Why is ORTHOPUS taking part in the social economy ?
Our main purpose is to bring solutions to the people living with a disability. That’s why we choose to develop innovative robotic assistive devices to improve autonomy in daily life.
Through this mission, our goal is to fight exclusion and inequalities due to disabilities. Access to quality assistive technology is a lever to improve social and professional insertion: enabling participation at work, in education, in society and in free-time activities.
Our general approach is based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) published by the United Nations. This list of seventeen calls for action aims to build a better world by 2030, promoting prosperity and tackling climate change. ORTHOPUS’ mission especially meets SDG n°1 – No poverty and SDG n°3 – Good health and well-being for all.
Moreover, our strategy for accessibility is built on recommendations of WHO’ health and disability reports :
– World report on disability – 2011
– Global report on assistive technology – 2022
– Policy Brief : Access to assistive technology – 2021
The Policy Brief : Access to assistive technology provides courses of action to improve access to assistive technology. In particular, to drive our work, we use the five interlinked areas of people-centered assistive technology: the five 5Ps: Policy, Products, Personnel, Provision, People.
ORTHOPUS’ actions for social impact
ORTHOPUS officially holds ESUS approval since 2019 for its mission and social commitment. This French agreement is granted on the basis of specific criteria such as: the social utility mission, democratic governance involving the company’s stakeholders, controlled remuneration policy, reinvestment of the majority of profits in the operation of the company.
Here are the actions we have implemented to stand by our commitments and embody our values :
- Measuring our social impact
Beyond the commercial transaction, we want to measure the social impact of the ORTHOPUS device for the user.
Thank to differents tools, we aim to :
- Assess how our devices are impacting the quality of life, the well-being and the independence of our users.
- Identify how to technically improve our devices, make them easier to use, but most of all, increase their acceptability.
- Publishing our prices with transparency
- Taking all our stakeholders into consideration
- Providing positive work conditions to our employees
As disability field workers, we are very thoughtful about inclusivity and well-being. This steers us to build a fulfilling work environment and to put in place :
- Personal interviews, called “Log book”, for each member of the crew every 6 months
- 6 days leave per year for “Chronic illness or pain”
- Salary’ transparency: everybody knows everyone else’s salary. This transparency strengthens trust and creates balanced work conditions.