Ethics & Compliance
Equans is committed in all circumstances to act in accordance with the local laws and regulations in force in the countries where it operates, in accordance with the ethical principles of the Group. These ethical principles accompany us all on a daily basis: in the strategic decisions of our management, as well as in the various professional practices of our employees.
For Equans, ethics is an integral part of our strategy, management and professional practices. It is a vector of performance.
“ For Equans, ethics is an integral part of its strategy, management and professional practices. It is a vector of performance. ”
Equans' main ethics commitments
A message of “zero tolerance” with respect to our ethical principles shortcomings and particularly any forms of fraud, corruption or cartel is regularly communicated by our top management including our CEO.
All managers at all levels of the Group convey the same message.
The two fundamental Ethics Policies are:
- Codes of Ethics: aims to ensure that everyone adopts the appropriate behaviour at all times. lts purpose is to bring together the Group's senior executives and employees around shared values. These values must underpin the decisions we have to make on a day-to-day basis, whatever our level of responsibility.
- Anticorruption code of conduct: a practical guide setting out the behaviour to adopt in all situations that might breach the ethical rules and, therefore, our core shared values.
All Group employees are required to read and comply with the Group's key policies, which form part of the Equans ethical governance.
Our core values: acting with respect, integrity and responsibility
Respect is one of the Group's key values and must guide everyone in their individual behaviour, whether internally in dealings with the Equans' employees and senior executives, or externally in dealings with stakeholders and ait third parties.
Equans places a high value on strict compliance with laws, regulations and internal standards, particularly as regards the fight against corruption and influence peddling; competition law; stock market regulations; economic sanctions; prevention of conflicts of interest; human rights; fundamental freedoms; environmental protection; health, safety and security in the workplace; and personal data protection.
All senior executives and employees have a duty to respect a professional ethic based on the Equans shared values, the rules and principles of action set out in the Code of Ethics, the Anti-Corruption Code of Conduct, the compliance programmes and policies.
These principles apply in all circumstances within the three main areas in which the Group conducts its business, being:
- Our Group - all employees, entities and subsidiaries, together with their shareholders
- Market - customers, suppliers and competitors
- Society - communities, local authorities, different cultures, and the environment.
The principles are rooted in international conventions, in particular (but not limited to):
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Additional Protocols
- The Standards of the International Labour Organisation
- The Guidelines for Multinational Corporations laid down by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
- The United Nations Convention against Corruption
We built a strong Ethics, Compliance & Privacy (ECP) network that oversees the incorporation of ethics into the Group’s strategy, management and practices. It proposes ethics and compliance policies and procedures for the Group. It supports their implementation at all levels of the Group.
This network is coordinated by the Ethics, Compliance & Privacy Department and the Group Ethics Officer.
Since the beginning of EQUANS, the ECP network is effective across the entire Group:
- More than 90 people in Ethics & Compliance
- More than 50 people in Data Privacy
Group alert system
Equans benefits from a whistleblowing system available to its employees and stakeholders in order to provide easily accessible tools for everyone to report a situation that is inappropriate or does not comply with our principles or with applicable laws and regulations. This system complements the existing channels and strengthens the Group's Ethics, Compliance & Privacy approach. It offers everyone an easy, confidential and anonymous means of reporting, if necessary, and is committed to protecting whistleblowers.
Protection of personal data
Equans is committed to complying with regulations on the protection of personal data by applying the Group Policy on the Protection of Personal Data, which defines the objectives, means and governance for complying with regulations in this area.