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In this week's CSR news, we're talking about the hot topic of CSRD. We share with you the feedback from the first companies preparing for CSRD through the C3D survey.
Another interesting topic is food, with two news items. The first is a report by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and the OECD, which indicates that putting an end to food waste could prevent 153 million people from suffering from malnutrition! And secondly, organic consumption is falling, according to Crédoc...
Read all the latest CSR news in this article.
CSRD: 63% of companies plan to recruit
The C3D (Collège des directeurs du développement durable) has carried out a survey on the impact of CSRD in companies. It questioned a panel of 85 representatives of major French groups affected by the European standard.
The key figures to emerge from the survey are as follows:
- 63% plan to recruit to set up the CSRD (including 39% on a full-time equivalent basis)
- 57% say they have already begun their dual materiality analysis
- 57% find CSRD very costly
The external support budget already committed by 53% of companies is between €50,000 and €200,000. For 19% of them, it is over €200,000.
Lufthansa raises prices in protest against environmental standards
Europe's leading airline group is announcing an "environmental surcharge" to be passed directly on to customers in the price of their tickets. As of January 2025, consumers will have to pay up to €72 more. The company justifies the measure by "increasing costs resulting from regulatory requirements".
In other words, the imposition of sustainable air fuels by 2025 and the end of free quotas on the European carbon market are not satisfactory for the company, which has decided to pass on the cost of environmental responsibility to its consumers.
"72 euros is just to rally users against environmental standards. It's a pure communication operation to put pressure on decision-makers". Jérôme du Boucher, aviation expert with the NGO "Transport et Environment".
Does good reporting mean good business transformation?
Companies are mobilizing to build sustainability reports that meet the new CSRD requirements. However, " you can have very good CSRD reporting, without really moving your model towards sustainability", says Patrick d'Humières, a specialist in CSR management.
This raises the question of the real transformative power of CSRD on business models. Indeed, in the absence of strong regulatory sanctions, there is no guarantee that companies affected by the reporting obligation will adopt truly ambitious CSR policies.
To meet this challenge, some specialists suggest adopting differentiated taxation for the most committed companies, or even introducing sanctions to encourage them to be more responsible.
AI emits ever more GHGs
In a report, Google points out that the growing needs of AI are generating an increasing amount of GHGs. Indeed, as time goes by, the computing and energy power required to run servers and data centers continues to grow.
In 5 years, Google's carbon emissions have risen by +48%, or 14.3 million tonnes of Co2, directly linked to its energy consumption. In other words, as a necessary tool for the growth of tech giants, AI is becoming a central issue in their environmental impact.
Amazon, Microsoft and Google are all committed to achieving ambitious carbon-neutral trajectories by 2030 or 2040. One of their common goals is to find an alternative to the high consumption of water, which to date has been massively used for server cooling.
SBTi director resigns under pressure
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), an international partnership that aims to promote the low-carbon transition of companies, has announced the resignation of its Managing Director. Luiz Amaral reported his decision to the Board of Directors after 2? years at the helm of the initiative.
The resignation took place against a backdrop of questions about corporate carbon offsetting. Staff and climate experts have criticized SBTi's management for its intention to allow companies to offset their emissions via carbon credits.
This controversy pits two visions of CSR against each other: one that accepts offsetting as a way of helping companies to decarbonize their value chain, the other that asserts the need to "stop emitting from the outset".
Mission 2025: an international coalition for the environment
Public and private players (companies, investors, mayors, governors, etc.) are in favor of pursuing environmental efforts at a time when major setbacks are being observed. Under the banner of Mission 2025, their ambition is to "push governments around the world to keep their promises and make climate commitments".
This initiative is based on the observation that many countries and industrial and financial giants are tending to abandon their climate commitments. Mission 2025 aims to refute defeatist arguments in favor of a more ambitious approach.
The Energy transitions commission (ETC) recently asserted that the progress and falling cost of low-carbon technologies means that "government climate plans could be at least three times as ambitious".
Building futures compatible with planetary limits
Thomas Gauthier is a professor at emlyon business school and works on the impact of business on building a sustainable world. He writes a column for Les Echos , , in which he defends a truly ambitious business model that moves away from a purely financial logic towards a strategic consideration of planetary limits.
He calls on companies to take "radical decisions", putting environmental priority ahead of financial priority. Corporate governance needs to be transformed, as do "the consciences of shareholders, managers, customers and employees".
In short, leaders need to renew their repertoire of actions to keep pace with the transformation of corporate models and imaginations.
Halve waste to reduce undernourishment
The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and the OECD have published a report which indicates that putting an end to food waste from production to consumption would not only prevent 153 million people from suffering from undernourishment, but would also reduce GHG emissions linked to agriculture by 4%.
To achieve this result, it would be necessary to "halve food waste" by 2033. Much of this is due to over-consumption. Half of all losses concern fruit and vegetables, which do not keep as well or for as long.
International organizations argue that lower prices and increased production should improve the food intake of the least economically endowed populations.
Organic consumption on the decline
Crédoc (Centre de recherche pour l'étude et l'observation des conditions de vie) has published a study on the influence of sustainable purchasing criteria on food consumption practices. Their findings are clear: consumer interest in products that respect the environment and animal welfare is declining.
Between 2021 and 2023, the willingness to consume organic products fell by 9%. They also identify a 5% drop in the number of consumers associated with the "committed" category.
Finally, the other major finding of their study concerns the standard of living of consumers who adhere to sustainable consumption: "the more affluent are more numerous" in organic consumption. In fact, inflation and a gradual decline in interest in environmental issues are the two key variables in their findings.
2,500 air conditioners installed for the Olympics
Anne Hidalgo's unfulfilled promise to provide air conditioning for the Olympic Village during the Paris 2024 Games. Anne Hidalgo's promise did not stand up to pressure from the delegations.
In fact, the sporting reason won out over the ecological reason, emphasizing the athletes' need to recuperate. As a result, 2,500 ephemeral air-conditioning units will be installed in the 7,000 rooms of the Olympic Village.
On top of this, some countries have even decided to bring their own air-conditioning systems. However, they are encouraged to take only one per home, and to use only "class A" devices.
The sources
Carenews "Recruitment, business model, budget... The impact of CSRD on companies"
Novethic "+72 euros for a ticket: is Lufthansa's environmental surcharge justified?"
Novethic "Will CSRD really be transformative?"
Sustainable news "Google's carbon emissions up 48% in five years due to AI"
Zonebourse "The CEO of the Science Based Targets Initiative resigns".
Les Echos "Managers face planetary limits".
Carenews "Sustainable food purchasing is on the decline".
Reporterre "Paris Olympics: 2,500 air conditioners finally installed".
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