interview of edward bouygues

What is your take on the climate emergency and its impacts for the Group?

At COP26, we saw how governments are grappling to find solutions to the demands of the climate emergency and the legitimate expectations of their citizens. Yet the findings of research by the IPCC and the IPBES[a] are unequivocal: we cannot limit global warming unless governments introduce new legislation and adjust public investment policies, and unless companies change their business models.

Against this backdrop, Bouygues’ CSR policy and the formal pledges made by
our business segments show that we are determined to act.
And we will continue doing whatever we can, wherever we can, to support our customers on their own transformation journey. Through our products
and services, we are committed to doing things differently.
Our solutions are viable – and they are opening up major growth opportunities for our business.

How will Bouygues meet its obligations in the coming years?

Because our business activities meet essential needs, we have an immense responsibility to maximise the positive impacts of our products and services for our stakeholders – by preserving natural resources, by combating the loss of greenfield sites and by limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
An appreciation of Earth’s finite resources should serve as our guide. But securing the long-term viability of our business also calls for a dose of realism. We are challenging our assumptions, in close collaboration with our customers
and partners, to explore where we can do things differently across all our business segments.
But we are also bound by the law in each country where we operate, so we cannot always move as quickly as we would like. That said, wherever possible, we are pro-active in encouraging our stakeholders to grasp the full scale of the
emergency facing our planet and our society. Changing mindsets in this way is a gradual process backed by two complementary approaches: harnessing our innovation capabilities to select the right technology, and helping our customers use the solutions we provide responsibly.

[a] Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.