By revealing its raison d'être in December 2019, supported by its shareholders, the Orange Group was one of the first companies with a raison d'être in the CAC40 as defined by Article 1835 of the French Civil Code, after an open consultation with its 150,000 employees.
A raison d'être enshrined in the Orange Group bylaws
The General Meeting of Shareholders, held on May 18, 2020, almost unanimously adopted Orange's raison d'être, enshrining it in Article 2 of its bylaws:
"The trusted player who gives everyone the keys to a responsible digital world."
Orange bylaws, since May 2020
Orange's raison d'être is now supported by four pillars of commitment. These spell out the objectives that Orange has chosen to pursue in line with the principles of its raison d'être. Orange aims to be a trusted player in a responsible digital world, committed to :
For each pillar, Orange has defined a concrete roadmap with an action plan and proof indicators.
Together, they form a coherent foundation on which Orange deploys its Engage2025 strategy and implements a corporate project that combines a positive impact on people, the environment and business.
Orange's raison d'être is thus the compass for the strategic choices and day-to-day actions of every Group employee:
"Because it is both the expression of our identity and our project, the raison d'être has the value of a compass: it inspires our strategy and guides all our decisions and actions.
Stéphane Richard (Orange CEO)
Orange's raison d'être: a co-construction approach reflecting a shared corporate project
The process of formalizing Orange's raison d' être began in 2019, with Stéphane Richard launching the process on Twitter on June 12, 2019:
In just a few weeks, the initiative mobilized a large number of people, collecting almost 15,000 contributions via tweets. The consultation process was then extended to the whole Group via the Toguna application. More than 130,000 votes and ideas were shared and put to the vote of all participants.
In December 2019, this creative and mobilizing approach led to the revelation of Orange's raison d'être, and its first two pillars of commitment: for digital equality and for the planet.
From Orange's raison d'être to its raison d'agir: the raison d'agir committee inaugurated on November 19, 2021
On May 19, 2021, in his keynote address to the Annual General Meeting, Orange CEO Stéphane Richard announced the creation of a "raison d'agir" committee. With a raison d'être, pillars of commitment and this committee, Orange has adopted a system inspired by the mission-driven company.
The raison d'agir committee is responsible for supporting Orange in achieving its raison d'être, monitoring changes in performance indicators and advising the Group on how to make Orange's raison d'être fully effective.
Meeting for the first time on November 19, it is made up of 8 qualified personalities and 2 members of the Group's ComEx.
The entire approach is part of a shared global framework: the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, through its raison d'être, its strategy. Engage2025 and its entire corporate project, Orange intends to actively contribute to 6 SDGs:
Orange's raison d'être at the heart of the Group's actions and communications
Since adopting its raison d'être and breaking it down into pillars of commitment, Orange has been actively communicating and making concrete commitments to a responsible economy, a trusted society, digital equality and the environment. Thus, in October 2020, Orange launched its " RE" program to accelerate the recycling, take-back and reconditioning of cell phones.
This concrete action in favor of the circular economy is fully aligned with the roadmap of the "for the environment" commitment pillar. The "re" program is broken down into operational actions:
- reduce externalities at source through eco-design ;
- collect used equipment with a target of 30% of used mobiles collected ;
- giving equipment a second life through reconditioning, with a target of over 90% of fixed terminals (such as set-top boxes) collected.
"RE" is a concrete example of a cross-functional approach, integrated at all levels of the company, aligned with the company's raison d'être and Engage2025 strategic plan.
