MAKING A
DIFFERENCE
Environmental, Social and Governance  
(ESG) Report

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This document will include all non-financial and diversity disclosures required by the Law of 23 July 2016, implementing the European Directive 
2014/95/EU, regarding the publication of non-financial and diversity information in Luxembourg.

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE
CONTENTS
SES
4
Our Purpose
6
Our Culture
7
Making a Difference
8
ENVIRONMENT
9
- Our sites
10
- Waste Management
11
- Space Sustainability
12
- Space Debris
13
- Reusable Technology
14
- Environment Monitoring & Security
15
- Princess Elisabeth Antarctica
16
SOCIAL
17
The Power of Satellite
18
Disaster Response
19
- emergency.lu
20
- SES & Project Loon
21
- Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV)
22
e-APPLICATIONS
23
- e-Health (SATMED)
24
- e-Learning
25
- e-Elections
26
- e-Banking
26
- e-Agriculture
27
Education & Training
28
- Academic Partnerships
29
- Elevate
30
Science, Technology, Engineering & 
Mathematics (STEM)
31
- Hello Future
32
- Engineering Trainee Days
32
- SES Space Scholarships
33
- SES & Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology (MIT
34
- Game of Code - Hackathon
34
- YWCA Princeton Robotics
34
- Asteroid Day
35
- World Space Week
36
GOVERNANCE
37
Corporate Governance
38
The Senior Leadership Team
39
Ethical Approach
40
Diversity & Inclusion
42
Talent Acquisition
47
Learning
48
Giving Back
49

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SES is the world’s leading satellite 
operator with over 70 satellites in two 
different orbits, Geostationary Orbit 
(GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).
We launched our latest 4 MEO 
satellites in April and we now have a 
fleet of 20, which is unique in industry.
We provide a diverse range of 
customers with global video 
distribution and data connectivity 
services through two business units: 
SES Video and SES Networks.
The SES Video portfolio includes 
broadcasting to over TV 8,000 
channels and has the largest DTH 
television reach in Europe.
SES Networks provides global 
managed data services, connecting 
people in a variety of sectors including 
telecommunications, maritime, 
aeronautical, and energy, as well as 
governments and institutions across 
the world.
The SES Networks portfolio includes 
GovSat, a 50/50 public-private 
partnership between SES and the 
Luxembourg government.
HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS
1985 - SES, Europe’s first private satellite operator, is founded in Luxembourg
1987 - The Betzdorf Satellite Control Facility (SCF), goes operational
1988 - Sky TV is the first major private broadcaster to sign up to
1988 - SES launches its first satellite, ASTRA 1A, on 11 December 1988
1989 -The “Television without Frontiers” Directive comes into force
1991 - SES becomes pioneer in ‘co-location’
1995 - SES goes digital, pioneering digital broadcasting technology
1998 - SES is listed In the Luxembourg Stock Exchange
1999 - SES takes a 34.10% participation in the Asian satellite operator AsiaSat
2001 - SES acquires Americom from GE. SES GLOBAL is established
2004 - SES is listed in the Paris Stock Exchange
2006 - SES acquires New Skies satellites and coverage of 99% of the world
2009 - SES launches HD+ in Germany with <50 channels
2009 - SES invests USD 75 M in O3b Networks
2013 - SES launches the first 4 MEO satellites
2015 - SES launches its first global Ultra HD channel
2015 - Creation of GovSat, a PPP between SES and the Luxembourg government
2016 - SES forms MX1 and fully acquires O3b
2017 - SES launches SES-10 with SpaceX and pioneers reusable technology
2018 - SES completes restructuring into SES Video and SES Networks
2019 - Launch of 4 MEO satellites, bringing the MEO fleet to 20 satellites

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE
employees
>2K
channels8,100
homes355M
OUR PEOPLE
OUR SATELLITES
DISASTER RESPONSE
SES VIDEO
SES 
NETWORKS
EDUCATION
nationalities
68
Corporate sites 
worldwide
>26
knowledge networking 
communities at SES
>600
satellite technicians 
trained since 2012
8K
academic 
collaborations
12
satellites in 
Geosynchronous 
Orbit (GEO)
54
satellites in 
Medium Earth 
Orbit (MEO)
20
global coverage
99%
>50 emergency.lu
SATMED
10
5G
SES Networks provides 
more than 10 Gbps 
to remote islands around the globe
Connecting the unconnected
Leader in
satellite standardisation

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We are here to  
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Our purpose is to raise up the human experience. Every individual on 
the planet should be connected to the world’s content. We are part of 
something bigger and what we do makes a difference.
We are obsessed with  
CUSTOMER SUCCESS
Our success depends on our customer success.  
Our customers are part of our family.
What we do is  
EXTRAORDINARY
We do the extraordinary in space to enable our customers to deliver 
the amazing on Earth. We challenge ourselves every day to deliver 
the extraordinary
We use our team & talent to 
GIVE BACK
We have a team of talented and committed people at SES inspired 
to give back. In education, health, in making connections, in bridging 
cultures, in contributing to our communities and to our society
OUR  
PURPOSE

7
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
We are  
IN IT TOGETHER
1. We cut across silos and boundaries
2. We focus on solutions instead of problems and processes
3. We build trust and collaborate in teams
We are  
PROUD TO BE HERE
1. We get to know and fully understand our business and our customers
2. We do great work for our customers every day
3. We bring energy and positive attitude to every conversation or meeting
What are  
TRANSPARENT, HONEST, COURAGEOUS
1. We actively share information
2. We give and accept feedback
3. We are ready to handle difficult conversations
OUR  
CULTURE

8
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
What we do at SES meaningfully 
contributes to making the world and 
society a better place. This is an 
important part of who we are and why 
people choose to work at SES. We 
believe in the need for content and 
connectivity everywhere. We believe 
that access to the world’s information 
is necessary in providing individuals 
the opportunities that they need to 
be grow and to flourish. We aspire 
to be an ever increasingly important 
part of the content and connectivity 
ecosystems to provide every person 
on the planet with equivalent access 
and opportunity.
 
It helps that, since our foundation in 
1985, we have worked in one of the 
most exciting industries and in the 
most challenging of environments – 
space! We have been pioneering new 
technologies and business models 
since the very first idea to launch a 
pan European satellite and, 30 years 
later, we haven’t lost the mindset to 
think of ourselves as a startup.  What 
we do as SES and as an industry is 
genuinely extraordinary. We do the 
extraordinary in space to enable our 
customers to deliverthe amazing 
on Earth.  It is important to retain 
a sense of wonder for what we are 
collectively achieving as an industry 
to push us to achieve more. Delivering 
critical services from 36,000km away, 
operating complex constellations in 
the harshest of environments, bringing 
connectivity to remote populations 
for the first time, pioneering new 
technologies to drive social and 
economic growth globally, saving lives 
and restoring critical connectivity 
following natural disasters.
 
We are proud of our contribution and 
it drives us to do more, to achieve 
more and have an even larger 
impact. Continuous innovation, like 
for example O3b mPOWER, our next 
generation satellite system planned for 
launch from 2021, or our integration 
with cloud service providers and the 
terrestrial service providers will allow 
us to extend the ways in which our 
services can bring benefit. As SES 
and as an industry, our super power 
is reach and we intend to continue to 
use our super power for good.
Steve Collar, CEO

MAKING A DIFFERENCE
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ENVIRONMENT

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OUR SITES
At SES, we are committed to operating 
our business in a socially responsible 
way. We take this responsibility 
seriously and define ambitious 
objectives for how we approach the 
environmental and ecological profile 
of the business, our educational 
contributions, charitable activities, 
human resource management and 
corporate strategy.
We apply best practices in minimising 
the environmental impact of our sites 
across the world. We also ensure that 
the amount of radiation emitted from 
earth stations respects or remains 
below the maximum levels defined 
by the countries of operation. The 
company’s compliance with this is 
checked through yearly audits that 
are conducted both by internal and by 
third-party accredited organisations 
that specialise in the field of industrial 
safety.
Since 2008, we have officially reported 
the CO2 emissions of our operations 
through participation in the Carbon 
Disclosure Project (CDP), which 
collects the data of all SES’s business 
activities and locations.
The data collection for CDP covers 
three scopes:
•	 Scope 1: Direct Combustibles (gas 
and fuel consumption, refrigerant 
leakage, car fleet)
•	 Scope 2: Indirect Energy 
consumption (purchased electricity 
or heat)
•	 Scope 3: Other Emissions (business 
travel, commuting, waste, water 
consumption)
In 2017, the company’s activities 
related to operating and 
commercialising SES’s satellite fleet, 
as well as general administration, 
finance and marketing, generated 
approximately 46,883 tons of CO2 
emissions worldwide, an increase of 
15% compared to 2016.
Scope 1 emissions increased by 
approximately 5.4%, or 99 tons. Scope 
3, business travel including staff 
commuting, increased by 3,649 tons 
to 37.08% overall. This increase was 
due to the growth of the company in 
number of employees and sites. 
The methodology used follows as 
closely as possible the guidelines 
outlined in the Greenhouse Gas 
(GHG) Protocol Corporate Accounting 
and Reporting Standard and Defra 
(UK) Guidance on How to Measure 
and Report your Greenhouse Gas 
Emissions (September 2009) and 
the International Energy Agency’s 
2017 edition of CO2 emissions from 
fuel combustion and World energy 
balances database.
Emissions from Scope 2, electricity 
consumption, represented the largest 
component of SES’s total emissions 
(approximately 57.5%). Scope 2 
location-based emissions factors were 
chosen in line with the GHG Protocol 
recommendations.
For low occupancy sites, assumptions 
were made based on average 
electricity, gas and travel data at the 
main office sites. A data collection 
questionnaire was circulated to all 
42 main SES global sites in order 
to collect activity data. 58 low 
occupancy and 71 unmanned SES 
sites (‘colocations’) were included in 
the data collection exercise. In order 
to calculate GHG emissions, when 
electrical power consumption was not 
precisely measured, it was estimated.
In the context of the legal framework 
in Europe with the goal to save 
energy, we started to analyse the 
energy efficiency of the main facilities 
in accordance with EN 16247. This 
audit was first performed at SES’s 
site in Munich, Germany, and in 2016 
at the headquarters site in Betzdorf, 
Luxembourg with the goal to identify 
energy saving potential for further 
optimisation.
Through these and other initiatives, 
we have thus implemented a 
substantial and ongoing carbon 
reduction plan in our sites across the 
world.
SES Group CO2 results
Year
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
Scope 1 (t CO2e)
2,517
2,418
5,455
6,546
6,621
6,959
6,464
12,397
17,317
14,432
Scope 2 (t CO2e)
26,980
24,701
24,395
17,080
17,391
20,475
27,758
26,846
32,471
26,507
Scope 3 (t CO2e)
17,386
13,737
12,486
11,460
14,756
5,873
4,937
2,309
Total emissions (t CO2)
46,883
40,856
42,336
35,087
38,768
33,307
39,159
41,553
49,788
40,939

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WASTE MANAGEMENT
In order to facilitate the recycling 
of different waste types in Betzdorf 
(Luxembourg), our Headquarters and 
biggest site, we separate as much 
waste generated on site as possible.
In addition to differentiated recycling 
in each office, we have seven main 
collection points on site.
We systematically collect data on 
waste management in compliance 
with the Ministry of the Environment, 
Climate and Sustainable Development 
and ISO14024.
The types of waste are grouped in 
household waste, paper & cardboard, 
wood, metal scrap, electronics, 
dangerous goods and others.
Dangerous goods or hazardous goods 
are solids, liquids or gases that can 
harm people, other living organisms, 
property or the environment.
We encourage each of our employees 
to do their part in order to limit and 
eventually reduce the waste produced 
on our sites.
We are focusing on the following:
•	 Food Waste: we encourage 
employees not to waste food in our 
canteen on site.
•	 Paper: we have dedicated paper 
bins in each office and encourage 
employees not to print any 
document unless strictly necessary. 
In addition we no longer print 
corporate brochures or other 
publications except in very 
limited numbers and when strictly 
required.
•	 Plastic: we have eliminated plastic 
bottles from our canteen and we 
encourage employees to source 
water from the kitchens available 
on each floor of our buildings.

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SPACE SUSTAINABILITY
In 2017, we participated in a Space 
Sustainability Index workshop held 
by the World Economic Forum’s 
Network of Global Future Councils in 
Luxembourg. Representatives from 
SES, the United Nation Office for 
Outer Space Affairs, jointly led the 
project and the discussions on trends 
and existing options for the index, 
concept models, challenges and next 
steps.
The Space Sustainability Index 
is a concept introduced by the 
United Nation Space Office, which 
includes guidelines for the long-term 
sustainability of outer space activities.
The World Economic Forum’s Global 
Future Councils are the world’s 
foremost interdisciplinary knowledge 
network dedicated to promoting 
innovative thinking to shape a 
sustainable and inclusive future for all.
The network convenes more than 
700 of the most relevant and 
knowledgeable thought leaders from 
academia, government, business and 
civil society, grouped in expertise-
based, thematic councils. It is an 
invitation-only community, and 
members are nominated for a one-
year period.
The workshop aimed at creating 
a joint understanding of existing 
approaches and gathering ideas on 
potential options for the index.
Another objective of the workshop 
was the suggestion of an action plan 
for the next 18 months, focusing on 
who would use the index, who will 
provide the input data, benefits, and 
how the index would be maintained 
and by whom.
Discussions covered the main existing 
initiatives aimed at increasing space 
sustainability, how a unique and value 
adding index can be ensured, possible 
ways of measuring sustainability and 
key components that would go into 
the index.
In a break-out session on concept 
models, participants addressed 
possible models and next steps 
around the topics of space debris, 
space footprint and space resources. 
For each model, challenges and 
solutions were discussed and 
summarised in an action plan. The 
workshop also established a timeline 
for the project.
More workshops followed since 2017 
and in May 2019, the World Economic 
Forum (WEF) announced we had 
been selected in a consortium of 
companies, universities and agencies 
to develop a system to rate the 
sustainability of space systems, one 
that its backers hope will encourage 
good behavior in space.
WEF in fact announced that a team 
from the European Space Agency, 
together with one led by the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
(MIT) Media Lab, will work on 
development of a Space Sustainability 
Rating, a metric that will define how 
well an individual satellite, or satellite 
system, follows guidelines to ensure 
the long-term sustainability of space.
At this announcement, Ruy Pinto, 
our Chief Technology Officer (CTO), 
commented: “The space industry 
is going through change. It’s 
growing. There’s a lot of disruption. 
I see initiatives like creating a space 
sustainability index for what is a 
scarce resource, space, as a sign of 
maturity.
Furthermore, SES has been 
represented at the WEF Space Council 
for the last few years and influenced 
the design of the Space Sustainability 
Index. We are committed to support 
the Space Sustainability Index in its 
final form and work with other private 
companies so that our industry 
as a whole provides additional 
transparency on the environmental 
impact of our space activities.”
The rating system will make use 
of publicly available data, avoiding 
issues such as access to proprietary 
or export-controlled information, 
provided by satellite operators 
and manufacturers through a 
questionnaire.
In the coming years, we will continue 
to collaborate with companies, 
institutions and academia to foster 
national and international space legal 
frameworks towards sustainability.
World Economic Forum
(WEF)

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SPACE DEBRIS
Protecting the environment on Earth is 
important and, as a satellite operator, 
we understand that protecting the 
environment beyond our planet is 
equally important.
The United Nations General Assembly 
has recognised “that space debris is 
an issue of concern to all nations”, and 
that the likelihood of future accidental 
collisions is “expected to increase as 
more objects are placed into orbit”.
Space debris can be defined as “all 
manmade objects including fragments 
and elements thereof, in Earth orbit 
or re-entering the atmosphere, that 
are non-functional.” When they are 
launched, satellites can experience 
explosions and collisions that result 
in space debris. Launch vehicles 
also end up breaking up into tens of 
thousands of small fragments as they 
re-enter the atmosphere.
International space agencies are 
trying to reduce or remove space junk 
completely and several states are 
developing space debris protocols. 
As the world-leading satellite service 
operator, we are involved in such 
activities at the institutional and industry 
levels in trying to minimise this issue.
We are among the founders of the 
Space Data Association (SDA), a 
formal nonprofit association of civil, 
commercial, and military spacecraft 
operators that support the controlled, 
reliable and efficient sharing of data 
that is critical to the safety and 
integrity of satellite operations.
In addition, SES follows the most 
stringent international standards 
for re-orbiting and passivating our 
space assets and we have one of the 
best records in the industry terms 
of achieving a safe disposal of our 
satellites.
SDA has a legal structure and 
agreements that provide protections 
and enforcement mechanisms to 
ensure data is only used for intended 
purposes and it relies on the Space 
Data Center (SDC) operated by AGI 
for flight safety data exchange and 
processing.
SDA includes 33 participating 
operators and monitors 614 satellites, 
of which 279 are GEO satellites, 
which is about 70% of all active GEO 
satellites.

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REUSABLE TECHNOLOGY
For over 60 years, the design of 
rockets has associated spaceflight 
with high costs. Rockets cost tens to 
hundreds of millions to be built and 
launched, and traditionally were only 
flown once and would fall into the 
ocean, never to be used again.
At 6:27 PM EST on 22 March 2017, we 
turned the page on the history of the 
space industry with the successful 
launch of our SES-10 satellite from a 
flight-proven SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
This made SES-10 the first 
geostationary commercial satellite 
to ever launch on a flight-proven 
firststage rocket booster.
Our partnership with SpaceX on this 
journey of innovation brought the 
space industry one step closer to 
faster, easier access to space and 
more sustainable business models.
SES’s history is a sequence of 
pioneering milestones.
We were the pioneer of co-locating 
satellites, the first to launch with 
Proton in 1996, and more recently, 
the first to rely on SpaceX for a 
geostationary mission in 2013 with the 
launch of SES-9.
> SES-10 launch video

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ENVIRONMENT MONITORING  
& SECURITY
The power of satellite enables 
monitoring capabilities on the ground, 
at sea and in the air.
Reliable connectivity is critical for 
timely decision-making during 
maritime missions, especially for 
search and rescue operations.
Stable, high-performance connectivity 
not only enables quick situational 
assessment, but it also boosts the 
costefficiency of resource deployment 
by the national authorities using our 
services.
This matters even more when 
critical data is being delivered to 
and from a moving platform in harsh 
meteorological conditions where there 
is no terrestrial infrastructure.
A great example of this application 
is the connectivity we provide for 
Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems 
(RPAS) services of the European 
Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) 
provided to EU Member States and 
Agencies.
These maritime surveillance activities 
supported by SES Networks are aimed 
at improving maritime security and 
safety operations, as well as response 
to pollution caused by ships, oil and 
gas installations.
In June 2019, we announced that the 
Icelandic maritime authorities are 
utilising the EMSA’s RPAS portfolio, 
enabled by our managed connectivity 
services, to support the country’s 
requirements for environmental 
protection and fisheries control.
Our managed connectivity services 
empower multiple Icelandic authorities 
– such as the Icelandic coast 
guard, the fisheries directorate, the 
environment agency, the customs 
directorate, and the search and rescue 
association – to remotely follow the 
missions via a dedicated data centre 
and to ensure timely decision-making.

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PRINCESS ELISABETH ANTARCTICA
Antarctica is the most remote 
continent on Earth. The “Drake 
passage”, between Antarctica and 
the nearest populated continent, 
South- America, is around 1,000km 
wide. There are no undersea 
telecommunications cables 
connecting the continent.
International interest in the Antarctic, 
which is larger in surface than 
Europe and Australia combined, is 
growing quite considerably. Each year, 
Antarctica is visited by a few thousand 
explorers, adventurers and scientists, 
who look to share their discoveries 
instantly with their home base.
In a multi-year plan, we donate 
bandwidth to the International 
Polar Foundation and thus enable 
the foundation’s Princess Elisabeth 
research station in Antarctica to 
communicate via satellite. We provide 
satellite capacity, and also designed 
and implemented the satellite 
communications infrastructure, as well 
as a counter hub station in the UK.
Princess Elisabeth Antarctica was 
designed as a “zero emission” facility, 
requiring the use of sustainable 
technologies and services, yet 
functional in the challenging 
natural habitat of Antarctica. The 
Antarctic operator for the station, 
the International Polar Foundation 
(IPF) uses satellite technology for its 
communications infrastructure.
The station’s design and construction 
seamlessly integrate passive building 
technologies, renewable wind and 
solar energy, water treatment facilities, 
monitored power demand, and a smart 
grid for maximising energy efficiency.
The success of Princess Elisabeth 
Antarctica demonstrates how 
climate challenges can be tackled 
through goodwill and collaboration 
between civil society, business and 
governments.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE
17
SOCIAL

18
THE POWER OF SATELLITE
In recent years, we’ve seen a proven 
link between connectivity and the 
ability to tackle global economic and 
societal challenges: reducing poverty, 
climate change, saving energy, and 
building access to equal opportunities, 
disaster relief, education, job 
opportunities, and improved health 
services for people everywhere.
Satellite technology is critical to the 
creation of new applications and 
e-inclusion activities.
With the ability to beam reliable 
and flexible bandwidth anywhere 
on earth, satellites help progress 
initiatives across geographical barriers 
to far flung communities, bringing 
infrastructure to fragile economies 
and isolated communities, or aiding 
humanitarian efforts in disaster-hit 
areas.
Each country has unique challenges 
and opportunities around the move 
towards digital and we are at the 
forefront of this transformation.
Broadcasting
Satellites are assisting in transitioning 
countries from analogue to digital 
television.
Across the world, video has gained 
momentum as one of the most 
important ways of communicating, 
educating and entertaining. People 
are eager to access video on a range 
of devices in every location and 
broadcasters are responding to this 
demand. Those who are succeeding 
in this growing market are doing so 
through satellite.
Connecting
The same connectivity used to 
broadcast video to millions of viewers 
can be used to provide broadband 
services and “fiber in the sky” capacity 
to generate economic growth and 
contribute to gross domestic product.
Satellite today offers the opportunity 
to connect and communicate. The 
connectivity provided by satellites 
in remote areas can have a positive 
impact on the productivity of business, 
governments, and institutions, as well 
as enhance knowledge exchange, 
skills, and even health.
Satellite seamlessly bridges the 
divide between urban hubs and more 
remote communities. Reliable high-
speed connectivity is key to driving 
digitisation and boosting countries’ 
economies and opening opportunities 
for their people.
One such example is our effort in 
Burkina Faso. Supported by the 
Government of Luxembourg under 
the development cooperation project, 
we devised a viable, future-proof 
infrastructure to deliver high-
speed communications to connect 
government entities of Burkina Faso, 
enabling better coordination and 
quality services to the residents.
The innovative solution we are 
deploying under a muti-phased 
project integrates wireless 
terrestrial communications and 
available fibreoptic networks into a 
satelliteenabled infrastructure. It will 
connect over 880 sites across the 
country. Furthermore, we are also 
helping to develop local expertise 
to support the project, and created 
several jobs. Local Burkinabe 
engineers based in Ouagadougou are 
now part of our SES team.
Supporting the information, 
technology and communications 
sectors provides a major boost to 
economic growth, productivity and 
employment. The technology can 
also support other infrastructures 
providing hybrid solutions. For 
example, this flexibility is a key enabler 
of the digitalisation journey in Africa.
SES has been and is at the forefront 
of the digital transformation, 
making a difference in the world. 
SES broadcasting and connectivity 
services are transforming the lives of 
millions on the ground, at sea and in 
the air.
> Burkina Faso video

19
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
DISASTER RESPONSE

20
Enabling communications at the 
earliest possible time can be a matter 
of life and death in disaster areas, 
as intelligence and coordination are 
critical to bring aid to the survivors. 
That’s why we collaborated with 
others to develop a satellite service 
based on a balloon antenna, making 
it possible to be transported and 
deployed anywhere in the world, even 
in crisis areas, and be operational that 
much faster.
This project was the first in what 
is now a broad range of short and 
longterm solutions to support 
humanitarian and disaster relief efforts 
across the globe.
emergency.lu
Effective disaster response offers 
a solution to economic disruption. 
When disaster strikes, one of the top 
concerns is establishing fast and 
reliable means of communication.
First responders, government services 
and humanitarian organisations 
rely on their link to the world to 
coordinate effective relief efforts and 
satellite technology, immediately 
deployable, can provide the answer. 
SES collaborates with the Luxembourg 
government, HITEC Luxembourg, 
Luxembourg Air Ambulance, the World 
Food Programme and the Emergency 
Telecommunications Cluster to 
provide emergency.lu, a satellite-based 
communication platform to deliver 
connectivity during disaster response.
The kit has been widely used since 
2012. To date it has been deployed 
dozens of times in countries 
such as Haiti, Nepal, Vanuatu, the 
Philippines, Nigeria, Sierra Leone 
and most recently, following a series 
of devastating hurricanes, in the 
Caribbean and Mozambique.
Each deployment contributed to 
restore connectivity, saving thousands 
of lives and ensuring the continuity of 
businesses and institutions.
RESTORING 
COMMUNICATIONS TO 
DISASTER-STRICKEN 
MOZAMBIQUE VIA 
SATELLITE
The Cyclone Idai that hit Mozambique 
in March 2019 resulting in the 
catastrophic landfall, and Cyclone 
Kenneth that struck a few weeks 
after, destroyed much of the country’s 
communications infrastructure. 
According to the UN Office for 
Coordination of Humanitarian 
Affairs (OCHA), this was the first 
time in recorded history that two 
strong tropical cyclones have hit 
Mozambique in the same season.
With the death toll of over 600 people 
and thousands of others injured 
and displaced, the situation became 
even more critical as Kenneth made 
landfall at the end of the rainy season, 
increasing the risk of flooding as 
the river levels were already high. 
Several weeks after, the humanitarian 
community continues to work hard on 
the ground, as local life is still far from 
getting back to normal.
The emergency.lu rapid deployment 
kits were installed following 
the request of the Emergency 
Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), 
the EU Civil Protection mechanism 
and activation of the Capacity 
Donation Charter. Thanks to this, 
hundreds of humanitarians have been 
connected to conduct their life-saving 
activities.
WORLD FOOD 
PROGRAMME (WFP)
In May 2018, SES expanded its 
commitment to support the 
Emergency Telecommunications 
Cluster’s (ETC) global disaster relief 
efforts. Along with other members of 
the satellite community, SES signed a 
contribution agreement with the World 
Food Programme (WFP), in its role as 
the global lead agency of the ETC.
The contribution agreements are an 
important step in operationalising 
the Crisis Connectivity Charter 
signed in 2015 between the EMEA 
Satellite Operators Association 
(ESOA), the Global VSAT Forum 
(GVF), the UN Office for Coordination 
of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) and 
the ETC. The Crisis Connectivity 
Charter will help the humanitarian 
response community by improving 
their access to vital satellite-based 
communications when local networks 
are affected, destroyed or overloaded 
after a disaster.
Under the contribution agreements, 
the Charter signatories are committing 
satellite equipment and capacity that 
will be dedicated for humanitarian 
purposes during emergency 
responses. The ETC, under the 
global leadership of WFP, will be 
able to activate the Charter when 
disaster strikes and identify which 
capacity and operator is available 
and best suited to a given region 
and need. The contributions will 
enable network connectivity during 
emergencies to support humanitarian 
operations, including logistics, urgent 
medical care, food delivery and the 
coordination of relief efforts.

21
SES & PROJECT LOON
SES Networks’ high throughput and 
fibre-like satellite connectivity service, 
the stratospheric balloons operated 
by X, Alphabet’s self-described 
“moonshot factory”, and local 
telecommunications expertise played 
a key role in restoring connectivity 
in disaster-affected Puerto Rico in 
October 2017.
In May 2017, we collaborated with 
Project Loon and local technology 
partners to provide connectivity to 
communities recovering from floods 
caused by ‘El Nino’.
This weather produced nearly 10 
times the typical rainfall, causing 
widespread flooding and heavy 
damage to telecommunications 
infrastructure.
At the end of 2017, Alphabet’s 
stratospheric balloons had helped 
more than 100,000 Puerto Ricans to 
connect to the internet.
Loon balloons float in the stratosphere 
at an altitude of 20km, and can 
get connectivity where it’s needed 
regardless of the situation on the 
ground.
Via our Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) 
satellite network we were able 
to provide fiber-like throughput 
and latency to support 4G/LTE 
connectivity restoration efforts.
Each deployment contributes to 
restore connectivity, saving thousands 
of lives and ensuring the continuity of 
businesses and institutions.

22
RAPID RESPONSE VEHICLE (RRV)
In March 2017, we unveiled our new 
SATCOM-enabled rapid response 
connectivity platform, Rapid Response 
Vehicle (RRV).
Using a combination of GEO 
(Geostationary Earth Orbit) and 
MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) satellite 
connectivity, the RRV can enable 
wireless internet access for refugee 
camps and communities, reinforce 
downed public infrastructure, and 
provide IP backhaul for mobile 
networks and long-term connectivity 
for agencies on the ground.
Whether these are aid missions in 
response to natural or technological 
disasters or humanitarian operations, 
the SES RRV platform can provide 
tailored connectivity to support 
virtually any situation imaginable, 
anywhere in the world.
SES’s plug-and-play modular RRV 
solution can easily integrate and 
deploy an array of communications 
technologies and devices aboard 
its mobile vehicle, including the 
emergency.lu disaster recovery 
platform, SES persistent surveillance 
aerostat, or the SATMED telemedicine 
service.

23
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
e-APPLICATIONS

24
E-HEALTH
SATMED
For medical professionals working in 
remote areas, connectivity can make 
a real difference in their patients’ care. 
Satellites can offer the solution. With 
the valuable cooperation of e-Medical 
Communication (eMC) and funding 
from the Luxembourg Government, 
SES was able to go beyond 
connectivity and create the SATMED, 
an innovative cloud-computing 
based e-health platform. SATMED 
was developed with the support of 
innovative technologies established 
by leading universities and IT 
companies, and in close cooperation 
with five NGOs: Friendship, ArcheMed, 
Fondation Follereau Luxembourg, 
German Doctors and CURE.
SATMED enables communication 
between medical professionals, 
thus propagating the transfer and 
exchange of medical knowledge, as 
well as providing support tools for 
medical e-learning and e-teaching.
An IT cloud infrastructure, accessible 
around the globe, further facilitates 
the data exchange between 
professionals and supports the setup 
of a medical infrastructure such as 
electronic medical records and tele-
radiology systems.
SATMED is also aimed at supporting 
regional development programmes 
and humanitarian operations in 
cooperation with both governmental 
and non-governmental organisations.
Once deployed, the platform delivers 
a fullymanaged service that includes 
a helpdesk, maintenance of terminals, 
and continuous user training.
In the Bangladesh delta, where local 
people make their homes on small 
remote islands in order to farm fertile 
land, SATMED has changed the lives 
of thousands. There, the only way to 
reach these isolated communities 
is by ship; which is why a local NGO, 
Friendship, operates three floating 
hospitals. As they cruise along the 
rivers these ship board hospitals 
enable approximately 80 medical 
specialists to provide permanent 
healthcare for up to 200,000 patients 
per year. In the spring of 2016, the 
Friendship staff’s challenging working 
conditions changed dramatically 
once we installed maritime VSATs on 
their ships to provide connectivity, 
and enable them to use the SATMED 
e-health platform.
In 2016 SES deployed SATMED at the 
CURE Hospital for Children in Niger. 
Thanks to the platform, CURE Niger is 
now able to establish communications 
with national and international doctors 
to receive medical counselling.
SATMED has been successfully 
deployed in Sierra Leone, Benin, Niger, 
the Philippines, and Bangladesh where 
it has improved the health and quality 
of life of thousands of people.
In September 2016, SATMED won the 
“Changing Lives Award” at the VSAT 
Global Event held in London.
www.satmed.com
> SATMED video

25
E-LEARNING
e-learning can change lives whereby 
quality education can be delivered to 
even the most remote locations. As 
the world’s leading satellite-enabled 
solutions provider, we are the ideal 
partner to empower communities and 
people everywhere on the planet. Our 
e-learning initiatives bring education 
and knowledge-sharing solutions, as 
well as provide internet connectivity 
that, in bridging the digital divide, fuels 
economic growth and fosters societal 
development.
Whilst our e-learning programmes 
are deployed across the world, in 
the last few years we have focused 
our efforts on the African continent, 
where satellite technology is best-
placed to reach rural and isolated 
areas. We have therefore worked with 
governments and public institutions in 
Africa to encourage them to embrace 
satellite technology to accelerate an 
education development programme.
This has initiated broadband policies 
that address digital inequality, 
promote investment in infrastructure, 
and encourage economic and social 
development.
In Nigeria, we have leveraged our 
satellite technology and infrastructure 
to run e-learning programmes since 
2015.
By partnering with the Nigerian 
Government to implement a number 
of Information and Communications 
Technology (ICT) projects, we are 
bridging the digital and information 
gap that exists in rural areas and 
providing more e-learning facilities to 
underserved communities.
e-learning can mean that students 
around the world can access courses 
in any field, and governments or 
institutions can generate programmes 
aimed at specific learning goals.

26
E-ELECTIONS
E-BANKING
Large scale events like national 
elections require a tremendous spike 
in stable bandwidth for activities such 
as gathering votes and interacting 
with polling stations. This can be 
difficult with limited communications 
access.
In such situations, satellite technology 
has the potential to transform 
the election process. By securely 
transmitting information from polling 
offices and displaying provisional 
results online in almost real time, 
elections can become transparent and 
efficient.
In 2012, at the request of the Burkina 
Faso Commission Electorale Nationale 
Indépendante (CENI), we worked with 
local partners to deliver an e-election 
solution for their municipal elections. 
With no rural terrestrial connections, 
Burkina Faso needed to collect 
electoral data from isolated regions 
and enhance the transparency of 
its elections. The challenge was to 
use cost effective digital technology 
to transfer data and biometric voter 
validation on a short timeline and in a 
way that showed clear benefits for the 
whole population.
This engagement was repeated 
during the Burkina Faso presidential 
elections in 2015. We provided 
satellite broadband to the 45 
electoral offices over six weeks, 
and connected them to the CENI 
central office in Ouagadougou. Each 
office was outfitted with a satellite 
terminal and dish, with a modem 
connected to a standard PC or local 
network to provide voice-over-IP 
(VOIP) and videoconferencing, as 
well as providing for quick, secure 
transmission of electoral data. This 
ensured transparency, enabling the 
rapid delivery and dissemination of 
election results, and reduced the risk 
of political unrest.
Two ballots were organised to select 
candidates for 127 National Assembly 
seats and 18,698 local government 
posts. The central collection centre in 
the capital Ouagadougou was set up 
as a hub for the 368 polling stations 
across the nation, all enabled with 
VSAT terminals. Citizens could access 
provisional results on the Internet and 
over public TV broadcast, allowing 
them to follow the election as it 
unfolded, with the numbers published 
the day after the election ended – a 
first in Africa and the benchmark for 
future elections.
More recently, Burkina Faso and 
Luxembourg established the Indicative 
Cooperation Programme to improve 
the quality, reliability and accessibility 
of the country’s ICT infrastructure.
Set to run from 2017-2021, this project 
is for a high-speed, flexible and reliable 
telecommunications network that can 
bring e-government, education and 
health to 881 sites country-wide.
Our satellite connectivity is providing 
fast and reliable e-banking and 
facilitating microfinancing services 
in remote and isolated areas in 
developing countries, making 
improved financial services available. 
Whilst the market for microfinance is 
growing fast, remote sites often lack 
vital telecommunication services. The 
local mobile network is not suitable for 
business-critical transactions as it is 
usually congested and the quality of 
service is poor.
The SatFinAfrica project was run in 
collaboration with ESA, supported 
byNewtec, and led by pan-African 
ISP SatADSL. In this framework, 
money transfer offices and Automatic 
Teller Machines (ATMs) in remote 
areas were connected through SES 
bandwidth. The Astra Connect service 
was adapted by SatADSL to grant a 
reliable and secured communication 
system to money transfer companies 
or ATMs.
After the successful completion of 
SatFinAfrica, in 2014 the project team 
launched the SatCorpAfrica project. 
SatCorpAfrica is aimed at providing 
dedicated satellite services to Oil 
& Gas operators, the Mining and 
Banking industries, and more generally 
to Larger and Medium-Sized African 
companies with multiple sites located 
in remote areas of West Africa.

27
E-AGRICULTURE
Over the last decade, the European 
Union has contributed to the 
development agenda in Africa with 
€32 billion, and another €82 billion 
have come directly from the member 
states.
Moving the development agenda 
towards digital is essential. In fact, 
beyond finance, digital technologies 
also have the potential to transform 
agriculture and contribute to 
economic and social development.
Agricultural and rural development 
can be enhanced through improved 
information and communication; yet 
this requires connectivity to ensure 
that farmers can benefit from useful 
applications and information related to 
their agricultural business.
Through e-Agriculture applications, 
some African farmers even in the 
most remote areas are now able to get 
information about market prices and 
thus increase their revenue by up to 
20%.
In under-served and remote 
agricultural environments, our 
satellite technology is thus the ideal 
solution. SES addresses this demand 
by establishing broadband internet 
connectivity via GEO and MEO 
satellites, wherever it is needed.
With connectivity projects gaining 
momentum, satellite networks shall 
be integral to the delivery of reliable, 
borderless connectivity across vast 
regions, without discriminating 
between villages and cities. By 
complementing existing infrastructure 
with last-mile connectivity, they enable 
the highspeed Internet to accelerate 
positive outcomes for development 
policies, anywhere.
Ultimately, satellite networks empower 
the people and the nations of Africa 
with the digital tools, applications and 
connectivity needed to thrive in the 
world economy.

28
EDUCATION & TRAINING

29
ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS
Our education initiatives are based on 
collaborations and partnerships across 
the world. We partner with universities 
to foster technological innovation, 
contribute to the development of 
mission-critical technical capabilities, 
advance satellite-based business 
solutions, develop engineering and 
legal talent, encourage research and 
support PhD research.
Our academic partners include:
•	 Luxembourg Institute of Science 
and Technology (LIST)
•	 Center for Security, Reliability and 
Trust (SnT) at the University of 
Luxembourg
•	 The Faculty of Law, Economics and 
Finance (FDEF) at the University of 
Luxembourg
•	 Jack Welch College of Business, 
Sacred Heart University, 
Luxembourg
•	 Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology (MIT)
•	 Lycée Guillaume Kroll, Eschsur- 
Alzette, Luxembourg
•	 The International Space University, 
Strasbourg, Franc
•	 Université Paris-Sud, France
•	 Politehnica University of Bucharest, 
Bucharest, Romania
•	 Stevens Institute of Technology, 
New Jersey, US
•	 Princeton University, Princeton, US
•	 African School of Economics (ASE), 
Abomey-Calavi, Benin
Luxembourg Institute of Science 
and Technology (LIST)
In 2018, our partnership with the 
Luxembourg Institute of Science 
and Technology (LIST continued 
to progress towards developing a 
European Centre of Excellence to 
address societal challenges such as 
climate change, environment, green 
mobility, security and healthcare in 
addition to other satellite-related 
application areas, such as connected 
cars. SES and LIST continue to 
work on developing commercial 
applications in the areas of Internet of 
Things (IoT, eplatform solutions and 
optical communications.
The cooperation framework with 
LIST complemented our existing 
partnership agreement with the 
Interdisciplinary Center for Security, 
Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the 
University of Luxembourg, where we 
also finance a chair in Space Law.
We have a close working relationship 
with the law faculty where students 
often work at SES as interns.
Our cooperation through our 
international network of research 
partners with unique expertise in 
satellite communications (SatCom) is 
aimed at transforming basic research 
into innovative space applications.
LIST is therefore a close technology 
partner in the development of 
pioneering SatCom commercial 
products and services. In addition, 
this partnership agreement further 
enhances Luxembourg’s technology 
ecosystem by attracting start-
ups to develop their businesses 
in Luxembourg, and will facilitate 
the transfer of new technologies 
stemming from national public and 
private research.
Those activities are conducted in 
close coordination with the existing 
national funding initiatives, such as 
the Digital Tech Fund, of which we 
are a key stakeholder. The current 
focus of research is the ‘Smart Space’ 
initiative, which includes research 
and development of applications in 
the context of High Performance 
Computing (HPC), aiming to 
establish a unique space ecosystem 
by building on Luxembourg’s 
competitive advantages, including 
global satellite communications and 
telecommunications networks, data 
centres and connectivity and existing 
service providers.
We also provide ongoing funding 
for a scholarship programme at the 
International Space University (ISU) 
in Strasbourg, France, to support 
students studying advanced space 
applications.
In Benin, we fund scholarships for 
students from the African School of 
Economics (ASE) to attend Princeton 
University, another one of our partners 
in the US. In the US, we also support 
the Master’s Programme at the 
Stevens Institute of Technology, a 
coeducational research university 
located in Hoboken, New Jersey.

30
ELEVATE
The development of business and 
industrial skills is key to economic 
and social development. Therefore, 
education and training should evolve 
at the right pace to support demand 
through the right technology and 
infrastructure.
The establishment of our ELEVATE 
training in Africa is another example 
of what satellite technology can do to 
support economic development. Our 
aim is to impart as much knowledge as 
possible to our trainees to open up job 
opportunities and help them develop 
small businesses.
Evolving from simple technical 
training to an advancement and 
self-development programme, 
ELEVATE helps graduates set up their 
businesses within the direct-to-home 
(DTH) satellite industry. Launched 
in 2012, the programme includes an 
impressive set of vital business and 
marketing skills, as well as health and 
safety precautions and competencies. 
The two-day course requires trainees 
to perform practice scenarios on the 
second day. The practical modules 
are about setting up an installation, or 
engaging in dialogue with a customer.
Given how governments throughout 
Africa are targeting women learners 
to join ICT programmes, ELEVATE 
fits perfectly within that strategy. In 
fact, many local women entrepreneurs 
have completed the training to further 
strengthen their skills, give them 
the opportunity to target additional 
revenue streams, and get more 
involved in the industry.
To date, the programme has trained 
over 5,000 installers across the 
African continent, including the 
Democratic Republic of Congo, 
Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte 
D’Ivoire, Uganda, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, 
Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa.
> Elevate video

31
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING
AND MATHEMATICS (STEM)

32
We recognize that we must inspire the new generations towards Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and we invest in considerable resources to get involved
in local and global activities in this field.
We must inspire the new generation 
towards Science, Technology, 
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) 
and so we engage in global activities 
in this field. As we promote STEM, 
we also ensure this is done around 
principles of diversity. In particular, 
we encourage gender diversity in 
engineering.
HELLO FUTURE
In Luxembourg, we support Hello 
Future, an initiative launched in 2017 
by the Luxembourg Government via 
the Fedil (Federation Des Industriels 
Luxembourgeois). The aim of this 
collaboration is to promote scientific 
subject studies and inspire careers 
in the industry to high school 
students. As part of this initiative, we 
participate in roadshows in schools 
and institutions and we have so far 
engaged with over 1,000 students.
ENGINEERING  
TRAINEE DAYS
The Engineering Trainee Days 
is an initiative of the Association 
Luxembourgeoise des Ingeniéurs 
(ALI), and the association for young 
entrepreneurs, Jonk Entrepreneuren 
Luxembourg, in cooperation with the 
Ministry of Education and Lifelong 
Learning.
In October 2018, during the school 
holidays, we hosted the fifth edition 
of Engineering Trainee Days on SES’s 
Betzdorf Campus (Luxembourg) with 
students aged 15-18 years from across 
Luxembourg.
The workshop featured the 
‘Stakeholders Centricity - 
Monumentum Wall’ and interactive 
presentations on SES and the space 
sector. The Engineering Trainee Days 
2018 was particularly appreciated 
by the participants, as it provided an 
opportunity to network with industry 
professionals, broaden their horizons 
and discover new career opportunities.

33
SES SPACE SCHOLARSHIPS
On 30 May 2019, at St. James Palace 
in London, The Air League awarded 
the recipient of the first SES & The Air 
League Space Scholarship. The 
scholarship offers the opportunity to 
take part in a residential Senior Space 
School at the University of Leicester 
and is designed to introduce and 
inspire young people to experience a 
wide range of career opportunities in 
the space industry.
At the Air League Reception, SES 
announced the opening of two 
additional scholarships for the 
Summer 2019. The scholarhip 
includes tuition and an opportunity to 
be selected for an SES internship.
The SES Space Scholarship is a 
unique opportunity for students who 
are between 17 and 18 years old, are 
interested in the space industry and 
have completed their studies to take 
part in a residential Senior Space 
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
School with the University of Leicester 
in the UK held every August.
The scholarships are designed to 
introduce and inspire the individual 
towards the wide range of career 
opportunities in the space industry.
“The SES Space Scholarship has 
been such a wonderful opportunity; 
it has enabled me to meet other 
people interested in space whom I 
would never have otherwise had the 
opportunity to meet.
Additionally, I received hands-on 
experience like using the university 
telescope to look at Saturn 
and Jupiter and building model 
gunpowder-fueled rockets. It has truly 
helped me to see why I want to pursue 
a career in the space sector.
It is important for young people, 
especially young women, to 
understand just how fascinating the 
prospect of a career in the space 
industry can be. This scholarship has 
really helped me to pursue my dreams 
and I have decided to apply to study 
physics at university.
I send a huge thanks to SES and 
the Air League for making such 
an opportunity possible, and I 
cannot stress enough how much I 
recommend applying for this amazing 
opportunity!” - Chloe Kadir, recipient 
of the first SES Scholarship.

34
SES & MASSACHUSETTS 
INSTITUTE OF 
TECHNOLOGY (MIT)
The partnership between SES and the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
(MIT) extends beyond research 
projects to also include recruiting 
efforts. In 2018, SES colleagues 
participated in two events held on the 
MIT campus.
The first event in May 2018 saw 
students from the Aeronautics, 
Electrical & Mechanical Engineering, 
Computer Science, and Physics 
departments invited to a recruiting 
lunch-n-learn seminar that included 
presentations and a discussion on our 
talent acquisition process.
A second career and recruitment 
event was held in September 2018 for 
Graduate and Postdoc Students. Both 
events on the MIT campus established 
long-term recruitment prospects for 
SES.
GAME OF CODE - 
HACKATHON 2019
In March 2019, SES and GovSat 
teamed up to participate in Game of 
Code Hackathon in Luxembourg, a 24-
hour coding event aimed at fostering 
collaboration, creativity, networking 
with industry experts, acquire new 
talent and drive innovation.
The event involved over 100 coders 
with SES participating with 4 teams 
and over 50 volunteers across the 
company.
This will be followed by the creation 
of an SES Coding Club and the 
organisation of further events in 
the near future in partnership with 
external institutions involved in STEM.
YWCA PRINCETON 
ROBOTICS
In promoting gender diversity in 
STEM, our office in Princeton (United 
States) has actively supported YWCA 
Princeton Robotics with teams 
since 2016. In June 2019, part of the 
cafeteria in the Princeton SES office 
was once again turned into a robotics 
workshop where the participants built 
and test robots.
The programme is not limited to 
technical skills but also involves 
interpersonal and leadership 
attributes. and it often results in hiring 
of summer interns.
“These young robotic rock stars 
are smart, confident, and possess 
extraordinary communication skills. 
They embody the entire talent 
package important to SES and, at a 
relatively young age, have inspired 
many of us. Ultimately, they provide 
a valuable pipeline of skills for SES’s 
future.” Douglas Clayton, SES senior 
vice president, human resources.
Activities include a visit of the SES 
facility in Princeton and a tour of the 
Space Operations Center. After their 
presentation to the SES scientists 
and management, the girls have the 
opportunity to explore SES’s satellite 
operations and learn about how 
satellites are launched and controlled 
from the ground.
Meetings usually also include women 
leaders at SES, who share their 
experience about how they have 
managed to combine their passions 
and expertise to have strong careers 
in men-dominated industries. After all, 
empowered women empower women.
> Game of Code video

35
As part of our support in monitoring 
space debris and contributing to 
finding solutions, we have engaged 
with the B612 Foundation, a non-profit 
formed for planetary defense against 
asteroid and other near-Earth object 
(NEO) impacts. The B612 Foundation 
is named for the asteroid home of the 
eponymous hero of Antoine de Saint- 
Exupéry’s The Little Prince.
In 2015, the B612 Foundation 
contributed to the launch of Asteroid 
Day, an annual event sanctioned 
by the United Nations under 
the leadership of Dr. Brian May, 
astrophysicist and lead guitarist of 
Queen.
The event is dedicated to education 
and awareness about asteroids, and 
in particular the protection of Earth 
from dangerous impacts. Annual 
activities are focused around the 
June 30 anniversary of the 1908 
Tunguska asteroid impact, the largest 
in recorded history.
In 2016, Asteroid Day was sanctioned 
by the United Nations, as a “global day 
of education to raise awareness about 
asteroids.”
In April 2017, the Government 
of Luxembourg and executives 
of Asteroid Day announced the 
selection of Luxembourg as the 
official headquarters for the Asteroid 
Day organisation. This resulted in 
Luxembourg hosting Asteroid Day 
2017, which was broadcast across the 
world via our global satellite fleet and 
over streaming platforms.
In 2019, SES partnered with 
Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE) 
Partner to Broadcast Asteroid Day 
2019 Globally in HD. The broadcast 
featured pre-recorded and live High 
Definition (HD) content from Asteroid 
Day’s global programmes and events 
throughout June 2019, building to 
June 30 with coverage of over 2,000 
events occurring in 190 countries.
SES also partnered with the newly 
formed Luxembourg Space Agency to 
deliver two days of STEM activities as 
part of the Asteroid Day programme at 
Cercle Cité in Luxembourg.
These activities involved a “Meet & 
Greet with Astronauts” and interaction 
with SES employees and SES Talent 
Acquisition representatives.
“Luxembourg is home to a space 
industry and satellite telecoms 
infrastructure connecting Europe 
and the world,” said Marc Serres, CEO 
of the Luxembourg Space Agency. 
“The expertise and valuable support 
of leading companies such as SES 
and BCE play a key role in making 
Asteroid Day an international success 
and enable all of us to have a truly 
global conversation about space and 
asteroids.”
“At SES, we value technology as a tool 
to positively impact and transform 
lives,” said Ruy Pinto, SES Chief 
Technology Officer. “We are proud to 
be a partner in this global awareness 
campaign to learn about asteroids, 
both the impact hazards they may 
pose and the resources they may 
one day yield. By leveraging multiple 
satellites, we are using the power 
of our global reach to deliver this 
important programming to millions of 
TV homes.”

36
WORLD SPACE WEEK
In June 2019, SES and the World 
Space Week Association jointly 
announced that SES CEO Steve Collar 
will be Honorary Chair of World Space 
Week 2020.
World Space Week is a United 
Nations-declared event held each year 
between 4-10 October. In 2018, World 
Space Week included 5,400 events 
in 86 nations. In 2019, World Space 
Week will feature the Moon, with 
astronomy groups globally focusing 
telescopes on our nearest neighbor. In 
2020, World Space Week will focus on 
satellite technology and the key role of 
satellites in today’s world.
Every year, teachers use space 
during World Space Week to inspire 
students and a myriad of space 
events to educate the public about 
space activities. Collar will encourage 
the space and satellite industries 
to participate in World Space Week 
and will keynote an awards event to 
recognize top supporters.
“I’m excited to chair World Space 
Week, the biggest space event on 
Earth, as it focuses global attention 
on the broad benefits of satellite 
technology to humankind,” said Collar.
“At SES, we always say that we do the 
extraordinary in space so that our 
customers can do amazing things on 
Earth. We believe passionately in the 
need for content and connectivity 
everywhere and this belief aligns 
perfectly with the focus of World 
Space Week. Space touches the 
human experience in so many ways 
and I am proud to help highlight the 
impact that we, as an industry, have 
today and will continue to have in the 
future.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE
37
GOVERNANCE

38
SES has been listed on the 
Luxembourg Stock Exchange since 
1998 and on Euronext Paris since 
2004. The company follows the ‘Ten 
Principles of Corporate Governance’ 
adopted by the Luxembourg Stock 
Exchange (its home market), as 
revised in 2017. SES also complies with 
the governance rules for companies 
listed in Paris, where the majority 
of the trading in SES FDRs takes 
place. In the instance of conflicting 
compliance requirements, for 
example concerning the publication 
of the individual remuneration of the 
members of its Executive Committee 
and its board members, SES follows 
the rules of the home market by 
reporting the aggregate amount of the 
remuneration of the members of the 
Executive Committee, with the fixed 
and the variable components of the 
benefits being separately identified.
SES meets all the recommendations 
made by the ‘Ten Principles’ except 
with regard to Recommendation 3.9, 
which states that the committees 
created by the Board should only 
have advisory powers. The SES 
Board has delegated some decision-
making powers to the Remuneration 
Committee. For the full details of 
these powers, see the charter of the 
Remuneration Committee on the 
SES website (www.ses.com). After 
each meeting of the Remuneration 
Committee, its Chairman reports 
to the Board about the latest 
Remuneration Committee discussions 
and decisions.
The company is continuously 
increasing the flow of information to 
its shareholders via the corporate 
governance section of its website and 
communicates with its shareholders 
through the dedicated email address 
shareholders@ses.com. In line with 
Luxembourg law, the company allows 
shareholders to receive all corporate 
documentation, including the 
documents for shareholder meetings, 
in electronic format.
In this context, the SES website 
contains a regularly updated stream of 
information, such as the latest version 
of the company’s main governance 
documents, including the articles 
of incorporation, the corporate 
governance charter (including the 
charters of the various committees 
set up by the Board) and the separate 
sections on the composition and the 
mission of the Board, the Board’s 
committees and the Executive 
Committee. This section also contains 
the SES Code of Conduct and Ethics, 
the SES Dealing Code, the financial 
calendar and any other information 
that may be of interest to the 
company’s shareholders.
The Board of Directors is responsible 
for defining the company’s strategic 
objectives as well as its overall 
corporate plan. The Board approves, 
upon proposal from the Executive 
Committee, the annual consolidated 
accounts of the company and the 
appropriation of results, the group’s 
medium-term business plan, the 
consolidated annual budget of the 
company and the management report 
to be submitted to the meeting of 
shareholders. It also approves major 
investments and is responsible vis-
à-vis shareholders and third parties 
for the management of the company, 
which it delegates to the Senior 
Leadership Team in accordance with 
the company’s internal regulations.
The Board of Directors meets when 
required by the company’s business, 
and at least once per quarter.
CONTROL 
ENVIRONMENT
SES has adopted a robust internal 
control framework based on a 
set of guidelines prepared by 
COSO (Committee of Sponsoring 
Organisations of the Treadway 
Commission). This framework provides 
reasonable assurance that the internal 
control objectives are being achieved; 
it is also consistent with the reference 
framework proposed by the French 
securities regulator, the ‘Autorité des 
Marchés Financiers’ (AMF).
The control environment is an 
essential element of the company’s 
internal control framework, as it 
sets the tone for the organisation. 
This is the foundation of the other 
components of internal control, 
providing discipline and structure.
The Board has delegated the design, 
implementation and maintenance of 
a rigorous and effective system of 
internal controls to the SES Senior 
Leadership Team, which in turn 
works closely with the other levels of 
management in establishing control 
policies and procedures.
Policies and procedures are regularly 
updated, as appropriate. The aim is to 
design and implement a common set 
of policies and procedures that best 
support the organisation and can be 
used company-wide. The policies and 
procedures apply to all employees 
and officers of the SES group, and 
where appropriate, to its directors as 
the general framework for their own 
business process design.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

39
Members of the Senior Leadership Team are appointed by the Board of Directors upon a proposal from the Nomination 
Committee.
THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM
MR STEVE COLLAR
President and CEO
MR ANDREW BROWNE
Chief Financial Officer
Mr RUY PINTO
Chief Technology Officer 
MR FERDINAND KAYSER 
Chief Executive Officer, SES Video
Mr JOHN-PAUL HEMINGWAY
CEO, SES Networks
MR JOHN BAUGHN 
Chief Services Officer
MR JOHN PURVIS
Chief Legal Officer
MRS EVIE ROOS
Chief Human Resources Officer
MR CHRISTOPHE DE HAUWER 
Chief Strategy and Development Officer

40
CODE OF CONDUCT 
A group-wide ‘Code of Conduct and 
Ethics’, available in the Corporate 
Governance section of our website, 
has been in place since 2009 and it 
was updated in 2018.
The Code, on which all our employees 
are trained, is designed to enable all 
employees, officers and directors to 
take a consistent approach to integrity 
issues and to make sure that SES 
conducts its business in compliance 
with all applicable laws and regulations 
and observes the highest standards of 
business ethics.
An SES Compliance Committee, 
composed of designated Compliance 
Officers in each main corporate 
location, is tasked with raising the 
staff’s awareness of the Code and 
ensures a consistent roll-out and 
training programme for the Code. The 
Committee meets regularly to discuss 
important topics or issues. Reflecting 
the company’s expansion into 
developing markets, the composition 
of the Compliance Committee 
includes representatives from SES’s 
offices in Asia, the Middle East and 
Latin America.
Our code of conduct and ethics 
ensures all of us take a consistent 
approach to issues of integrity – one 
of our core values – and it provides 
an overview of applicable laws, 
regulations and company policies, 
as well as the procedure to follow in 
the event of violations or concerns. 
Topics include confidentiality, fraud, 
antibribery, corruption, anti-trust, 
sanctions, export compliance, conflicts 
of interest, fair employment practices, 
workplace safety and environmental 
protection.
With our code of conduct as our base, 
we aim to sustain a corporate culture 
where ethical conduct is recognised, 
valued and exemplified by all our 
employees.
Key Principles:
-	 The SES Code of Conduct and 
Ethics is designed to enable all 
employees, officers and directors of 
the company to take a consistent 
approach to integrity issues
-	 It provides an explanation of 
applicable laws, regulations and 
Company policies relating to SES 
Employees’ conduct and ethics
-	 The Code also describes the 
procedures to follow related to 
concerns or violations, as well 
as the potential sanctions for 
violations.
Key elements of the Code are:
•	 Obey all applicable laws and 
regulations governing our business 
worldwide 
•	 Be honest, fair and trustworthy 
in all company activities and 
relationships 
•	 Be aware of your risks and 
responsibilities with regard to 
confidentiality, fraud, bribery, 
corruption, anti-trust, sanctions etc. 
•	 Avoid all conflicts of interest 
between company activities and 
your personal affairs 
•	 Foster an atmosphere in which 
fair employment practices extend 
to every member of the diverse 
Company community 
•	 Strive to create a safe workplace 
and to protect the environment 
•	 Through leadership at all levels, 
sustain a culture where ethical 
conduct is recognized, valued and 
exemplified by all SES Employees
SES Employees are encouraged to 
report suspected violations of this 
Code, and wrongdoing in general.
Their concerns will be taken seriously 
and investigated as appropriate. Their 
confidentiality will be respected as a 
whistleblower and protected as such. 
Genuinely held concerns should be 
raised without fear of reprisals, even 
if the concerns should turn out to be 
mistaken.
SES prohibits any SES Employee from 
retaliating or taking adverse action 
against anyone for raising or helping 
to resolve a concern related to the 
Code.
Retaliation or even the threat of 
retaliation will be regarded as a 
violation of the Code. In order to 
facilitate the raising of a concern, SES 
has recently introduced a Compliance 
Hotline, managed by a third-party 
supplier that allows SES Employees 
to raise their concerns, in a multitude 
of languages as well as doing so 
anonymously.
SES hopes that in many cases an SES 
Employee raising a concern will be 
able to raise such concern with their 
line manager directly.
Of course, submitting false reports or 
allegations is considered a violation of 
the Code and will be treated as such.
ETHICAL APPROACH

41
BRIBERY  
AND CORRUPTION
We have identified bribery and 
corruption as one of the risks that SES 
is facing by doing business in most 
countries around the world, but also 
by doing more and more business with 
governments.
SES takes a zero-tolerance approach 
to bribery and corruption in all forms 
and will uphold all laws relevant to 
countering bribery and corruption 
in all the jurisdictions in which it 
operates, even if it costs us business. 
SES is committed to implementing 
and enforcing effective systems to 
counter bribery and corruption.
Providing anti-bribery training, with a 
focus on GDPR and IT Security, is one 
way to reduce this risk. We are also 
conducting external due diligence 
on our third-party agents upon their 
appointment.
The level of this due diligence 
depends on the risk assessment, 
which itself is based on several 
elements, including the country of 
operation and the type of business.
Such appointments need to be duly 
justified and an internal sponsor will 
be responsible for the relationship 
with the third-party agent. We 
also reduce the risk of bribery 
through a clear process for gifts and 
entertainment. The relevant policy, 
which like all compliance policies is 
available on a dedicated intranet page, 
contains a dedicated e-mail address 
that can be used to obtain guidance 
prior to providing or accepting a gift or 
entertainment.
In line with best practice, we apply 
stricter rules when dealing with 
Government representatives. The 
overarching principle is that no gift 
should ever be given or received 
under any circumstances that might 
create the appearance of impropriety, 
that might be construed as a bribe 
or a payoff, or with the objective to 
influence a decision.
STATEMENT  
ON SLAVERY
This statement is made pursuant to 
Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 
2015 of the UK and sets out the steps 
SES has taken to ensure that slavery 
and human trafficking is not taking 
place in our supply chains or in any 
part of our business.
SES is committed to ensuring that 
there is no modern slavery or human 
trafficking in its supply chains or in 
any part of its business. SES will not 
support or deal with any business 
knowingly involved in slavery or 
human trafficking.
The nature of SES’s business means 
that the majority of SES’s suppliers 
are large international companies 
providing complex technical services 
relating to the space industry through 
highly skilled professional employees. 
SES’s 50 largest suppliers account for 
approximately 80% of procurement 
spending.
SES does not procure a substantial 
amount of goods or services in 
sectors that are considered to be high 
risk for human trafficking or slavery 
(such as agriculture or horticulture, 
construction, textiles, catering 
and restaurants, domestic work, 
entertainment and the sex industry).
SES considers that, in its role as 
customer, it plays a key role in setting 
the expectation that our suppliers 
comply with the law at all times. SES 
has created a Code of Conduct for 
Suppliers, available in the Corporate 
Governance section of our website, 
which clearly outlines SES’s stance 
towards slavery and human trafficking.
SES also includes in its contracts 
with suppliers a clause requiring 
the supplier to comply with all laws 
applicable to the provision of the 
goods or service.
SES’s contracts with its suppliers 
also often contain a provision stating 
its suppliers cannot novate or 
subcontract any right or obligations 
to any third party without the written 
consent of SES.

42
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

43
At SES, we pride ourselves on bringing 
the best to our customers, wherever 
they are and whatever their needs 
and challenges. And we recognise 
that bringing together an SES team of 
diverse individuals with different life 
experiences, different backgrounds, 
and from different geographies and 
cultures, is paramount to serving these 
customers today and to helping us 
decipher the world’s communication 
needs of tomorrow.
SES respects the legislation to ensure 
equal treatment of men and women 
and confirms its commitment to fair 
employment practices in the SES 
Code of Conduct and Ethics.
While SES does not have 
diversityspecific policies, diversity 
is integrated into our HR processes 
and we take a structured approach to 
gender and pro-actively take action 
in five key areas: recruitment, career 
development, networking, work-life 
balance and culture.
We also acknowledge that there is 
much work still to be done, as indeed 
there is in the technology sector as 
a whole. As an industry leader, we 
are fully committed to increasing 
the number of colleagues from 
underrepresented groups and to 
creating a more diverse SES for the 
future.
Our employees represent a compelling 
mix of many nationalities, empowering 
innovation and excellence in all our 
departments. We will continue our 
work by analysing and addressing the 
key drivers for gender diversity and 
the same approach can and should be 
used to maximise the commitment of 
all diverse groups in our workforce.
During Q2 ‘16, a number of employee 
round-table discussions focusing on 
gender diversity took place, with over 
10% of SES employees participating. 
The discussions highlighted some 
key elements to focus on, which 
interestingly are also reflected in the 
latest research on this topic.
Talent Acquisition – The talent pool of 
women within the technology sector 
is, unfortunately, somewhat small. 
Nonetheless, we will do the utmost to 
have at least one woman on the short 
list for all vacant executive positions 
within the group. We have also 
revisited our job descriptions and job 
advertisements to ensure they contain 
a gender-neutral language.
Career Development – Research 
suggests that women are not as vocal 
about their career ambitions as men. 
Progress on gender diversity requires 
focus on talent review discussions and 
advancement opportunities. At SES, 
we will continue to focus on talent 
ed women in our High Potential and 
Mentoring Programmes.
Work Life Balance – For our 
employees to successfully meet 
the many demands and challenges 
of modern life, we understand that 
flexibility in work conditions is needed. 
To support this, we will enhance 
ways to further enrich a progressive 
and productive work environment. 
A new and more flexible policy was 
introduced in 2017. This provides our 
employees with greater possibilities 
to balance personal and professional 
priorities, while remaining fully 
engaged in and accountable for their 
work.
Culture – Having policies and 
procedures in place can go some 
way towards creating a fully inclusive 
company culture. Nevertheless, 
management and employees need to 
understand how they can contribute 
to increased inclusion. We will finalise 
the roll-out of anti-harassment training 
and also introduce a bias training 
programme.
ENABLERS FOR 
INCLUSION
Diversity Council: During 2016, a 
Diversity Council, sponsored by our 
President & CEO, was created. The 
council comprises ten members 
(5 men and 5 women of various 
nationalities) representing different 
departments and global locations. 
Their role is to champion and 
spearhead our inclusion programmes 
and actions worldwide.
Round Tables: In Q2 ’16, the Diversity 
Council facilitated the roll-out of 
12 round table discussions where 
more than 100 employees in seven 
different locations came together to 
discuss and brainstorm about gender 
inclusion. Their valuable feedback 
provides a solid basis on which to 
pursue our ongoing work. We will also 
continue to host forums for discussion, 
both on a face-to-face level as well 
as through more formal Voice of the 
Employee surveys.
HOW WE TRACK AND 
EVALUATE OUR WORK
We have decided to use Key 
Performance Indicators, KPIs, rather 
than implementing strict quotas. 
Over time, this will allow us to track 
measure and monitor success. These 
KPIs include, but are not limited to:
•	 Recruitment: Women on short lists, 
women recruited, and nationalities 
hired
•	 Career Development: Diversity 
in High Potential and Mentoring 
Programmes, and the number of 
women promoted into leadership 
positions
•	 Work-Life Balance: Retention 
By systematically applying these 
principles and actively nurturing an 
inclusive company culture, together 
with an appreciation for why it is 
so important to create a fair and 
supportive work environment for our 
people, we will continue to attract, 
develop and retain the very best talent.
STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY

44
At SES, we believe that people are 
our most important asset and we take 
pride in implementing initiatives that 
foster diversity, development and 
wellbeing.
Diversity is integrated into our HR 
processes as we actively aim to 
achieve a good representation of 
nationalities and women in areas 
including recruitment, training, 
promotions, the high potential 
programme and succession planning.
HEADCOUNT AND 
NATIONALITIES
As of 31 December 2018, the Group 
employed 2,147 individuals worldwide.
82% are located in Europe or US (vs 
81% in 2017) including: 584 in the 
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, 593 in 
the rest of Europe, 592 in the United 
States and 378 in the rest of the world.
SES is a truly international company 
represented by 78 different 
nationalities, which is also reflected 
in the SES Leadership Development 
Programme.
The top five nationalities by number 
of employees are the US (586 
employees), Germany (332), Israel 
(205), the UK (176) and France (122).
This diversity approach is paramount 
to serving our customers today 
and helping us decipher the world’s 
communication needs of tomorrow. 
By actively nurturing an inclusive 
company culture, and appreciating why 
it is so important to create a fair and 
supportive work environment for our 
people, we seek to continue attracting 
and retaining the very best talent.
AGE AND SENIORITY
SES has an overall healthy age distribution with an average age of 43.3 (vs 43.8 
in 2017). 42% of our employees are aged 40 and below and 11% are aged 30 and 
below (this is a stable figure compared to 2017).
SES Group Age Pyramid
SES Group Seniority
48% of our employees have been at SES less than 5 years and there is an average 
seniority of 8 years in the Group (vs 8.8 in 2017).
SES Top Group Nationalities
•	 United States
•	 Germany
•	 Israel
•	 Great Britain
•	 France
•	 Luxembourg
•	 Netherlands
•	 Belgium
•	 Italy
•	 Romania
•	 Spain
•	 Brazil
•	 India
•	 Poland
•	 Sweden
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

45
GENDER DISTRIBUTION
Today, women represent 24% of our 
workforce (vs 23% in 2017) and in the 
age category below 30 they represent 
28% of the workforce.
Women represent around 8% of our 
top executives. Over 40% of employees 
below the age of 30 are women and 
these figures highlight real progress at 
SES within the area of gender diversity. 
Furthermore, 25% of the participants 
in our High Potential Programme are 
women, which again indicates positive 
evolution for the future.
Our goal is to continue to increase the 
numbers of women in areas in which 
women are less represented.
In terms of recruitment, 28% of all 
recruitments in 2018 (internal and 
external) were women (vs 25% in 2017). 
The number of women entering as 
interns has also increased and by 92% 
compared to last year, with women 
now representing almost 40% of the 
interns population.
Women are almost equally present in 
Corporate Functions (47%) but least in 
Technology & IT (12%).
We are determined to continue to 
increase the number of women in areas 
where they are underrepresented and 
to increase the number of women 
executives.
We acknowledge that there is much 
work still to be done, as indeed work 
must be done in the technology sector 
as a whole.
THE SES BOARD
In the context of the SES Board composition, the SES Nomination Committee has 
considered a diverse Board as adding value to the company, not limiting diversity to 
gender diversity, but also considering, as far as possible, professional background, 
experience and age diversity. Today, the SES Board is composed by 13 members, 9 
men and 4 women (2 which are Vice-Chairpersons) and a total of 7 nationalities.
Gender Distribution by Region
Gender Distribution by Age
	 Women
	 Men

46
FROM GENDER 
DISTRIBUTION TO 
GENDER INCLUSION 
AND BALANCE
“Diversity is a source of strength. 
The more diverse our teams are, the 
more insights we have into different 
customers and local environments, 
the better our innovation and risk 
management will be through our 
diverse ideas and experiences, and 
the more value we can bring to 
our customers.” - CCS Diversity & 
Inclusion
In order to achieve Gender Inclusion 
and Gender Balance, we are 
introducing systematic and supportive 
practices in recruiting, retaining, 
developing a pipeline of talented 
women that will sustain long-term 
gender inclusion.
Recruitment
Job descriptions have been updated 
to ensure they attract a diverse pool 
of candidates: women are much less 
likely to apply for a job if they don’t 
meet 100% of the criteria, compared 
to men who apply even if they only 
meet 60% (source: Hewlett Packard 
Internal Report). With this in mind, 
job descriptions today emphasise the 
opportunity to learn, team work and 
other elements which will attract a 
diverse range of candidates.
Training
Unconscious bias - making a decision 
based on prejudice without realising – 
is present in most businesses and our 
daily lives, it is a human trait. We have 
in place training to minimise or avoid 
any risk of discrimination and promote 
equal opportunities and gender 
balance.
Retaining
Today women leave at a slightly higher 
rate than men compared with the 
overall employee population. On one 
hand we are increasing training and 
mobility opportunities for all to answer 
development requirements and on 
the other we need to offer a flexible 
environment that facilitates juggling 
between life and career developments, 
for women and men.
Flexible Working
Since 2017, all employees can 
enter into a formal telecommuting 
arrangement where they may work 
from another SES office, from home 
or from another location for up to a 
max 20% of the contractually agreed 
working time. Further options for 
flexible working today include job 
sharing, part-time work, phased return 
from leave and reduction in work time.
Culture
In 2018 we started the SES Culture 
Transformation initiative. Our culture 
defines who we are and how we 
work together. Having established 
our aspirational culture of IN IT 
TOGETHER, PROUD TO BE HERE, 
and TRANSPARENT, HONEST & 
COURAGEOUS, we are collectively 
focusing on bringing Strategic Clarity, 
Role Clarity and Personal Ownership 
and making sure that we are aligned 
to improve our culture.
Ultimately, we are implementing a 
High Performance Culture and it is 
proven that this is linked to Diversity. 
We are therefore making diversity 
and inclusion a key aspect of the SES 
Culture Transformation programme 
and available through:.
a.	 Unconscious bias training for all 
employees
b.	 Reinforcing strong 
antidiscrimination and anti-
harrassment policies
c.	 The SES Code of Conduct which 
includes diversity and inclusion.

47
TALENT ACQUISITION
In 2018 we created a new global 
inhouse Talent Acquisition function 
with dedicated personnel and 
developed a new Strategic Plan 
aligned to business imperatives.
Marketing and Internal and External 
Communications teams collaborate 
on the Employer Branding and 
Social Recruiting strategy that was 
implemented in 2019.
We upgraded and increased the 
systems and tools to enable recruiters 
to hire effectively whilst maintaining a 
strong focus on generating a best-in-
class candidate experience.
We also introduced direct hiring 
capability to attract and engage 
passive candidates, designated 
Recent College Graduates (RCG) 
in line with the new and changing 
skill classification and our target 
is set as required by the business, 
and to generate a more even split 
in the gender diversity of candidate 
pipelines.
As a result, in 2018 we filled 392 
positions (73% men, 27% women).
28% of new hires fall within the newly 
designated Recent College Graduates 
(RCG) classification and our target is 
to increase this to between 35-50% in 
2019.
51% of the positions were filled in 
Europe, 28% in North America. 30% 
were hired by SES Networks and 25% 
were hired by SES Video.

48
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
We offer a comprehensive portfolio of 
learning and professional development 
programmes to all our employees.
In 2018, we logged 8,160 participations 
in training for a total of 16,849 hours of 
learning, with participation up by 155% 
from 3,196 in 2017. This was facilitated 
by the increase in e-learning offerings. 
In fact, 6,309 of participations (77%) 
were in e-learning format.
Top learning events in terms of hours 
delivered in 2018:
•	 Insights based selling: A different 
approach to complex B2B sales
•	 The EU General Data Protection 
Regulation (GDPR)
•	 Continuing Education 
Institute Europe (CEI) Satellite 
Communications Systems
•	 IT Security - Computer Security 
and Phishing
•	 Code of Conduct E-Learning
•	 SES-12/14 Satellite Manufacturers’ 
Training (Airbus)
•	 Anti-bribery E-Learning
•	 IT Security Awareness - Protect 
SES
•	 Stevens Institute of Technology - 
Business Engineering
•	 Harassment Prevention ELearning 
Course
•	 Stress Management the Shaolin 
Way
•	 FranklinCovey “The 5 Choices”
We also managed a global Mentoring 
Programme last year with 70+ 
participants mentored by SES 
executives and introduced a monthly 
global Executive Lunch and Learn 
education session.
Participants by Category
2017
2018
	 Compliance
	 Customer (incl. Language)
	 Leadership
	 Professional Development
	 Technical

49
GIVING BACK
SES’s entire team focuses on 
charitable work. These activities 
engage and motivate our colleagues, 
who then inspire each other to give 
back to the community where we 
work.
We are proud of our commitment to 
serve the local communities where 
we operate. Many of our employees 
regularly volunteer independently 
and within the activities organised at 
company-led events.
Matching donations
SES matches employee donations to 
charitable organisations including the 
Red Cross, the Red Crescent, Oxfam, 
Unicef, Médecins Sans Frontières/ 
Doctors Without Borders, and 
Telecoms Sans Frontières.
Time Out to Give Back
In March 2019, Steve Collar, our CEO, 
announced that all SES employee 
now have the opportunity to ask for 
an additional two days per year in 
addition to their holiday entitlement, 
to ‘give back’ to society.
This initiative is fully endorsed by 
management: it is accepted, respected 
and promoted but not administered. 
This means that employees have 
freedom of choice on how to Give 
Back and make a meaningful 
contribution.
The process to book the two 
days is fully integrated into the 
standard request for flexible working 
arrangements and standard paid 
time-off.
Employees can then share their 
experiences on our social media 
channels and our Intranet.

50
SHARITY
In 2018, a group of SES volunteers 
developed SHARITY, an 
employeebased charity designed 
to support small and tailored 
development projects around the 
world. SHARITY collected over EUR 
10,000 through its “1 charity per 
month” programme.
“We are happy to announce that 
in 2018, we opened a new hospital 
and pharmacy which will provide 
much needed medical services and 
traditional Tibetan medicine to a 
remote area of eastern Tibet, that has 
limited access to health care.“ - Golog 
Support Foundation Luxembourg
“From our hearts, the single word 
‘thank you’ is not enough to express 
your generosity in extending a helping 
hand for our Shine Special School for 
mentally and physically challenged 
children and support for parents.” - 
SHINE Educational Trust, India.
“Your contribution will assist us to feed 
over 100 children each day, provide 
educational materials and most 
importantly give hope to each child of 
Lethoteng.” – Lethoteng Community 
Centre, South Africa
GEAR UP!
In 2019, a group of SES employees 
started GEAR UP!, which is an internal 
shop aimed at raising funds for 
charities around the world.
The shop provides all employees the 
opportunity to buy corporate SES 
items and apparel at a fair market 
price for comparable products. By 
doing so, it collects funds for charity.
In addition, SES matches all 
profits generated by purchases, 
increasing the impact of their charity 
contribution.
The GEAR UP! team collaborated with 
volunteers involved in the SHARITY 
initiative to direct funds collected to 
selected charities.
The first charity receiving GEAR UP! 
donations is Small Acts of Kindness.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is a global, non-
profit housing organisation with over 
40 years of experience.
The organisation empowers people 
in the world’s poorest communities to 
overcome the chronic lack of decent, 
affordable housing
 In 2018, SES in Princeton (United 
States) continued the partnership 
with Habitat for Humanity and our 
employees volunteered to help build 
homes for members of the local 
community.

51
Alpe d’HuZes Fundraiser
In June 2019, SES supported the Alpe 
D’HuZes, a Dutch initiative to raise 
money for cancer research and to 
improve the quality of life of people 
with cancer.
This is a unique sporting event 
that takes place in Alpe d’Huez, the 
legendary component of the Tour de 
France, famous for its steep climbs, 
chaos and drama.
Under the motto ‘giving up is not an 
option’, more than 5000 participants 
biked, hiked or ran the 21 hairpin 
bends to support the cause. As part 
of the ‘SES Giving Back’ initiative, we 
donated free capacity on our Astra 
2F satellite so that the event could be 
broadcasted to several regional and 
national Dutch TV stations and be 
streamed to social media platforms, 
thus helping to raise awareness and 
funds for this cause.
Sourland Conservancy
In June 2019, SES in Princeton 
(United States) continued the 
partnership with Sourland 
Conservancy with SES employees 
volunteering to plant trees and shrubs 
in the Sourland Mountain Region.
This project will provide a forested 
riparian buffer along a degraded 
section of Moores Creek in Hopewell 
Township, Mercer County.
Planting the area on either side of the 
Creek with native trees and shrubs 
would reduce erosion and therefore 
sediment entering waterways, as well 
as act as a filtering buffer between 
runoff from the active agriculture 
and livestock present upslope in the 
watershed, and the impervious surface 
of the road on the other side.

52

MAKING A DIFFERENCE
53
Created by: zweipunktnull 
Photo credit: SES, Getty Images

SES 
HEADQUARTERS
Château de Betzdorf 
L-6815 Betzdorf
Luxembourg
REGIONAL 
OFFICES
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Mexico City | Mexico
Miami | USA
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Paris | France
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For more information about SES, visit www.ses.com
or email info@ses.com