2026: Our CSR resolutions and why you should make them the focus of your events

Noémie Lavergne
Jan 16
6 min read

The team at Château de Poudenas sends you their best wishes for the year 2026! May the months ahead be filled with success, pleasant surprises, all kinds of events, and resolutions kept... at the castle, we certainly intend to do so!

Yes, we too have made some good resolutions this year: offering you the most beautiful events is one thing, but offering you the most beautiful sustainable events is another!

In this article, we explain why you should consider CSR in your events, and how we are applying it in 2026!

What is CSR?
Why take it into account during corporate events?
Our first 2026 commitments in terms of CSR

1) What is CSR?

Corporate social responsibility, does that ring a bell? According to the French government's website,

"CSR refers to companies' contribution to sustainable development issues. A company that practices CSR will therefore seek to have a positive impact on society while being economically viable." (Ministère de l'Économie website)

It is based on several key pillars, defined by the ISO26000 standard:

the governance of the organization,
human rights,
employment relationships and working conditions,
the environment,
fair operating practices,
consumer issues,
communities and local development.

In simpler terms, the pillars of CSR can be compared to those of sustainable development, since these two concepts are closely linked:

The environmental pillar, whose goal is to preserve the ecosystem
The social pillar, to put people at the heart of the company
The economic pillar, to ensure sustainability and durable performance

Accessible to all companies, regardless of their industry, size, or legal structure, CSR is now central to business activity.

2) Why take it into account during corporate events?

As a company, adopting an eco-friendly approach has several advantages, especially during events: specifically, corporate events are both a means:

to strengthen the bonds between colleagues (through team-building activities, an awards gala, or other events)
and to show or reaffirm the company's values to the public.

CSR, which entails strong values and a clear stance regarding the company's vision on environmental, social, and economic matters, will support your event and demonstrate your commitment to everyone.

It is about demonstrating that you have strong and sustainable commitments, both to your employees, your target audiences, and your competitors.

It is this identity, reflected through your events, that will have a positive impact in the short term as well as in the long term:

Increase engagement on your post-event communication (Instagram, LinkedIn, news blog): a CSR event goes beyond a traditional event; it is part of an approach focused on awareness and openness to others. Environmental and social issues are at the heart of discussions in a professional world that is rapidly shifting toward more conscious practices. Communicate about your CSR event, show that you genuinely care about the world around you, and explain what you have learned and what you plan to implement after this seminar: reactions to this type of post are generally higher and create momentum by inspiring other companies and evoking admiration from consumers.
Differentiating yourself from your competitors: the word 'CSR' is everywhere today, but how many truly understand it and actually implement it through concrete actions? Stand out by offering communication initiatives that genuinely carry meaning.
Increase in motivation and loyalty of your employees: the search for meaning is the key to motivation and professional engagement among the new generation of workers. Innovation, collaboration, sustainability... Many words that can appear in managerial speeches and that must necessarily be reflected concretely in high-impact actions, such as team building events linked to CSR, in order for them to resonate with young employees.
Attracting new recruits and new customers: still in this quest to find meaning in an increasingly uncertain world, young employees are looking to find strong values in their employer that align with their own. They will therefore be more inclined to choose you as an employer if you can show them that your company is committed to eco-responsible practices. This is also true for customers, who today prefer companies that care about sustainable development.

3) Our first 2026 commitments in terms of CSR

2025 was an opportunity to start building connections with organizations that allow us to further develop our CSR journey. The year 2026 will also be full of new projects to continue on this path, but here are already the first partnerships that will come to life this year:

Improving at waste sorting: support from SMICTOM LGB

The SMICTOM LGB is an organization operating in our area to efficiently manage waste (sorting rules vary depending on the territory). Their missions include, among other things, the collection of household and similar waste, the operation of a network of 7 waste disposal sites, as well as raising awareness and prevention among users to improve sorting and encourage waste reduction.

For more information, visit their website: SMICTOM LGB – Gestion de la collecte des déchets DMA et tri des emballages

At the castle, we had already made some progress on waste sorting... In our 4 cottages, you can find:

recycling bins
black bins for garbage
composters

Nevertheless, with the support of SMICTOM in 2026, we will be able to have:

a sorting point directly at the castle (project currently under study)
documentation to display in our holiday cottages, which will allow us to further guide our guests in sorting their waste
a bin specially designed to collect cork stoppers, created in partnership with the Musée du Liège et du Bouchon (Museum of Cork and Stoppers) in Mézin.
The collected caps are sent to the Landes region, to the Living Heritage Company Agglo’Lux. They will be recycled into everyday objects, used for insulation, or for the production of boat coatings. In addition, Agglo’Lux donates funds to cancer research – at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology of Sophia Antipolis, in Nice – through the France Cancer Association, based in Cannes.

The collection of cork stoppers at the Mézin Cork and Cork Stopper Museum

Highlighting local heritage: our partnership with the Musée du Liège et du Bouchon in Mézin

We have established an extra-local partnership with the Musée du Liège et du Bouchon, located in the town of Mézin (a village less than 5 kilometers from Poudenas), in order to create meaningful activities about the local culture for companies visiting the castle for seminars.

Indeed, Poudenas has a strong connection with the history of cork: a former village of cork makers, Poudenas was home to many cork oak plantations. Today, it is this museum in Mézin that tells the story of this ancestral craft that shaped the economy of Albret.

For more information, visit their website: Le musée - Le musée du liège et du bouchon

With their help, we have developed several activities that we will offer to companies this year:

planting cork oaks in the autumn in the castle park
bark peeling demonstration
cork-made crafting workshops
sports and cultural challenges...

Find all the details in our CSR activities brochure: Animations RSE - Château de Poudenas.pdf

A room in the Mézin Cork and Stopper Museum with explanatory panels and trees

Raising more awareness about biodiversity: our partnerships with a naturalist and a nature educator

We met two local actors whose mission is to raise awareness about local biodiversity, and with whom we have formed partnerships:

Nicolas Pinczon Du Sel and his organization Faune, Flore, Futur : a naturalist exploring the landscapes of southwestern France, he offers nature activities that highlight sensitivity, such as listening to birds and bats.
Juliette Sirand and her organization NaturAnimée : a passionate ecological engineer and nature facilitator, she offers Nature Olympiads, a climate change-themed quiz, as well as participatory conferences on various biodiversity topics.

We were eager to offer activities that truly fit into our immediate environment: our English-style park, covering about fifteen hectares, is a real treasure trove of biodiversity that we want to reveal to visitors. Numerous tree species, some very old, bird species hidden high in the foliage, and hundreds of insects concealed under a blade of grass, all just steps away from the Gélise River, which is also incredibly rich...

We are pleased to be able to count this year on these two experts who will be able to help you discover the local nature directly in the field, in a fun way.

Find all the details in our CSR activities brochure: Animations RSE - Château de Poudenas.pdf

Continue working with local providers

It is a commitment we have upheld since the beginning of our activities and will continue to uphold until the end: working with trusted local providers who offer only quality, prioritizing the economy of our local area; this is our strength and our great pride.

Our contact directory includes caterers, team-building agencies, as well as event decoration agencies (if you want to organize a themed event, for example), musicians, DJs, and many other players in the event industry.