In line with the French government initiative “#1jeune1solution” (#1youngperson1solution), the Fondation VINCI pour la Cité is taking action to support young people and promote equal opportunities through mentoring. Through its support for the non-profits NQT, Télémaque, Kodiko and Proxité, the foundation offers opportunities for Group employees to become mentors for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and long-term job seekers. Around 300 employees have already got involved in various programmes throughout France.
In July 2022, the Fondation VINCI pour la Cité launched its “Access to employment for women” programme, in partnership with Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole. This programme illustrates the foundation’s mission to rapidly deploy human and financial resources in order to offer solutions that are effectively aligned with the needs for social action identified by local officials and non-profit organisations. Under this programme, 10 VINCI employees are set to provide support for 100 women in the Montpellier metropolitan area over a one-year period. As part of this initiative, funding has been provided to six Montpellier-based non-profits that are helping women return to work: Alife Conseil, the local CIDFF family and women’s rights information centre, Développement formation et insertion (DeFI), France Active Airdie-Occitanie, Union cépière Robert Monnier (UCRM) and Unis-Cité.
To mark its 20th anniversary, the Fondation VINCI pour la Cité carried out a survey with the research firm Kantar Public covering more than 500 representatives from local and regional authorities, non-profit organisations and businesses on the challenges and stakes involved with inclusive cities, each stakeholder’s capacity to take action and the opportunities for cooperation benefiting social action. While requirements for social action are expected to increase over the coming years, all stakeholders, from the public sector to non-profits, the private sector and citizens, have a key role to play in terms of social action. The role played by businesses was considered to be “relatively” or “very” important by more than 85% of the representatives from non-profit organisations and businesses and by nearly 70% of the representatives from local and regional authorities. The complementary nature of the various stakeholders is becoming clear, with a well-defined distribution of roles in terms of the areas covered and their respective strengths and weaknesses. The three groups surveyed agreed to appoint the most effective stakeholder for each of the areas in which social initiatives are to be deployed:
Owing to their position in the value chain, VINCI companies are continuously engaged in dialogue and consultation with all project stakeholders. Although public authorities or private customers make decisions concerning transport and energy infrastructure as well as facilities to improve the living environment, including where they are to be located, in practice VINCI companies serve as a liaison with local communities, residents living near the structures they build, non-profit organisations and users. In line with one of the commitments from the VINCI Manifesto, the Group encourages companies to strengthen openness and dialogue with stakeholders as an opportunity and a means to create value with a positive impact.
To better identify stakeholder needs and propose solutions that will be satisfactory for all concerned, VINCI has developed an easy-to-use mapping tool called Reflex. This collaborative platform, available to everyone in all of the Group’s entities, rounds out and helps bring a fresh perspective to the more traditional consultation processes, such as public meetings and site visits. It enables users to identify, map and prioritise each stakeholder based on their influence on one another and the desire to establish dialogue.
In line with this approach, VINCI regularly consults with its stakeholders in the field of social innovation and human rights, in particular through six collaborative initiatives in which the Group participates: Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment, Building Responsibly, Global Deal, the UN Global Compact, Entreprises pour les droits de l’Homme (EDH, Businesses for Human Rights) and Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG). VINCI’s active involvement in these initiatives and the resulting meetings and exchanges enable it to promote joint actions and partnerships, while developing its approach with a very wide range of stakeholders (governments, businesses, trade unions, non-profits, universities, international institutions, etc.). This multi-stakeholder sharing is essential in order to take on board expectations and jointly devise strategies and actions that meet the challenges brought about by changes in society. The other initiatives are presented in paragraph 4.3.5, “Building leverage through active collaborations”, of the Group’s duty of vigilance plan, page 267.
The majority of VINCI’s customers are public authorities or companies, with which the Group builds long-term partnerships – for motorways, airports, stadiums and other infrastructure – looking to develop relationships founded on trust over time. Close working relationships with both direct customers and end users are also crucial, right from the initial design phase, owing to the potential impact of projects on nearby residents. In addition, the resulting exchanges can provide important insights into the acceptance of planned structures by communities.
Group companies implement a range of measures and actions to promote dialogue, consultation and exchanges with project stakeholders and other key local and regional actors, including elected officials, local authorities, government agencies, associations representing users of infrastructure and facilities, as well as people living or working nearby. These include the following:
