Sustainability Report
Investing in a fairer society
Ardian Circle
“When you gather people from various backgrounds, their different approaches enrich their collaboration. Then you have more cohesion, more drive, more responsiveness.”
During 2021, Ardian launched Ardian Circle, a community of executives and decision-makers from the companies in which we invest. This initiative, which is managed jointly by the Sustainability and HR teams, is intended to encourage these managers to network and collaborate to find practical approaches to issues around sustainability and digitalization that they all face in their business.
The first three Ardian Circle events were devoted to inclusion and diversity, namely the link between diversity and business performance, disability at work and inclusive management. Each session began with a presentation by an external expert, after which, delegates discussed their personal experiences in smaller groups and suggested ways to make their companies more inclusive. Finally, they discussed how to measure progress and prove the effectiveness of the solutions proposed. Thirty people from 17 portfolio companies attended the three workshops.
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Two years ago, when we decided to partner with Ardian, I hoped that this kind of program would be launched because business executives can sometimes feel lonely and it is important to have a space where you can interact with your peers, share thoughts and get ideas you can use to improve your business.
”The delegates proposed several initiatives to promote inclusive management including continuous training and awareness raising, ensuring policies are being implemented fairly at all levels, and regular surveys to gauge attitudes. Delegates also looked at ways to make workplaces more accessible and welcoming for disabled workers.
These sessions allowed participants to discuss challenging subjects in a collaborative atmosphere, share their experience and benefit from the group’s collective intelligence. We see Ardian Circle as an important addition to the support we provide to our management teams.
Ardian's peer-to-peer community brings together leaders from our portfolio companies to build relationships and collaborate on practical solutions to shared challenges.