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NG As its activities are intertwined with the public interest, SUEZ is well aware that its reputation is a strategic asset. This is why the Group has deployed an ambitious policy of dialogue for over 10 years in the service of global performance.

In accordance with the commitment of its 2021 Roadmap, SUEZ consults experts and stakeholders every year under the moderation of a third-party guarantor to collectively address the dilemmas it encounters ( p.35). Within its projects, SUEZ uses rigorous methods to map out all the stakeholders and suggest terms of dialogue suited to their needs and expectations. Convinced that this dialogue is vital in a context of environmental, demographic and digital transformation, SUEZ has contributed to the launch of sharing platforms and common standards such as the OECD principles on water governance.

SUEZ deploys a strategy of positive influence and responsible lobbying of French, European and international institutions on subjects related to its daily activities, such as management procedures and public procurement, legislation related to recycling and to waste recovery or drinking water and wastewater treatment. The Group also builds strategic alliances with other players or institutions to speak with a common voice on subjects of public interest, such as the fight against climate change, effective natural resource management and sustainable production and consumption ( illustration #30).

In 2018, for example, SUEZ worked with WWF France to create a reference framework for a sustainable city, reflecting a shared vision of the current and future challenges facing urban areas. Built around seven sustainability and attractiveness priorities, the matrix offers a pragmatic, consensual tool for analysing actions and policies. Currently being tested with local authorities, the matrix is designed to be shared and to evolve.

Companies Purpose: what is the news for SUEZ? In accordance with the commitment in its Roadmap, SUEZ consults stakeholders every year to guide its strategy and its action plans. In 2015, the discussions raised the idea that SUEZ could be seen as a social enterprise. This year, in a context marked by the French PACTE bill, which invites stakeholders to rethink the role of business in society, SUEZ dedicated a consultation session to the subject of the Company s Purpose ( raison d être as defined in PACTE law). Experts and stakeholders were invited to consider the opportunity for SUEZ of adopting this kind of tool and to analyse any additional efforts that could be made in terms of its long-standing, well-structured approach to contributing to society.

The discussions confirmed the benefits for SUEZ of working to adopt a Company s Purpose, in order to guide and give meaning to its operational objectives, as long as it is long-lasting, sufficiently detailed and shared by all employees.

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GOVERNANCE GOVERNANCE BODIES SHAREHOLDING STRUCTURE ETHICS AND VIGILANCE DIALOGUE AND RESPONSIBLE LOBBYING