In my opinion, sustainable development is not just a question of carbon. It’s also a question of impact and choice. The projects that we are involved in have significant medium-term benefits – both for people and the planet. Obviously we need to optimise their environmental footprint as we work on them. Our Sustainable Design and Construction Framework, which we are currently deploying across all of our entities, will make it easier for us to take concrete action to improve the environmental footprint of our projects. It will also help us better manage materials so as to protect biodiversity and the planet’s natural resources, as well as optimise the impact that our projects have on the local economy. Pierre Verzat: This question is core to our diversity and inclusion policy. Each and every one of our employees needs to contribute fully to the Group’s adventure, and to enjoy the same personal development opportunities. We need to attract more women to this fine profession of engineering and retain them. And we need to shine a light on their careers. A challenge not just for SYSTRA, but for the whole profession. And we need to work actively on enhancing the appeal of the sector. Internally, that involves having greater numbers of women making up the Group’s management bodies. Women account for 30% of our Global Leadership Team… but only 16% of our top 1,500 technical people are women. Initiatives such as the Women@SYSTRA network also help to showcase the achievements of our female employees. We also need to take action outside the company – which is why we visit engineering institutes and student fairs –and intertrade organisations. Pierre Verzat: The fact that our values are in line with our corporate project counts for a lot. We have worked on making it easier for our employees to understand our strategy internally, and that has improved people’s understanding of it. But fundamentally, I think that people’s belief in the utility of what we do really is a common denominator that binds all of our employees. We work for the common good and have created a humanistic culture based on excellence which has its roots in engineers’ natural curiosity. Pierre Verzat: In my view, the issue of utility is core… Even though a certain number of parameters guide our positioning in relation to our projects. Whether or not they are aligned with our strategy is one of them, obviously. The global environment, in terms of safety and security, as well as ethics and compliance, and our ability to provide our clients with real added value are all key. The social utility of projects has also become a key criterion. It is not enough just to design a fine bridge or a wonderful railway line. The infrastructure needs to be socially useful. It needs to be accepted by people living nearby and contribute effectively to decarbonisation, as well as help to protect the environment. We, therefore, give priority to projects which enable us to make a difference. Jean-Charles Vollery: SYSTRA 06 Torbjörn Larsson, BIM Engineer, SYSTRA Nordic countries “Can it really be said that SYSTRA is committed to the principles of sustainability, given that building miles and miles of railway lines generates carbon emissions?” 6 “How does SYSTRA choose its projects?” Paulo Eustáquio Torres, Consultant, SYSTRA Brazil 7 “How can you explain the remarkably high levels of engagement(1) in SYSTRA teams?” (1) According to the last employee survey conducted in 2022, the engagement rate stood at 81%. 5 Parin Shah, Landscape architect, SYSTRA Dubai