Performance and commitment: the two facets of value creation for Orange

Last year, Orange decided to dive into the challenging exercise of presenting itself in a single document, the Integrated Annual Report, a compilation of its financial and non-financial results for the full year 2016, the long-term forecast of its strategy and the range of its achievements in the realm of corporate social responsibility. For its second edition, Orange sought to further clarify this demonstration, which puts societal commitment and value creation at the core of its business model.

In his editorial, Stéphane Richard, Chairman and CEO of Orange, explains the Group's long-term ambition: 'I want our Group to continue to excel, by delivering sound business performance while honouring its social responsibility, day after day.' It is in these terms that he sees Orange's responsibility: 'in a society threatened by withdrawal into a more parochial worldview, we have a duty to answer the legitimate questions posed by digital, and to stand by our customers, and by society at large, through this transformation.'

In a chapter devoted to the Group's 'Human Inside' philosophy, the report reviews Orange's commitment to fulfilling its role in the debate on the challenges and questions of an increasingly technological society. Thus, facing a digital transformation which calls into question traditional models and applies equally to the individual, society and the planet, Orange has forged a conviction in the form of a commitment: that all of our actions start and end with humans.

The demonstration follows with the many facets of implementing a roadmap which orients digital's potential towards benefitting human progress:

• Orange invests itself with all of its stakeholders. The report explains how the Group creates value for its employees, the economic fabric, local economic development, resource conservation, digital education…
• Orange has a strong presence with more than 265 million customers in a day-to-day relationship, connecting them with what is essential to them. For each of the five levers of the Essentiels2020 strategic plan, the report traces the challenges, the achievements and the outlook, and offers a forum for experts on topics such as the implications for democracy of very high-speed broadband, Africa's head start in Mobile Money, the digitisation of the customer relationship, the employee experience…
• Orange mobilises considerable resources in favour of its strategy. In particular, the report looks at the strength of more than 17 billion euros in capital expenditure in networks between 2015 and 2018, the power of its 8,000 employees working in research and innovation, or its Orange Fab accelerator programme on four continents, or again the asset of the Orange brand, valued at more than 19 billion euros...
• Orange has long been involved in a demanding Corporate Social Responsibility policy. In particular, the report reviews the latest advances in professional ethics and the prevention of corruption, responsible purchasing, human rights and freedom of expression, the energy transition and digital education...