A Group mechanism open to all
How it works
As part of the application of the Sapin 2 law and the law on the duty of vigilance, the Group has strengthened its alert system by deploying a new alert system common to the entire Group and has defined a new policy on whistleblowers. This system is open to all employees, permanent or temporary, as well as to all its external stakeholders since January 2019 and covers all due diligence issues (linked to the Group's ethical commitments).
In order to ensure the confidentiality of information and even anonymity when required by regulations, requests are initially received by a recognised service provider guaranteeing the requirements of the whistleblowers policy, which relays the alerts to the Group Ethics Department.
Number of alerts
In 2020, 201 alerts were received via the system, 50 of which concern subjects related to the duty of vigilance. They relate to:
| Allegations of sexual harassment | Interpersonal relations between employees | Allegations of discrimination | Questions related to the environment and the rights of communities |
| 23 | 13 | 13 | 1 |
You wish to alert us to facts related to our activities which you consider to be contrary to human rights, the health and safety of people or the environment?
Please use the ENGIE alert system
Grievance mechanisms at the operational level
At local level, and depending on the risks they have identified, the entities must, in accordance with the human rights policy, implement appropriate mechanisms at operational level to enable anyone who feels they have been harmed by the Group's activities to report it. In addition, the Group's policy of dialogue with stakeholders makes it possible to identify risks while providing the means to prevent, reduce or offset the various social, societal and environmental impacts of the Group's activities. The 2020 target of 100% of industrial activities covered by an appropriate dialogue and consultation mechanism has been achieved. As of 2021, societal plans will be deployed on an expanded scope of services, projects and sites undergoing dismantling.
Progress
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The plan is based on a new common alert system for the entire Group deployed in 2018.
In 2020, the majority of duty of vigilance alerts concerned allegations of moral and sexual harassment. Measures to combat harassment are described in the operational implementation progress part of the human rights approach.
Mechanisms for managing complaints from external stakeholders are also put in place by the entities. Deployment is progressive within the Group (approximately 68% of the Group's entities have local grievance mechanisms in place).
For the Africa BU, for example, local complaints mechanisms are based mainly on the Group's whistleblowing system, which is known to local employees. Some sites in South Africa also have liaison officers who are a point of contact for dialogue with local communities. Communication of these mechanisms has been very effective internally thanks to ethics training and general communication to ensure that the people in charge of a project are aware of the existence of the mechanism. The focus on external stakeholders has been a key step in the 2020-2021 action plan in coordination with the CSR team to formalize effective communication towards external stakeholders, especially in North and South Africa.
The APAC Business Unit relies on the grievance mechanism set up by CSR for all new projects.
The UK BU has its own anonymous whistleblowing hotlines (in addition to the Group hotlines) for raising complaints (both for employees and external parties) as well as an ethics and compliance email address.
The existence of local and Group-level grievance mechanisms has been widely communicated to external stakeholders.