Diversity and Inclusion

Because we believe our strength lies in our differences not our similarities, Equans is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our work and our workforce. We aim to create an environment where everyone feels appreciated and empowered to be themselves. Our policies and initiatives are designed to ensure that every employee feels like a valued and respected member of the Equans family, regardless of their background, identity, or ability.

Embracing Diversity: "I Love My Team"

At Equans, diversity is not only a principle, but also an expression of our identity. Our commitment to diversity permeates the entire organisation, creating a vibrant mix of talents, cultures, and perspectives. We firmly believe that promoting diversity is not only an ethical choice, but also a strategic imperative that fosters innovation, creativity and success.

Our workforce is made up of individuals from diverse backgrounds, with over 30 nationalities represented. We value the uniqueness of each person and aim to create a safe and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity, or background.

Promoting an Inclusive Growth Model

Equans is dedicated to making a positive impact on the communities where we operate. We strive to prioritise diversity and inclusion in all our efforts through initiatives that include youth employment programs, inclusive procurement initiatives, and partnerships to combat precarity.

Equans France is a member of the 'Collectif d'entreprises pour une économie inclusive,' which includes 32 French corporate leaders employing 1.5 million people. The collective aims to enhance societal impacts through three goals: promoting youth employment, combating unemployment, and encouraging inclusive purchasing.
Equans France aims to achieve several objectives, such as increasing apprenticeships (8% in 2023), boosting purchases from inclusive providers by 30%, and mobilising 300 employee mentors to assist young people in finding a job, an internship, or starting their own business. This effort is supported by our collaboration with the Francis Bouygues Foundation and the association 'Nos Quartiers ont des Talents' (NQT).

Driving Meaningful Innovation

Our growth model is underpinned by our commitment to innovation, which is not just about technological advances, but also about finding new ways to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. We invest in solutions to address societal challenges, including access to energy, and support diverse talent that contributes to these innovations.

In 2023, Equans assembled a team of 120 local experts in Peru to work on a solar project that would provide electricity to remote communities. The team was specifically chosen for its adaptation to the local climatic conditions, which maximised safety and productivity on site.

Engaging in Our Communities' Development

Our concept of inclusive growth takes into account the social, environmental, and economic dimensions. Equans is deeply involved in our communities and acts as a proactive and responsible local economic actor. Our approach is both local and global, ensuring that our teams reflect the diverse communities we serve. With the establishment of the Equans Corporate Foundation in 2024, we will further expand our commitment to tackling energy poverty and promoting vocational training in the energy sector.

In October 2023, Equans introduced the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in Australia. The plan aims to provide training and employment opportunities for Aboriginal people, who make up 3% of the country's population, with the goal of achieving a proportional representation of Aboriginal people in our workforce.
In 2024, Equans established its corporate foundation with a clear objective: to fund projects led by its employees. These projects focus on two key areas: combating energy poverty and promoting vocational training for people furthest from the labour market in the energy and service sectors. This initiative enables employees to engage with the community and strengthens the company's commitment to social solidarity and professional development.

Providing Fair & Equal Opportunities for All

Our conviction is that a successful energy transition must be a just energy transition. Therefore, we are dedicated to ensuring that the shift towards renewable and sustainable energy sources is equitable and inclusive for all parties involved. By incorporating social considerations into our sustainability initiatives, we aim to support communities affected by the energy transition. We ensure that they have access to new job opportunities, training, and resources necessary for a smooth and fair transition.

In Belgium, the Equans Academy coordinates the COT project, which provides tailored technician training to meet our industry needs. This highlights our commitment to job creation and professional qualification.
In the Netherlands, Equans collaborates with the Refugee Talent Hub to provide refugees with equal opportunities.

Fostering Engagement through Active Listening

Active listening is the social pillar of our engagement strategy. Our annual ECHO survey, pulse surveys and direct communication platforms allow us to capture employee sentiment and make sure their voices are heard and considered. This approach not only increases employee satisfaction, but also drives our continuous improvement.

The annual ECHO survey is open to our 90,000 employees, delivering valuable insights to improve their work experience. In 2023, 89% of the respondents declared themselves proud to work for Equans.
In France, we conduct quarterly pulse surveys providing feedback on over 500 managerial areas, allowing targeted improvements.

Creating an Age-Diverse Workplace

Organisations can benefit from a diverse workforce that includes people of different ages. Bringing together a range of experiences, perspectives, and skills creates a vibrant corporate culture that is open-minded, agile and willing to try new things. Age-diversity encourages creativity and problem-solving by combining traditional and modern approaches. It also facilitates mentoring and knowledge sharing between generations. Having a workplace with employees of different ages is not only socially responsible but also provides a strategic advantage that encourages growth, adaptability, and long-term resilience.

Supporting our Senior Workforce

Equans acknowledges the importance of having an experienced workforce. However, we are also aware of the challenges faced by an ageing population, especially our workers on construction sites. Therefore, we prioritise the employability, knowledge transfer, and wellbeing of our workers over 55, so that they can have a fulfilling working life leading up to retirement.

20% of our employees are over the age of 55. To address the challenges of work and facilitate knowledge transfer to younger employees, we have implemented initiatives such as Compagnons des Energies and tutoring programmes.
Equans Switzerland's 'Cafezinhos' programme promotes open dialogue between employees and the CEO, ensuring greater transparency and team spirit. Through structured meetings and HR monitoring that provides actionable feedback, 'Cafezinhos' has significantly increased employee engagement, with 350 direct interactions in 2023 alone. This approach demonstrates the benefits of transparent communication at all levels of the organisation and is an example of how collaboration and leadership engagement can be improved across industries.
In France, commissions are held with occupational health experts to tackle local workplace challenges. External service providers may be called in on a case-by-case basis to adapt workplaces or prepare employees for retraining.

Fostering Young Talent

In our efforts to establish a workplace that is inclusive of all ages, we are also dedicated to fostering young talent. This initiative aims not only to enhance employment opportunities for young individuals but also to equip the future leaders with the necessary skills to navigate the world and make a positive impact. By investing in their professional development, we are also investing in a more informed, responsible, and empowered generation that is ready to make a meaningful contribution to society and the planet.

Empowering people means developing skills, enhancing career opportunities, and ensuring that every employee is implicated in the company’s career acceleration initiatives. To develop its future talent pool, Equans is actively collaborating with schools, colleges, and universities. We are deeply engaged with the education system, with our managers playing a hands-on role in guiding students' career paths. This effort helps promote our industry and fosters enduring relationships.

30% of hires in 2023 were young people under the age of 30.
8% of our employees in France participate in work-study programmes to enhance employment opportunities for young people.
Equans offers customized, accelerated graduate programs in 5 of our 20 countries, as well as Volontariat International en Entreprise (V.I.E) in collaboration with Business France.

Empowering Through Disability Inclusion

Our inclusive work environment also extends to employees with disabilities, providing them with necessary support and adaptations. We offer digital awareness training and special initiatives to promote equal opportunities for all.

In France, Equans holds a 'Disability Awareness Month' annually to promote skills, recruit people and raise awareness with fun and educational activities, including testimonials from employees, sensory workshops, handisport events, and theatre performances.
Promoted by French law, Equans aims to increase the number of employees with a disability in its workforce to over 6%.

Progress Toward Gender Equality

Equans is committed to enhancing gender inclusion in our industry. We achieve this through transparency, targeted recruitment, and development programs.

We launched our first diversity plan, Gender+, which aims to promote gender inclusion and equality through concrete initiatives. We ensure equal participation of female and male talent in our activities with schools to inspire new generations to join our professions, regardless of their gender. We ensure that at least one person of the under-represented gender is included on every recruitment shortlist, and we closely monitor trends in the number of applications by gender.

We also pay attention to equal pay for female and male employees in the same position. Additionally, the internal video series "Breaking Bias" is shown in our key training programmes. We have also introduced a self-assessment module and a gender inclusion plan for all our managers. Finally, we closely monitor promotions by gender and implement measures to facilitate access to leadership positions for all. Our goal is to achieve a more balanced representation of women in all roles, especially in leadership positions.

In addition, with more than 1,600 active members worldwide, the Equans women and gender diverse networks provide a forum for exchange and sharing as well as accelerate initiatives to support women, promote fairness, and ensure equal opportunities for all.

Equans UK launched the 'Women in Leadership' development programme in 2023. Over a period of eight months, it offered 43 female managers (in operational or senior positions) access to workshops, mentoring, networking, and exchange.
Equans France has a network of 75 speakers referents and 31 training initiatives dedicated to fighting sexism. Since 2020, 2,400 people have been trained.
During the Smart City Week organised by “Elles bougent” in October 2023, Equans opened its doors to several hundred female students from all over France to inspire young women to pursue a career in the industry. They were welcomed by 180 Equans "godmothers".

Empowering Women in Leadership Positions

We are committed to promoting female talent and improving gender balance in leadership positions. We achieve this through development and mentoring programmes and tailored support to help women develop their careers.

Women currently represent 18.5% of our global workforce and 18.7% of our managers.
Our goal is to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions to 20% by 2026.
In 2023, we increased the proportion of women in management hires to 23.5%, and we will continue to move towards a more gender-balanced leadership ratio.

Open Sharing of Achievements and Best Practices

We believe in celebrating and sharing the success of our achievements. Equans uses profit sharing mechanisms to reward the individual and collective successes of our employees.

Sharing best practices accelerates growth and innovation. It strengthens the fabric of our culture. As we move forward, a culture of open sharing inspires us to reinvent the way we work together in the workplace and to encourage leaders to lead by example.

Each year, the UK hosts the Best Practice Excellence Awards to honour operational employees who have demonstrated outstanding performance throughout the year.
Equans in Australia recognizes seniority based solely on length of service (5, 10 years, etc.), regardless of the employment contract. At a Service Award Dinner organized by HR and attended by the CEO and line managers, employees receive a letter of thanks and a badge for their years of service. Depending on their contract, they may also receive up to five additional days of leave

Integrating Positive IMPACT into our Corporate Culture

Equans’ IMPACT-driven corporate strategy reflects our commitment to sustainable and responsible business practices and is closely linked to our diversity and inclusion initiatives. By placing IMPACT at the heart of our governance and embedding it in our culture, Equans reaffirms its commitment not only to achieving business success, but to doing so in a way that benefits our planet and its people.

Targets & Governance

Our commitment to making a tangible difference to the world around us is encapsulated in our IMPACT Manifesto, which is driven by the highest levels of leadership within Equans, including our Executive Board. This governance structure underscores our commitment to achieving meaningful progress and sets clear targets against which to measure our performance.

Each of our commitments under the IMPACT Manifesto is linked to our diversity and inclusion actions and demonstrates our holistic approach to creating a sustainable, responsible and inclusive future.
Recognising that change starts from within, we require all Equans employees to include a mandatory IMPACT, Health & Safety and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion objective in their annual goal setting process. This initiative ensures that every member of our team actively contributes to embedding responsible business practices into their daily roles, further enshrining our corporate mission into our operational activities.

Transparency: Quarterly and Annual Reporting

Transparency and ethical practices guide our operations and decision-making processes. This includes clear communication of our diversity and inclusion goals, our progress towards gender equality and our efforts to combat discrimination and promote a fair workplace.

To ensure transparency and accountability, we have established an internal quarterly reporting cycle. This process allows us to closely monitor our progress and adjust our strategies as necessary to achieve our goals. The results of this rigorous tracking are published annually in our IMPACT Report, which provides stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of our achievements and areas for improvement.

Equans’ CSR Policy: Anchoring our Commitments in the Entire Value Chain

Equans' CSR approach, anchored in the IMPACT Manifesto, underpins our commitment to driving positive change across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Our CSR policy is based on seven strong, structuring commitments that inform all our actions and all our activities with our partners and customers along the value chain.

Recognition and Reinforcement of Our Commitments

Although we are proud of the progress, we have made in promoting diversity and inclusion within our workforce, we acknowledge that there is still a long way to go. The recognition we have received reinforces our commitment to continuous improvement and challenges us to set even higher standards for ourselves and the industry.

Ineo and Axima, subsidiaries of Equans, were rated 72/100 (Gold level, July 2021) and 64/100 (Silver level, January 2021) respectively by Ecovadis for their social performance.
Since 2023, Equans has partnered with the Trophées des Femmes de l'Industrie to celebrate the careers of women in industry. This event aims to break down stereotypes and encourage people to pursue a career in industry. Equans also amplifies the voices of women within the group who work in traditionally male-dominated professions or hold leadership positions. The 'Women in Industry' series showcases their inspiring career paths and provides messages for younger generations of women.
Equans France, Canada and UK have been awarded the 'Top Employer 2024' certification by the international Top Employer Institute. This recognises a company's exceptional HR practices in leadership, working environment, branding, skills development, CSR, inclusion, and diversity. The certification was awarded after auditing over 250 HR practices, emphasising Equans France, Canada and UK's commitment to individual career development, promoting mobility and knowledge transfer as part of their comprehensive HR policies.
At the end of 2023, Equans Chile began pursuing certification under "Norma Chilena #3262," which focuses on gender equality and work-life balance. This certification acknowledges the company's efforts to foster cultural change, aimed at minimizing workplace disparities and improving balance in the family and personal lives of employees, particularly through the promotion of shared parental responsibilities. Key initiatives that contributed to achieving this certification include the establishment of a gender equity committee, the creation of reporting and support channels, and the adoption of inclusive language both internally and in external communications.

Diversity and Inclusion: Still Ways to Go

Equans' diversity and inclusion efforts are based on a holistic approach to ensure that no one is left behind on the path to a more sustainable and resilient energy future. We strive to strike a balance between environmental responsibility, social justice, and economic viability.

These values are the cornerstone of our culture and the compass for our actions. As such, our initiatives are not the end point, but rather milestones on our journey of continuous improvement. We refuse to become complacent and will double our efforts to make Equans a beacon for diversity, inclusion and sustainability and the best place to work for all.