The implementation of human rights policy is coordinated on a continuous basis by the Social Responsibility Department, reporting to the Human Resources Department. The CSR Department shares its expertise with business lines and divisions to help them incorporate and implement Group measures, develop risk-mapping and assessment tools, evaluate subsidiaries, train and build awareness among employees and management committee members and communicate with Purchasing, Internal Control, Ethics and Vigilance, Environment, Security, Health and Safety Coordination and other departments. The team is in frequent contact with external parties to address identified issues, answer questions and provide further information about the measures taken in the Group.
Analysis of issues at the country level
An analysis at the country level is essential to identifying and prioritising the risks that Group entities may face and that require their attention. This second layer of analysis considers the relevance of the issues identified for the Group as a whole for a given operational context and business line, making it possible to target the priority risks and implement tailored prevention strategies. With this aim, the Group calls on external providers to establish country-specific risk maps. Risk analyses may also be produced internally by the Social Responsibility Department or through collaborative initiatives in which VINCI participates. They are informed by reports published by public administrations, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, academics, trade unions, the media, and so on, and include insight into the country’s legal and institutional frameworks. Industry data is also systematically sought out and incorporated into the research whenever it is available. These country analyses, which are updated to reflect dialogue with employees and feedback from teams on the ground, are a fundamental resource in the assessment of a subsidiary’s situation. They are also essential tools for making the Group’s employees and partners aware of the risks in their operations, contractual arrangements and partnerships that require special scrutiny.
(*) The 2023 action plan is based on data at 31 December 2022.
Awareness and training initiatives for employees and managers
VINCI considers that in matters of human rights, managers at every level of the organisation play a decisive role, and places emphasis on awareness and training initiatives for managers and employees. The Group’s aim is to foster a culture of human rights risk prevention, as was done in the area of safety, and provide operational teams with the tools they need to identify risks and address them as early as possible.
These initiatives are coordinated at the highest level of the organisation. For example, in April 2023, VINCI invited the head of the Institute for Human Rights and Business to facilitate a training session on corporate human rights issues for VINCI’s Management and Coordination Committee. The Social Responsibility Department also implements continuous awareness and training programmes for the management committees of many of the Group’s business lines and divisions. These sessions provide an opportunity to report on actions taken, present and explain the Group’s human rights issues and explore specific topics in more detail, such as universal social protection, the living wage, or issues particular to certain geographical areas. Another aim of the sessions is to teach employees about the different methods and tools that are available to operational teams to reinforce the risk prevention measures in place.
An e-learning course to raise human rights risk awareness is available to all entities and employees in eight languages (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Italian and German), thus three more than in 2022. These eight languages cover more than 90% of workers, based on the official languages of the countries where they operate. Additional translations are in progress and will become available in 2024. The course, which is specifically adapted to VINCI’s business lines and results from a year of collaborative in-house development, has been designed as a role-play exercise. It primarily addresses managers of entities, projects or worksites, as well as those in charge of human resources, administration, finance, and health and safety. Completion is monitored and reported to the Human Rights Steering Committee. At the end of 2023, close to 30,000 employees in 103 different countries had finished the course (16,500 employees in 90 countries in 2022).
An additional course has also been developed for managers of concessions to provide an interactive presentation of the issues that may arise during a project’s three phases: development, design and construction, and operation and maintenance. By the end of 2023, nearly 1,900 concessions employees had completed the course, which is available in six languages. Lastly, several of the Group’s well-established, emblematic training programmes now include a human rights component. One example is Team Grands Projets, a training course shared by all VINCI Construction divisions, designed to build the skills of managers of major projects and help them handle complex environments more effectively. The Cooperate programme is another example. Both use role-play exercises based on situations from internal or external case studies.
