The Colas Foundation
Promoting the professional integration of young people and championing urban art
Our Mission
Connecting people, promoting cultural exchange and economic life in communities around the world, giving everyone the opportunity to move forward... these aspirations are an integral part of our corporate heritage, because transport infrastructure builds and strengthens ties between communities.
We also share a deeply held conviction: pooling talents and resources in all their diversity is a source of progress and new ideas. That is why the Colas Foundation works to promote equal opportunities for all and supports urban art, which creates connections within cities.
Promoting the Social and Professional Integration of Young People
At the Colas Foundation, we believe that everyone, no matter where they are in the world, should be able to fulfill their potential and find their place in society. We believe in equal opportunities and in the need to provide everyone - from a very early age - with the resources they need to grow, be independent, and build a future.
We encourage and support initiatives that promote the social and professional integration of children and young people through education, training, and access to employment, as well as economic activity, sports, and culture. We draw on the Group's local roots to support useful projects tailored to realities on the ground. Our ambition is to mobilize Colas employees to take concrete action meeting the specific needs of associations and communities.
To meet these objectives, we have forged four major partnerships, two in France and two internationally.
Rêv’Elles: Promoting the Empowerment of Young Women from Working-Class Neighborhoods in France
Our Foundation works hand-in-hand with Rêv’Elles to encourage the personal and professional development of young women from working-class neighborhoods. This partnership aims to consolidate the association's territorial coverage in the Île-de-France and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions and significantly accelerate its expansion into new regions.
Founded in 2013, the Rêv’Elles association works to promote equal opportunities and professional integration for women. The objectives are to broaden their horizons, give them the tools they need to build their career plans, and develop their potential and sense of empowerment. The association aims to become the reference organization when it comes to empowering young women from disadvantaged neighborhoods on a national scale.
Since 2024, the Foundation has provided €100,000 in financial support each year to enable the association to roll out its “Essentiel” program in new areas in the Île-de-France and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions. Thanks to this program, combining Group and individual support, young women build their confidence in themselves and in the future. Various initiatives are also rolled out to get our employees actively involved, including hosting a career workshop day as part of the “RVL Ton Potentiel” (“reveal your potential”) program at the company's premises and participating in selection panels throughout the year.
Apprentis d’Auteuil Foundation: Promoting the Integration of Young People Through Apprenticeships in France
The Colas Foundation supports the Pro’pulse program, aimed at promoting the social and professional integration of the most vulnerable young people through apprenticeships.
For nearly 160 years, the Apprentis d'Auteuil Foundation has been helping young people and families in need through programs offering support, education, training, and integration.
By contributing €100,000 to the “Pro’pulse” program in the northeast France region, the Colas Foundation facilitates access to a modular and personalized apprenticeship preparation program for around 500 young people aged between 16 and 30 facing multiple exclusion situations and with a low level of qualification.
Enfants du Mékong: Career Guidance and Vocational Training for Young People in Asia
Our Foundation supports the work carried out by the Enfants du Mékong (Children of the Mekong) association in Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Thailand in terms of career guidance, training, and integration for young people from ethnic minorities, slums, or rural areas.
The Enfants du Mékong association was set up in 1958 to provide schooling for the most disadvantaged children in Southeast Asia. Its activities are based on four key pillars: access to education, through school sponsorship; career guidance, through specialized seminars; training, to help young people access higher education; and integration, by supporting them in their first job search.
To this end, the Foundation is committed to supporting integration programs in four countries: Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Cambodia. A total of 1,685 young people are receiving support: 25 school pupils in Vietnam, 681 in the Philippines, 24 in Thailand, and 955 in Cambodia. In the context of this partnership, our employees are involved in patronage initiatives and also take part in careers guidance and workplace integration forums organized by the association in the four countries concerned. They share their experience to help students identify their own talents, provide support as they prepare for job interviews, and give them the opportunity to visit their own offices or construction sites. By providing €100,000 in financial support, our Foundation helps encourage young people to become responsible, independent adults.
IECD: Career Guidance and Vocational Training for Young People in Morocco and Egypt
Our Foundation works with the IECD (European Institute for Cooperation and Development) to promote professional integration by training young people aged between 15 and 30 in the energy, industry, and construction trades, and supporting local stakeholders.
Since 1988, the IECD (European Institute for Cooperation and Development) has been supporting young people in preparing and building their futures, i.e. their personal, academic, and professional development.
As part of this partnership we have provided €100,000 of support to Morocco and Egypt through the “Graines d’Espérance” (Seeds of Hope) program, in order to improve the quality of training in these technical fields. In Morocco, 155 young people from the Al Haouz region have benefited from training in the installation and maintenance of solar photovoltaic systems. In Cairo, Egypt, 1,500 people, including 34% women, are receiving training in electrical maintenance and in industrial automation. Beyond this financial support, our employees play an active role in the project. By sharing their experience, they enable young people to acquire the technical and interpersonal skills they need to find good jobs and secure long-term employment.
Projects Under the Colas Foundation Label
As the spearhead of the Group's patronage policy, we also endorse local initiatives that fit with our mission.
Promoting Urban Art
With 30 years’ experience in the field of contemporary art, we run an urban art program on Colas' industrial sites. We invite artists to create their works at the Group's production sites or business units. These artistic projects are a way of breathing new life into an area, with talented individuals creating connections within towns and cities. This program is particularly pertinent in areas where social acceptability is a major issue. Projects must therefore meet a set of specifications and then undergo a feasibility study carried out by our Foundation's operational team.
In parallel, we exhibit and bring to life our collection of 400 paintings at various Colas sites to raise employee awareness of contemporary art.
The “Along the Seine” Mural on the Île-Saint-Denis, by Artist JBC
Completed in 2024, the “Along the Seine” mural by artist Jean-Baptiste Colin, alias JBC, can be admired at Colas’ Île-Saint-Denis site. Completed in three weeks for the Paris Olympic Games, the 2.5-meter-high, 64-meter-long mural depicts the pleasures of life on the banks of the river through the ages, featuring navigation, architecture, and ecology. The work highlights the importance of preserving natural heritage while offering strollers walking along the Seine a moment of calm and serenity, blending the past and the present.
Monumental Fresco at the Mérignac Plant, by the Monkeybird Art Collective
Created in three weeks by Monkeybird, a collective composed of two artists from Bordeaux, this highly graphic work consists of a family of black-and-white storks, combined with spheres symbolizing the measurement of time, and golden architectural plans.
"Concrete Cathedral" by Brittany-born Artist BREZ
In partnership with Art en direct and Planète Émergences, Mathias Brez transformed the silos of the Servant plant in Béziers. This project contributes to the revitalization of industrial heritage, and forms an unexpected artistic feature in the landscape. “Concrete Cathedral” plays with proportions and colors to create a deconstructed urban ensemble.
The Bonneuil-sur-Marne Silos, by Marseille-based artist ALFE
In partnership with Art en direct and Planète Émergences, Alfe created a monumental work at the SPME site in Bonneuil-sur-Marne. The artist's abstract shapes can be seen floating across the site’s three main silos. An industrial and dynamic landscape that inspired Alfe's graphic and colorful movements.
“Jazy” by Nina Childress
“Jazy,” by Nina Childress, belonging to the Foundation’s collection, was exhibited at Paris’ Musée de la Poste, or Post Office Museum, as part of the “Marathon, la course du messager” (Marathon, the Messenger’s Race) exhibition from May 15 to September 15, 2024.
Our Governance
The Foundation's governance is structured around three bodies
The Commitment of Our Employees
Our employees get involved with the Foundation’s activities, contributing their time and expertise for the benefit of partner associations. They support the professional integration of young people through mentorship, assistance in creating resumes, participation in selection panels, and carrying out mock interviews.
Colas’ employees also get involved in skills-sharing patronage initiatives. The approach, combining tradition and modernity, enables employees to contribute to the conservation of important sites in French history and showcase their skills, expertise, specific techniques, and solutions to promote responsible development.
The Louvre
In 2023, Colas carried out a skills-sharing patronage initiative with the Louvre Museum, to improve the accessibility of the northern and southern horseshoe-shaped ramps in the Tuileries gardens, a UNESCO world heritage site. For the renovation, employees had to contend with the constraints of the site, particularly regular truck traffic. The project illustrates our determination to make a significant contribution to the preservation of our shared heritage, while creating connections between the worlds of business and culture.
The Chambord National Estate
In 2013, Colas signed a long-term skills-sharing patronage agreement with the Chambord National Estate, aimed at restoring the Château’s Royal path, the Transverse path, and the English Garden. As part of this project, we used an aesthetic protocol to preserve the stability and cleanliness of the paths without compromising their heritage aspect.
The Versailles National Estate
In 2010, Colas signed a long-term skills-sharing patronage agreement with the Versailles National Estate and museum to restore some of the estate’s most damaged and trafficked pathways, particularly the esplanade around the Fountain of Apollo, the northern terrace, and the Royal Star. For the purposes of the project, in an effort to protect the environment and the historical heritage, our employees developed a special product, named Heliocol after the Sun King, to retain the texture and historical color of the pathways while significantly reducing the dust generated by the millions of visitors to the site.