Claire Peradotto

Embodying the change we want to see

By Eve Chatelet

Peradotto is one of the Côte d’Azur’s long-standing businesses. The company was founded in 1963 by Roger Peradotto, a letter painter who combined artisanal and industrial aspects. The signage specialist – producing signs, posters, billboards, totems, acoustic canvases, vehicle decoration, and advertising furniture – has opted for a proactive approach to going green. “We are an SME with around 40 employees, which enables us to adapt easily. I think it’s perfectly normal to ask ourselves what we will do for the planet. It’s urgent, a necessity,” says Claire Peradotto, who runs the business with her brother Lionel. Until now, the Nice-based company, awarded Imprim’Vert, ISO 14001 and 26000 CSR certifications, is already offering to print on wood, UV inks made from 50% renewable resources, and water-based latex inks that contain no toxic substances. It is also launching brand-new sustainable printing materials. “Rather than the classic Dibond, widely used for photo printing today, consisting of two layers of aluminium and a polyethene or mineral core, we offer alternatives such as Green Bond, made entirely of recycled aluminium. We also have Green Board, made from fully recycled cardboard. The idea is to reuse materials already available for printing, which we can recycle again. It’s a circular approach. Perhaps a more feminine one,” explains Claire Peradotto gleefully and sincerely. Taking things a step further, she now works with Green Plast. A white base with coloured accents made entirely from old plastic bottles.

An ecosystem where we work together

" Working at Peradotto, in my opinion, is being part of a big family. We’re often in a rush. So, we need to get along well, help, and respect each other. And I think we have a flexible approach to managing our teams. I feel more in tune with horizontal management than a pyramid approach. And this also made me want to launch the Energia collective, with its yellow spiral logo, starting from a specific point and leading to all kinds of possibilities," enthuses the business leader. Founded last March, it brings together players from the left bank of the Var, including Ikea, Allianz Riviera, Leroy Merlin, E.Leclerc, le groupe Chopard, Flam, Toyota and Aktisea. "This collective is my dream, a somewhat disruptive collaborative ecosystem enabling us to respond to economic, social and environmental issues. The idea is to learn from each other, pool resources, facilitate meetings, and stop putting up barriers.” Energia's priorities include Plaine du Var development, employer attractiveness, the impacts of CSR and M&A, and fundraising. She concludes: "We are also planning Waouh evenings to enrich ourselves intellectually: less formal evenings, cultivating a positive mindset and empathy, a term that also needs to be applied in the business world." The next event is at Château Crémat on 6 June, an evening dedicated to creativity in business.