Bouygues Group

No leading practices were identified in the governance and strategy area.

Invasive species
The company is aware of invasive species as a problem derived from its construction activities. While it performs local species inventories at their sites, it should disclose more on its preventive measures.

No leading practices were identified in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
While Bouygues Group discloses a materiality matrix, it does not report group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain according to the SBTN Sectoral Materiality Tool. The company also does not report consistently and directly against all its targets such as its climate ones. While both the annual variable remuneration and long-term variable remuneration are linked to gender and climate objectives, it is unclear if they constitute targets. Moreover, the company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
While Bouygues Group discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups, it has an opportunity to disclose an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities as well as the outcomes of its stakeholder engagement activities beyond its materiality matrix.

Lobbying
Bouygues Group does not disclose a list of trade associations of which it is a member. The company also has an opportunity to disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies and report (potential) misalignment between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
While Bouygues Group has set a group-wide committee in 2021 to identify the impacts of the Group’s businesses on biodiversity, no detailed assessment of its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, within its own operations could be found in the public domain. Furthermore, while the company aims to reduce upstream pressure by adopting more responsible purchasing practices, no further evidence that the company assesses its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, in the upstream activities of its value chain could be found in the public domain. The company also does not disclose any assessment of its dependencies on nature within its own operations nor in the locations of its upstream business relationships.

Key areas and species
While the company states its construction businesses operate in priority sectors of France’s National biodiversity strategy, no evidence that the company discloses the locations that are in or adjacent to areas important to biodiversity within its own operations could be found in the public domain. The company also does not disclose the locations of its suppliers that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity. Bouygues Group discloses examples of species near its operations but it has an opportunity to disclose all species existing in or adjacent to its own locations and those of its suppliers. Furthermore, the company does not disclose the status according to national and international conservation lists of species identified in its own locations.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
Bouygues Group does not disclose a commitment to ensure zero conversion. The company has an opportunity to disclose time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. However, the company has a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion and discloses some activities to minimise ecosystem conversion. Furthermore, while Bouygues Group discloses details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects, no evidence could be found suggesting the actions taken are coupled to the actual ecosystem impacts the company had.

Resource exploitation and circularity
Bouygues Group does not disclose its inputs, including its material footprint. The company does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. While the company discloses activities to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices, it has an opportunity to disclose a target to improve soil health.

Water
No evidence that Bouygues Group reduces water withdrawal across the company’s own operations was found. The company has a strong opportunity to disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations as well as to report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. The company also does not show how it engages with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. Bouygues Group does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality nor does it regularly report on water pollution. The company has an opportunity to disclose targets to reduce water pollution as well as a commitment to respect the right to water. Furthermore, the company does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
No evidence that Bouygues Group is reducing the production of hazardous waste was found in the public domain. The company also does not report on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants and has an opportunity to set a time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
No evidence that Bouygues Group reduces its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions was found. While the company has a time-bound target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions and provides some information, no evidence that it reports directly against its targets could be found in the public domain. The company also has an opportunity to set a scope 1 and 2 emissions target aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found. Furthermore, while Bouygues Group has a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions, the company does not report progress against its scope 3 emissions target.

Invasive species 
No evidence was found that the company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of IAS in its value chain.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
Bouygues Group does not disclose a commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

While the company discloses that it conducts due diligence in general, it has an opportunity to specify that it conducts human rights due diligence that includes a process for identifying human rights risks and impacts through its business relationships. The company’s construction purchasing has taken three actions in response to issues involving human rights and fundamental freedoms, health and safety and the environment. Also, it has conducted social audits of suppliers and subcontractors and assessed the areas i.e. child labour, forced labour, recruitment compliance, health and safety, freedom of association, discrimination, disciplinary practices, working hours, pay and benefits, working environment, compliance and anticorruption control, however, it does not describe its process(es) for assessing its human rights risks and discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. The company discloses its mitigation action plan for its key human rights risks, however, it is unclear whether these risks are its salient human rights issues No evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes was found. While the company discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. No evidence that the company provides examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities was found.

No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect the health and safety of workers was found. The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. The company has an opportunity to disclose a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. The company has an opportunity to describe how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. The company discloses the agreement signed under labour relations within the Group, however, it does not discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. While the company states that it encourages its suppliers to respect employees’ right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, it has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to those.

The company discloses a global tax strategy. The company takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption. The company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. In a public policy statement, the company discloses its approach to lobbying and political engagement.