that correspond to the project and that seem to be going in the right direction.