Volunteers from TotalEnergies supporting associations
- "Solidarity" team building initiatives strengthen team spirit and foster societal commitment.
- TotalEnergies employees, whether individually or as a group, regularly give their time to respond to the needs of associations.
- These missions are led as part of the Company’s global solidarity program: Action!, deployed in over 100 countries.
Individual volunteering is the DNA of the Action! Employee volunteer program for TotalEnergies employees. Employees who want to take part enroll in a public interest initiative proposed by an association. Employees are also citizens who are aware of social challenges and, as such, they should be able to help make a difference alongside our partners if they so wish. That’s why, since 2019, TotalEnergies has been giving its employees the opportunity to dedicate three days of their working time per year, to volunteer for citizenship initiatives, near their place of work.
Sometimes, the structures that ask for volunteers, propose missions that require the presence of a group - collecting waste with Anim’Ousse-Ere, repainting a fence for the OGFA, building garden furniture from pallets for the Berlioz MJC, creating a nature trail with the French Natural Environment Conservatory, classifying and archiving equipment for Pistes solidaires, etc.
The missions, combining team spirit and regional solidarity, usually last a day or a half-day, and include a meal together to encourage discussions and exchange between the structure and its beneficiaries.
Public interest missions
Stéphane RIPPE, a Drilling & Wells Engineer at the CSTJF, and his team joined an Action! public interest mission in October with the Pau-based association: Habitat Humanisme Adour. "We helped clear out an old abbey and its outbuildings in the Basque Country - a surface area of around 2,500 m2. Our collective action meant that the association could start work to convert the buildings into social reintegration housing," he explains, adding: "In addition to a highly-motivated workforce, we and the association had a great time working and chatting together. In short, the day was extremely productive for my team, who provided crucial help for the association and its beneficiaries."
Michel Javault, President of Habitat Humanisme Adour, puts things in context: "For our association, a solidarity team-building exercise is first and foremost, a tangible response to a need. In this case, it was helping people we support, who are in socially-vulnerable situations, or helping the association move forward in its activities. Since September 2022, we have worked with teams of volunteers from TotalEnergies on a great number of missions. For example, on the day our premises were being painted, it was wonderful to see everyone busying themselves, wielding paintbrushes, and enjoying the atmosphere. We’d never have been able to paint it all in a day without the help of those highly-motivated volunteers. This type of mission is really useful to us, and we are open to organizing this kind of initiative on a regular basis."
As for the R&D Line team based at the CSTJF, they pitched in to help the Plombkemon Upcycle association on the Basque coast. "To encourage employees in our team to sign up for individual solidarity actions, we wanted them to participate in a solidarity team-building session" the manager explained. At the Pau Site, the contact for the Action! Program is responsible for contacting the associations to meet their needs. Usually, larger groups are directed toward waste collection projects. "Lots of people enjoy the beaches along the Basque coast in the summer, and we’re very sad to see the impact of human activity on their cleanliness. We didn’t think twice about accepting the mission proposed by the association." an employee explains. "We collected 215 kg of all kinds of waste in just two hours. At the end of the day, we made a list of the most "unlikely" kinds of waste that were found among the rocks - toothbrushes, a car wheel, a 50 kg iron bar, a single shoe, shoe soles, etc." she reels off, angrily.
In addition to the positive impact expected, each operation strengthens the ties between the teams from TotalEnergies and associative partners, who take time to talk about their challenges and missions. Environment, vulnerable young people, road safety, coastlines, etc. The Action! Program is also a great opportunity to raise our employees’ awareness of the causes defended by the associations.