PALEXPO SA IS COMMITTED TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL
Palexpo believes in the value of diversity and inclusion. It is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and non-discrimination, and creating a workplace where everyone is respected and valued, regardless of their ethnic origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation or physical capabilities, both within the business and in our interactions with all our stakeholders.
GOVERNANCE
Sustainable development is embedded in Palexpo’s strategic and operational targets. It has created two teams dedicated to sustainability, responsible for overseeing its environmental performance and practices:
Sustainable development committee:
The members of the sustainable development committee are key people from various Palexpo departments, who play a decisive role in implementing the sustainable development programme. It proposes actions to support sustainable development, defines a coherent set of ambitious continuous improvement targets and is responsible for efficient management of the ISO 20121 system.
Sustainable development ambassadors group:
This group is responsible for promoting a sustainable development culture at Palexpo. Among other things, its members are responsible for generating ideas for new activities, helping people to share their suggestions and providing feedback to the committee to support continuous improvement.
EQUALITY AND INCLUSION
The social dimension of sustainable management includes workplace rights and employee working conditions. It includes offering fair working conditions and a non-discrimination policy, encouraging local employment and providing a safe working environment.
Palexpo employs around 200 people in about 50 different occupations. The proportion of women in management roles is higher than in the business as a whole (women account for 36% of the workforce and 40.3% of managers). In accordance with the revised Swiss Gender Equality Act, Palexpo has carried out a salary analysis checked by an independent auditor and found that men and women are paid equally.
Palexpo has used inclusive language in all its internal and external communications materials since 2022.
TRAINING
Palexpo is deeply committed to the apprenticeship policy adopted by the State of Geneva in 2021, which encourages businesses to have apprentices make up at least 4% of their workforce.
Apprentices are offered training to help them acquire the skills they need to pursue a career, certify workplace skills and ensure the next generation of workers are qualified and perform well, but the business also benefits from the fresh perspectives and new ideas that young people in training offer.
Palexpo has increased its number of apprentices from two in 2021 to seven in 2023, with two new training courses for logistics and media specialists, both leading to a Swiss federal certificate of vocational training (AFP).
Apprentices made up 9% of the workforce in 2024.
SAFETY
Palexpo has established a comprehensive prevention and communications system to ensure the safety of people, goods and infrastructure, governed by an ambitious policy and targets.
A health and safety manager optimises health and safety conditions for Palexpo’s employees, customers, suppliers and visitors.