The business contribution is core to Europe moving towards a sustainable future. However, sustainability is no longer about an individual company’s management, but it is about the entire ecosystem and is only possible if implemented through strengthening local communities.

“The Sustainability Agenda Towards 2030” is a new series of monthly interviews with CSR Europe’s Board Members to shed light on key CSR challenges and how leading companies are turning threats into opportunities.

In this first installment, we talked with Jacques Spelkens, Senior CSR Advisor at ENGIE Benelux, about the challenge of fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.   

What are the main challenges ENGIE faces when it comes to fostering diversity and an inclusive workplace?

Jacques Spelkens: The circumstances are of course quite different among the various entities of the ENGIE Group, because of cultural and socio-economical differences. Fostering Diversity – as you can imagine – is more difficult in certain countries with a more traditional/conventional background than in more “progressive” countries where Diversity is already well-embedded in the national culture.

Fostering Diversity should happen through a change in the mindset within companies: once we agree that companies should be a mirror of the Society in which they operate, they should build bridges with the local authorities, non-profit organizations, expert partners, etc. to develop a way of working that is based on inclusion.

The main challenge is raising awareness on the one hand and explaining the link between the idea of an inclusive company and its overall performance on the other hand. It is of utmost importance to show to the outside world that the company is open and looking for diverse skills and competencies. Therefore, it is crucial to include this message in the employer’s branding.

Could you tell us a bit more about ENGIE’s strategy on diversity? Did it change with the pandemic?

Jacques Spelkens: The ENGIE Group is per se diverse, being present and active in more than 70 countries worldwide with more than 160,000 employees. At the Group level, ENGIE is fully aligned with the 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations that were also used to define the Group’s CSR Policy and Strategy in July 2020. 22 extra-financial KPIs have been identified to measure the progress and efficiency of the Group’s action towards sustainability and they are included in the Group’s Annual Integrated Report. The Group’s policy is valid worldwide and is translated into concrete initiatives at the local Business Units level. Some of the non-financial KPIs are on diversity, like for instance the ones on gender equality or diversity at the management level.

Diversity within ENGIE should be understood as a wide spectrum of issues going from non-discrimination to disability, from gender equality to intergenerational relationships, or promotion of multiculturalism. The two main approaches to diversity are respect of local differences and enhancement of partnerships with local organizations, helping the Group’s entities to realize their objectives in terms of diversity, and CSR in general.

This global approach did not fundamentally change because of the current pandemic. It was even reinforced by various initiatives taken by the Group’s local entities to aid segments of the local population who suffered a lot during this period, such as people in precarious situations, schoolchildren in poorer urban areas, people in need in hospitals, etc.

Your company is also involved in the project Business Uniting Talents 2030 (BUT2030), to ensure ethnic diversity in companies’ workforce. How is BUT2030 contributing to your company’s overall diversity strategy?

Jacques Spelkens: Joining the project “Business Uniting Talents 2030” (BUT2030) means that ENGIE is fully aware of the crucial importance of diversifying its resources and its processes. The opportunity to exchange experiences with other leading companies is certainly the main asset of the BUT2030. On the one hand, the project enables us to check our positioning on ethnic diversity with that of other businesses. On the other hand, BUT2030 allows us to develop joint projects and scale up the impact of companies’ individual initiatives into a more collective perspective, in a co-elaboration mindset.  

In your opinion, how can collaboration and advocacy contribute to mainstream inclusive, and diverse workplaces within companies?

 Jacques Spelkens: As for many other CSR-related topics and issues, co-elaboration, collaboration, and advocacy are key factors for raising awareness within companies about the importance of having a diversity-oriented approach, and for developing joint initiatives. Reflecting on society as a whole is key for the survival of companies.

For more information:

Visit Business Uniting Talents 2030

Contact Chloé Ramon

Manager

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