Group's Principles of Action

General statement

Safety is our license to operate. Safety and integrity of people and installations are fundamental values of the Air Liquide Group and are our top priority. 

Air Liquide adheres to the highest standards in conducting business and is particularly committed to respecting human and labor rights and to protecting the environment. 

Wherever Air Liquide is present, its subsidiaries respect the local cultures and traditions while transmitting the Group’s values through their actions and local engagement. 

Air Liquide complies with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries and regions of the world where it operates, including notably fair competition. Air Liquide condemns corruption in any form. 

Integrity, transparency, respect, rigorous management, regularly challenging ourselves, improving performance through innovation, and building a trustworthy relationship with stakeholders all shape our behavior and our actions.

Customers and patients

Air Liquide anticipates market developments, continually listens to its customers, the patients it serves and the healthcare professionals that look after them. We bring them innovative and competitive technologies, products and services and deliver on our commitments as a trustworthy partner. 

Professionalism, integrity and rigor guarantee the safety, availability and reliability of our products and services. 

Air Liquide works with its customers, both locally and in global relationships, as the case may be, every day, investing and providing solutions for the long term, within clear contractual relationships. 

Air Liquide takes particular care in responding to the requirements of patients worldwide. We aim to protect vulnerable lives by offering effective healthcare products and services and providing attentive support for patients.

Employees

Air Liquide’s success relies on the engagement of its employees. 

As part of its commitment to respect human rights, Air Liquide offers all of its employees working conditions focused on safety in the workplace, respect for people and absence of any discrimination. Air Liquide promotes an inclusive culture of diversity, open-mindedness, integrity and transparency. 

Air Liquide brings all of its employees together by encouraging their spirit of initiative and innovation, their sense of responsibility and their professionalism, and by fostering collaborative work and knowledge-sharing. 

Air Liquide offers a fair and competitive compensation and care package, taking into account individual and collective performance.

Air Liquide continuously takes on new challenges, in the constant pursuit of excellence and long term performance. Personal and team development, continuous learning, professional and geographical mobility and a culture of dialogue and feedback will ensure our success.

Shareholders

Shareholder satisfaction and loyalty enable Air Liquide to develop its long-term strategy. Shareholders are a core priority for Air Liquide and its management. All corporate decisions take into consideration the interest of the Group and its stakeholders, as well as the environment and our collective interests as a society. This will ensure sustainable growth in the value of our business. 

• Our commitment to our Shareholders is based on the following four objectives: 
• Considering and respecting all Shareholders (individual and institutional);
• Increasing the value of Shareholders' portfolios over the long term;
• Listening to and informing Shareholders;
• Providing premium services to Shareholders.

Suppliers and business partners

The relationships between Air Liquide and its suppliers are based on mutual trust, shared values and a regular assessment of the suppliers' performance in terms of quality, level of service, competitiveness and sustainability. 

Due to the fact that Air Liquide’s business is both local and global and given the requirements of an international customer base, Air Liquide attaches increasing importance to the ability of its suppliers and business partners to accompany the Group throughout the world and to ensure a high level of safety, reliability and business responsibility. 

We continue to value long term relationships with our business partners and suppliers which contribute to our mutual success.

Local communities

Air Liquide takes part in the economic and social development of the regions where it operates through its technical, industrial, medical and economic activities. It respects the rights, cultures, customs, and values of the local communities.

All of its subsidiaries are good corporate citizens implementing the Group’s corporate governance and transparency principles. Air Liquide respects and promotes human rights and rejects all forms of corruption. 

Air Liquide undertakes philanthropic initiatives that focus in particular on protecting life and the environment and developing local communities. These initiatives are either carried out directly by L’Air Liquide S.A., the Group's subsidiaries or by the Air Liquide Foundation.

Environment and Sustainability

Air Liquide is committed to the protection of the environment and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across the entire value chain. It complies with applicable environmental laws, regulations and standards. Through its technologies, it achieves continuous improvement in the energy efficiency of its own facilities, conservation of natural resources and biodiversity, and control of waste discharges. 

Air Liquide is a major contributor to Sustainable Development:

• In the industrial field, Air Liquide develops and provides technologies, products and services which, when integrated into its customers’ production processes, improve their effectiveness and quality and help reduce emissions. 
• In the field of energy and natural resources, Air Liquide develops and uses technologies that contribute significantly to improving the global environment balance. Air Liquide is committed to taking action to address climate change, in full support of the Paris Agreement.

Culture of innovation, creativity and performance

Innovation, creativity, and performance have been Air Liquide’s core values since its inception.

Innovation is an essential pillar of Air Liquide’s Performance and Sustainability strategy, allowing it to deliver greater value to all its stakeholders over the long term. It is not only the product of Research and Development and of innovativeness, but also stems from its employees’ creativity which is stimulated, recognized and shared via an organized management system. 

Performance is a priority for everyone at Air Liquide, in all areas and at all levels. Performance is rooted in the competencies of all our employees, their ability to continually rethink and question matters in order to move forward, and their willingness to work together in teams and share best practices for rapid implementation. 

Sustained performance is achieved through diligent management. This requires using measurement tools, recognizing results and adhering to a common reference framework founded on discipline and compliance. 

Innovation and performance rely on a common and shared reference and management system.

Systems and organization

Air Liquide has a clear strategy, medium-term priorities, annual action plans, as well as these Principles of Action, a Group Code of Conduct and a set of internal policies and procedures. These tools allow our employees to combine their efforts in a coherent approach. 

Air Liquide’s organization is based on the duality of its business, which is both local and global. It relies upon: 

• A flexible organization that is close to the customer and enables to: 
  • Guarantee the safety, availability and reliability of products and services; 
  • Listen to our customers’ needs and meet their expectations in each local market; 
  • Mobilize talents and initiative;
  • Ensure a rapid operational response to day-to-day issues; 
  • Deliver transparent reporting and disclosures.
    Geographic operational entities have primary responsibility to develop the Group. 
• Pooling our knowledge and resources in terms of professional and functional expertise within geographies or business lines, and using project-based management where necessary, to enable us to share and enrich our know-how, to accelerate implementation and to improve efficiency. 

The Group’s business lines and support and Corporate Functions define an operating framework with the geographic entities. This makes it possible to implement strategy rapidly and consistently depending on market conditions, to clarify implementation processes, to disseminate know-how and to enhance the development of people. This framework is reviewed periodically in order to adapt it to changes in the environment. 

Continuous risk analysis and internal control allow Air Liquide to implement appropriate means required to manage the risks we face and mitigate their impact. 

Finally, the internal audit function enables us to check that our Principles of Action and our internal policies and processes are relevant, duly respected, and effective.