Working towards a more caring world
We’re strengthening civic responsibility, helping people join the workforce and building community.
Raising the bar
In 2003, we joined the UN Global Compact, which calls on businesses to be socially and environmentally responsible, and in 2015 we qualified as Global Compact Advanced—a more demanding standard for CSE performance and transparency.
Our social engagement is also grounded in commitments to national, European and international charters. These include:
- membership of the Paris Climate Action Plan
Learn more - Top Employer certification in 2022
Learn more - RFAR (Responsible Procurement and Supplier Relations) certification
Putting ourselves to the test
At the request of our customers and investors, our sustainability efforts are regularly evaluated by non-financial rating agencies. This gives us the opportunity to look closely at the effectiveness of our social and environmental policy, and to adopt corrective action plans to improve our CSE performance.
Regular
evaluations
of our social and environmental initiatives
We earned a score of
85/100
from the EcoVadis platform in 2024
We earned a score of
B
from CDP1 in 2024
Creating activities to promote inclusion
Our inclusion projects
Working with specialized Ateliers Chantiers d’Insertion (ACI) units nationwide, we are helping marginalized individuals get back into employment. All across France, our employees work with network coordinators to set up professional programs in and around stations, hiring marginalized members of society to handle landscape maintenance, painting, cleaning and more.
Changing lives with TAPAJ
TAPAJ is a social initiative backed by the French State that helps severely disadvantaged young people on the margins of society gain control of their lives. Concretely, it provides daily paid work alongside counselling and other support services. By partnering with TAPAJ network members across France, SNCF offers young people enrolled in the program temporary jobs on its projects.
Initiatives like these are in complete alignment with SNCF Group’s CSR policy. Working with TAPAJ teams in regions throughout France, we help individuals take control of their lives and transition into society—finding housing, gaining life skills, moving toward training options, and more.
Work opportunities for social reintegration—how TAPAJ partnerships work
Replacing prison with community service
Since 2007, SNCF has worked with the French State to offer a community service programme that prevents delinquency and repeat offenses, steering offenders away from a life of crime.
Instead of going to prison, participants serve community service sentences by coming to work for us, repairing damage in stations, filing archival material and cleaning up outdoor areas. SNCF employees also regularly speak to groups as part of civic responsibility courses, to promote respect for people and property.
Our policy of mobility for all
School outreach
In 2006 we signed an agreement with the French Education Ministry to help young people ages 9-18 use the rail system responsibly, become good citizens and stay safe in the public transport system.
In addition, teachers have access to our supporting materials and can request a classroom presentation by an SNCF employee, free of charge.
Want to invite an SNCF speaker into your classroom or get more information on our prevention programme? Email us at ims@sncf.fr
Support through mobility training
SNCF Group offers mobility training workshops in regions across France, designed to help people with mobility issues bounce back, reclaiming their independence and regaining confidence in their ability to get around on their own.
These workshops are offered in various formats:
- Classroom sessions that teach participants how to use digital mobility tools such as the SNCF Connect app or apps offered by urban transport operators, and explain how fares work for each passenger profile. These classes also raise awareness of sustainable mobility issues, civic issues in transport, and more.
- Practical sessions out in the field, where participants explore a given area by train or public transport, gaining direct experience of the stations they pass through—and learning to locate key information and resources that will enable them to get around on their own.
SNCF, ateliers d’apprentissage à la mobilité pour tous SNCF workshops on mobility for all
Mediation in stations and aboard trains
Through a long-standing partnership with associations in the PIMMS Médiation network, SNCF Group has rolled out mediation initiatives in stations and aboard trains to help deliver trouble-free travel to passengers. These include:
- Actions to mediate situations, nip issues in the bud and make stations, their surroundings and trains themselves more welcoming. Together these help generate positive interactions and avoid upsets. They can be as simple as reminding passengers of the rules to follow to ensure peaceful, safe travel for all.
- Welcoming people to stations and providing information and assistance. In particular, this targets individuals who have difficulty accessing SNCF services and public transport services as a whole (rail, road, urban and cycling options). Assistance also covers access to other services—town halls, community and social centres, and more.
SNCF Foundation
For 25 years, the SNCF Foundation has partnered with non-profits to help the vulnerable. In response to today’s economic and climate crisis, it has earmarked much of its €4.5 million annual budget for initiatives that help young people find their place in society.
Responsible sourcing
At SNCF, we know that our business affects the economy, the environment and society at large, so we’ve adopted a responsible procurement strategy that gives preference to SMEs and very small businesses.