Our purpose
What is our corporate mission? How do we make ourselves useful to society? Why do we work at SNCF? You’ll find answers to these questions in our purpose: Working towards a dynamic, caring, sustainable society. Learn more.
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Short version
Defining our primary mission
SNCF’s purpose describes—as clearly and simply as possible—what keeps us going day after day. It connects our past, present and future, creating a throughline that remains constant even as the company changes. In short, it answers a simple but vital question: why do we get out of bed in the morning?
Putting CSR at the heart of our strategy
At SNCF, we recognize the importance of this change in the role and responsibilities of business. We built Tous SNCF, our strategic plan, on the belief that true sustainability includes every aspect of our performance. That means putting CSR at the heart of our business strategy and being fully open to our internal and external stakeholders.
On 16 December 2021, our Board of Directors adopted our new purpose, putting the finishing touches on our corporate strategy and opening a new chapter for SNCF.
Our purpose
“SNCF Group’s mission is to contribute to the vitality of local communities and society as a whole. Our transport services are critical to maintaining a vibrant economy and strong social ties. They’re critical to the day-to-day development of communities and the well-being of their residents. And they’re critical to the success of the green transition.
At our founding in 1938, we embraced a public service mission that endures today, as the women and men of SNCF work hard for the common good. With a deep commitment to safety, professionalism and community, we serve our customers by imagining and delivering innovative 21st-century mobility and logistics solutions that are central to decarbonizing the transport industry.
By enhancing the performance of all our business lines and integrating them with rail, we aim to optimize the cost and overall impact of transport for our customers, for French taxpayers and for our fellow citizens. We’ve built our infrastructures and services for the long term, making them a shared asset for meeting social, ecological and economic challenges and working for a dynamic, caring, sustainable society.”
Our commitments
To be effective, our corporate purpose has to be more than an empty slogan. That’s why we’ve made specific commitments to each of our stakeholder groups:
- Keep pace with new lifestyles and changing consumption and production patterns by making it easier to combine transport modes.
- Work hard every day to improve service quality fundamentals and bring all our customers, suppliers and partners into the process.
- Invest in the jobs and skills of the future, making it easier for people to join the workforce, move up the social ladder, and change careers.
- Make our operations economically sustainable, to benefit the rail system and its overall performance.
- Contribute to the economic and social vitality of local communities through our industrial decisions and choice of suppliers.
- Strengthen our role as a catalyst for the green transition, to decarbonize the transport industry and support a healthy environment.
- Earn more trust from our employees, our customers and our partners by putting being safe and feeling safe at the heart of our decision-making.
- Ensure that our stakeholders, both internal and external, stay actively engaged as our business changes at local, regional and national level.
Our corporate purpose in film
The French people are a paradox, and SNCF is too. We worked with writer and rapper Gaël Faye to create a video that pays homage to our national character and celebrates the diversity of our society.
"We're not square, we're hexagonal"