Sustainable development priorities
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) isn’t just a buzzword: it reflects a fundamental shift in our society
On issues ranging from social cohesion to climate change, preserving resources and biodiversity, improving living conditions, and more, the Group’s stakeholders – first and foremost our employees – have high expectations and are very motivated to reach them.
Colas’ response is rooted in our people-focused culture, combined with our core values of caring, sharing and daring, as well as our close ties with local communities in the regions where we operate, our spirit of innovation, and more.
Our approach
Colas’ approach to corporate social responsibility is based on the dual conviction that its businesses help fulfill essential needs and aspirations, and that they must be conducted in a responsible manner. Colas has to take into account the expectations and contradictions of contemporary society, including social cohesion, climate change, biodiversity loss, preserving resources, transportation and housing needs, improving living conditions, energy transition, resource management and rising expectations with regard to ethics.
Our social responsibility approach seeks to foster a deep and lasting culture of continuous improvement in the field, across the Colas Group’s 1,000 local business units and more than 3,000 materials production units in all the countries where we operate.
Priorities rooted in the idea of risks and opportunities
Colas implements this approach based on a number of priorities rooted in the idea of risks and opportunities, whether with regard to the specific characteristics of its business lines or the need to make progress across all businesses in all industry sectors.
This approach and the associated objectives and actions are consistent with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), half of which apply directly to Colas’ activities: good health and well-being; gender equality; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; and life on land.
Impacts and risks
CSR materiality matrix
Colas identifies and prioritizes its most critical social responsibility issues within a CSR materiality matrix, drawn up based on a number of reference systems. This matrix compares internal data (business model, existing policy, risk mapping exercise, etc.) with various external reference frameworks (ISO 26000, Article 225-102 of the French Commercial Code, GRI, etc.). The analysis points to five broad categories for CSR issues specific to the Group: Governance and Regions, Products and Solutions, Human Capital, and Ethics and the Environment.
Continuous improvement approach
Taking this first materiality analysis as its starting point, Colas decided to use crowdsourcing platforms to give a voice to its stakeholders, both internal and external, in France and worldwide. The aim was to better understand their expectations and embed the Group’s commitments within a continuous improvement approach.
Based on the materiality analysis and consultation with internal and external stakeholders, Colas set out 8 CSR commitments, which were launched as part of the ACT (Act & Commit Together) corporate plan.
The ACT corporate project
Act & Commit Together
In 2021, the Group’s CSR goals were translated into an ambitious, challenging corporate project named ACT (Act & Commit Together), focused on Colas’ 8 CSR commitments with respect to its stakeholders.
For nearly 20 years, Colas has pursued a social responsibility approach that includes the main priorities for sustainable development, and everywhere we operate, our people already take part in many local initiatives.
Today, ACT will allow us to better coordinate, share and document these actions, specifically and transparently, with targets and indicators that allow us to measure our progress and accomplishments. It must also bring all the Group’s stakeholders on board and empower them to take action.
Governance
The CSR Department is responsible for implementing and overseeing the ACT corporate plan. Each CSR commitment is headed by a commitment leader who coordinates the roadmap in collaboration with local facilitators within the operational units. Each business unit is then responsible for implementing actions and tracking their progress.
All of Colas’ teams worldwide are fully engaged and committed to achieving the eight CSR commitments made by the Group.
