As a global company, we have a duty to act responsibly and ethically. What we do is only good for us if it is also good for our stakeholders. We look closely at the impact of our activities to make sure we are giving future generations the best chance to make their futures better and brighter. Sustainability for us is not a one-off effort or something that sits separate from the business. It is – and must be – an integral part of how we do business. Ultimately, this helps deliver economic value for our shareholders and stakeholders, as well as positive results for communities across the globe.

We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. We will continue to challenge ourselves and others, push boundaries, and strive to be at the forefront of delivering better futures for all.

Do you want to help us make the future work for everyone? Take a look at the opportunities available at the Adecco Group here.

Our ESG governance

Strong governance structures and clear lines of accountability enable us to deliver on our ambition and commitments. This must start at the top.

With its members as stewards of the company, the Board of Directors has ultimate responsibility for the overall strategic direction and oversight of ESG-related matters. It has assigned certain of these duties and responsibilities to its Governance and Nomination Committee (GNC).

The Group Executive Committee approves and reviews the Group’s ESG/sustainability approach, policies and targets, ensures embedding in the Group strategy, and is accountable for the implementation across the Group’s business units and functions.

The Group ESG/Sustainability function develops the strategic sustainability direction for the Group together with key stakeholders; it is responsible for driving and coordinating efforts, ensuring alignment across the Group, engaging with stakeholders, and reporting on progress. The Group Head of ESG/Sustainability regularly reports to the Board of Directors/GNC and the Group Executive Committee.

But for any truly integrated approach, this must be a collaborative effort, with both top down and bottom up input. We want to ensure our activities are meaningful and appropriate to the relevant context, needs and perspectives. Global topic leads are responsible for defining topic approaches, policies, processes and targets in line with the Group framework and rolling them out through the functions, across the business units and into the countries. Regional/country leads then translate the global frameworks into meaningful local action and implement relevant policies, processes, targets and actions at regional/country level.

ESG is furthermore reflected in our compensation framework. To support the achievement of our ESG-related objectives, compensation for Executive Committee Members is linked to select material ESG measures. The Short-Term Incentive Plans of the Group Executive Committee Members contain, in addition to the core financial, strategic and functional goals, specific performance objectives that are related to the main ESG goals and priorities of the Group.