Ethics and vigilance

The Group's values – passion for the environment, customer first, respect and team spirit – are expressed through the actions of its staff. SUEZ's ethics are clear to see through the fundamental principles that guide their behaviour: compliance with laws and regulations, integrity and respect for others.

The SUEZ ethical charter is based on the Group's four values and defines its ethical principles. These principles apply concretely to the three circles within which SUEZ carries out its activities:

• The company itself, i.e. SUEZ employees, shareholders and entities
• The market, where we maintain relations with our customers, suppliers, partners and competitors
• The environment, in the countries where we are implemented.

SUEZ is committed to implementing high-level standards. The Group's ethical charter is supplemented by practical guides and procedures designed to clarify the rules and ensure they are respected. SUEZ also formalized its Human Rights Policy and its vigilance plan.
 
To reaffirm our commitment to ethical values, we are also a member of the Global Compact Initiative, which is based on the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact, and is one of the most advanced companies (COP Global Compact Advanced).

We’re  also a member of the French section of Transparency International and of Entreprises pour les Droits de l’Homme (Corporations for human rights).

The Board of Directors' CSR, Innovation, Ethics, Water and Sustainable Planet Committee is tasked with monitoring the ethics policy and guaranteeing employees' respect of the individual and collective values underlying our actions.

The ethical approach is coordinated by the General Secretary, the Group's ethics specialist, with support from the Ethics and Compliance Department, which reports to him. To guarantee that the approach is implemented effectively, the Group has set up a network of over seventy ethics officers responsible for ensuring that the approach is deployed within their units and that ethical questions and alerts are properly addressed.

> See board of directors and its committees

Lobbying is increasingly attracting the attention of stakeholders. To strengthen responsible lobbying practices, we adopted in 2013, an internal code of conduct, in line with its Ethics Charter, which contains eight key commitments for each employee or consultant acting on its behalf our lobbying activities.

We maintain continuous dialogue with public institutions at the local level, and at the national, European and international level.

 

SUEZ, which is committed to transparency, is listed in the Register of Interest Representatives vis-à-vis the European institutions and publishes a large amount of information annually on the website of the European Commission and the French Parliament, such as the Group's areas of interest or costs related to representation activities vis-à-vis the European institutions (personnel expenses, membership fees paid to professional associations, external service providers).

Continuing the efforts the Group makes every year to increase its contribution to the common good and support its companies in their development momentum and transformation, SUEZ devoted itself in 2017 to preparing a vigilance plan to control its impact on local areas.

SUEZ considers that conducting business activities in accordance with human rights everywhere it operates is an integral part of its responsibility. SUEZ formalized its Human Rights Policy, its commitments, the principles for action and the governance of this policy. Given its activities, SUEZ Group puts a special focus on the right to water and sanitation, and fully plays its role of promoter and actor in the implementation of the right to water and sanitation.