Our Values
INTRODUCTION – THE ONE TOTAL COMPANY PROJECT AND OUR VALUES
Why do we need values?
Values are a company’s DNA.
With our history, our values represent the Group’s identity, as shared by all. They are the cornerstones of our corporate culture.
Our values are the shared conventions on which our community is built, the base that allows us to trust each other implicitly.
Our values underpin the way we work together.
They are the source of our motivation and our loyalty to the company.
Everyone at Total must see themselves in them, buy into them, and commit to applying and respecting them.
Our values are the foundations that will let us achieve our collective ambition — our One Total company project of becoming the responsible energy major.
Because it is primarily by leveraging our strengths and cultivating our differences that we will meet our challenges and become a world-class player in the energy industry of tomorrow.
How did we identify our values?
In 2015 and 2016, we began working together to build our One Total company project through a collaborative process that allowed us to formally set out our 20-year business ambition: Become the responsible energy major
This collective process of construction continued through 2016 and into 2017. We are now building our people ambition, by identifying our shared values and by examining our way of being responsible both individually and collectively, as well as our management and innovation methods — in fact, all those drivers that will allow us to achieve our business ambition.
We’re doing this because the One Total ambition should also give the people who work at Total a way to contribute and to find professional fulfillment in making it a reality. That means not just giving purpose to our work, but also setting the bar high in terms of our collective dynamic and personal motivation.
More than 5,800 participants met to brainstorm on our people ambition during the 490 collaborative workshops held across the Group. This engagement was further proof of the importance accorded to this collective project.
With 170 values mentioned and more than 1,800 written comments explaining them, this brainstorming exercise was rich and diverse. The Executive Committee paid particular attention to what you wanted to convey with your words. Because when it comes to values, content is far more important than form. That’s what will provide day-to-day inspiration. We therefore carefully read your exhaustive comments.
Which values?
From this combined input, we identified two core values central to our collective principles. They had already been set out in our Code of Conduct: “safety” and “respect for each other.”
- I’m very pleased that safety came out on top. Not wanting to wait for this collective brainstorming, I had already confirmed it as a value in January 2016.
- Respect for each other takes in diversity, ethics, honesty, business integrity and upholding human rights. This is the very core of our shared principles.
In addition to these two core values, the other values suggested could be divided into three areas:
- One, our way of being, our character.
- Two, our way of interacting with each other and with others.
- Three, our way of working.
The Executive Committee therefore picked an emblematic value from each of these three areas:
- “Pioneer spirit,” a trait we have always displayed, through our boldness and courage in conquering new territories and innovating
- “Stand together,” which expresses the powerful bond that unites us within Total.
- “Performance-minded,” an attitude that reflects the disciplined way we work and our refusal to settle for anything less than the best.
VALUE 1
SAFETY – SÉCURITÉ
Safety is the core component of an industrial company’s responsibility; it is also the foundation of its long-term viability.
A company that is not safe or reliable is not a sustainable company.
Safety therefore deserves to be more than just a business principle or a top priority. Safety must be a value.
That means that we are uncompromising when it comes to safety.
Cost does not enter the equation, because safety is a value that we respect above everything else.
Above all, safety is a matter of discipline and an individual and collective responsibility.
Your safety is my safety.
Safety For Me, For You, For All!
We want everyone to go home safe every day.
Safety is a daily battle that is waged with humility and vigilance. We must never drop our guard. Accidents are not inevitable. Every accident, no matter how minor, can be avoided.
It was therefore inconceivable that we would set ourselves the ambition of becoming the responsible energy major without making safety one of our values.
VALUE 2
RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER – RESPECT DE L’AUTRE
In the expression "respect for each other," each word has equal weight.
Respect for each other means first listening to each other.
Respect for each other is respect for human rights. We are uncompromising on this point.
Respect for each other means recognizing and embracing diversity.
Respect for each other goes hand in hand with honesty, unwavering business integrity and, as a result, the rejection of corruption, fraud and unfair practices with regard to our competitors, in any form.
Respect for each other means paying attention to the quality of labour relations within the company, to allow us to advance together.
Respect for each other is therefore a cornerstone of our collective principles, our way of demonstrating the exemplary conduct expected of one of the world’s biggest companies.
Respect for each other also means honoring the contracts and agreements we sign.
Respect for each other puts people at the center of our collective project.
VALUE 3
PIONEER SPIRIT – ESPRIT PIONNIER
A pioneer spirit is woven into Total’s history. This spirit has driven the company’s growth since its creation in 1924 and enabled it to develop the strong geographic positions that differentiate us from other companies, especially in the Middle East and Africa.
Because our domestic resources were virtually nonexistent, we had to break new ground, open ourselves to other cultures and learn to build partnerships through listening to others. We became the leading oil major from outside the English-speaking world, able to work anywhere.
This pioneer spirit is in our blood and we have cultivated it over time, consistently seeking out new challenges.
A pioneer spirit is of course synonymous with our ability to innovate from a technical, business, people, strategy and geopolitical standpoint.
A pioneer spirit is equal parts boldness, ambition and courage.
A pioneer spirit is also knowing when to adapt, how to overcome adversity and how to be agile.
A pioneer spirit is resolutely embarking on a strategy that accepts and welcomes other energies.
A pioneer spirit is being curious and embracing challenge — especially the human and collective adventure that is ours.
This value buoyed us yesterday, continues to do so today and will do so tomorrow.
Because it’s with this pioneer spirit that we dare to differentiate ourselves by committing — through our business ambition — to meet the challenges the energy sector will face in the coming years.
VALUE 4
STAND TOGETHER – FORCE DE LA SOLIDARITÉ
But a pioneer spirit would be of no avail if we did not stand together. We can face the unknown because we do it together, united, helping each other. Even though Total has nearly 100,000 employees, we still think of ourselves as “family.”
We are a tight-knit community, as the trials we have dealt with over the years have shown. Many of us drew closer during crises and tragedies such as the Erika sinking, the AZF explosion and the sudden death of our CEO.
In our day-to-day dealings, “stand together” means being loyal and trusting each other. We draw support from our strength as a team.
“Stand together” means “think Total,” act in its best interests and defend it when it is under attack from the outside.
“Stand together” is also reflected in our management model. It encourages us to forge shared beliefs and collectively implement the decisions made — all together, in a disciplined way.
“Stand together” is about team spirit
“Stand together” is also key to managing our human resources. We make sure that everyone is treated considerately and can advance. We handle restructuring by looking after the future of each of our employees and taking into account the impact of our decisions on the outside world.
Because “stand together” also applies outside our walls.
Total is a powerful group. For that reason, we must not shirk our responsibilities, whether in business or to society. We want to do more than what is specified in our contracts, by “giving back” to communities in the countries where we operate and genuinely serving past and present host regions.
“Stand together” is responsible and generous leadership in society.
VALUE 4
PERFORMANCE-MINDED – GOÛT DE LA PERFORMANCE
Professionalism has always been the backbone of Total’s company project.
All our successes stem from our exemplary professionalism.
We became a global industry leader thanks to our strong competencies, our commitment to operational, technical and technological excellence, and our performance-minded attitude.
We are recognized for that, and for our ability to manage large-scale projects.
Think big but don’t short the details: Total leaves nothing to chance. We set very high standards — just doing something is not enough; we have to do it very well, even be the best. We thrive on meeting and even exceeding expectations.
Because we are more than just professional: we are performance-minded and strive for excellence.
Our commitment to excellence, our passion for what we do and our performance-driven culture are all based on strong individual engagement. Our projects are big in terms of both size and cost, and the industrial risks we manage leave no room for carelessness or ineptitude. It is the basis of the trust that we establish with our partners and customers.
While we recognize the importance of expertise, we are hardheaded professionals pursuing collective efficiency to lift the company ever higher.
This performance-minded approach is what influences our desire to innovate and, like our other values, will enable us to achieve our collective ambition of becoming the responsible energy major.
ALIGNED WITH OUR HERITAGE
These five values are aligned with what is already established at Total.
Our Code of Conduct sets out three values:
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Exemplary conduct
It also sets out three priority business principles:
- Safety, security, health and environment
- Business integrity
- Human rights
The Total Attitude is made up of four cornerstone behaviors:
- Listening
- Cross-functionality
- Boldness
- Mutual support
These ten keywords in our shared company vocabulary are included, in one way or another, in the five values that we have selected for One Total.
After all, can you really have a pioneer spirit without boldness? How can you respect each other without listening? And without responsibility and exemplary conduct, you cannot be performance-minded and stand together.
The five values that we have selected flow from everything we had already expressed. They encompass this heritage.
So to unify and simplify matters, these five values will be the only values we refer to: ONE TOTAL, OUR VALUES.
We will be updating our Code of Conduct to align it with these five values. Now it is up to us to embody them in everything we do, as we did for the Total Attitude.
CONCLUSION – ONE TOTAL IS ALL OF US
TOTAL'S FIVE VALUES
| SECURITÉ | SAFETY |
| RESPECT DE L’AUTRE | RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER |
| ESPRIT PIONNIER | PIONEER SPIRIT |
| FORCE DE LA SOLIDARITÉ | STAND TOGETHER |
| GOÛT DE LA PERFORMANCE | PERFORMANCE-MINDED |
THESE VALUES FORM AN INDIVISIBLE WHOLE.
THEY DESCRIBE US, UNITE US AND DIFFERENTIATE US FROM OTHERS.
WE MUST UNFAILINGLY EMBODY THEM.
THEY SERVE AS OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN EVERYTHING WE DO.
THEY ARE THE STRENGTHS WE WILL BUILD ON TO BECOME THE RESPONSIBLE ENERGY MAJOR.
In closing, these values are important for all of us.
They form an indivisible whole. Combined, they are our strength and differentiate us from others.
Like our history, they represent that part of Total’s identity shared by all, and therefore describe us.
They are much more than just words. They unite us and are the common foundation on which we can build mutual trust.
They serve as our guiding principles in everything we do, every day. Everyone at Total must see themselves in them, buy into them, and commit to applying and cascading them.
These values must inform all our actions across the company. We must recruit and evaluate people according to them; we must take them into account when considering employees for promotion. We must provide feedback on them, look at potential problems in combining them, and discuss how they are interpreted by everyone.
Our values are the drivers that will enable us to achieve our ambition of becoming the responsible energy major.
We must never compromise on safety and respect for each other. We must cultivate our pioneer spirit, always stand together and maintain a performance-minded approach. This is how we will achieve our objectives and — who knows? — even surpass them.
In short, the surest way to succeed is to be ourselves.