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This week's CSR news is marked by major upheavals: the CSRD could see its reporting abolished under political pressure, while a coalition of companies is trying to preserve its ambitions.
At the same time, Trump once again withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreements, threatening climate cooperation. Despite this bad news, here are a few glimmers of hope: climate criteria are becoming the norm in executive remuneration, France achieves a renewable energy record, and the UN launches a support program for SMEs. Finally, a survey warns of a possible CSR "backlash", a sign of a sustainable transition under strain. 2025 is set to be a year of change.
CSRD: reporting threatened with abolition by the European Commission
After the big industrial lobbies, the European right and the Draghi report, it's now the turn of the Vice-President of the European Commission to attack the CSRD head-on.
Former French minister Stéphane Séjourné, now in charge of prosperity and industrial strategy at the Commission, announced the possibility of "abolishing reporting", in an interview on France Inter.
Deploring the "bureaucracy" it causes, he asserts that the objectives will remain the same, but the means of achieving them will be modified.
This declaration is blowing a wind of uncertainty over the companies concerned by the first mandatory publication of their reporting. Not to mention the risk of making the market less accountable for social and environmental commitments.
Trump withdraws from the Paris Agreements for a second time
The president of the world's leading economy, who considers global warming a "hoax", has just made good on his promise to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreements, as he had already done during his previous term. Joe Biden joined them again in 2021.
As a result, the United States is now one of only 4 countries in the world not to ratify this text, along with Iran, Libya and Yemen.
At the same time, he declared a "state of energy emergency" to justify his policy of intense exploitation of fossil resources: "Drill, baby, drill!" he continues to chant.
In addition to the risk that certain countries might be tempted to lower their climate ambitions, this announcement considerably weakens international climate cooperation, at a time when the symbolic 1.5°C warming mark was passed in 2024.
Variable compensation for top executives: climate change criteria becoming more widespread
In its 2024 "Compensation Barometer" of the SBF 120, the consulting firm Ethics & Boards publishes the results of its study on the variable compensation of top corporate executives. They show that environmental criteria are becoming increasingly widespread.
Indeed, to date, 92% of SBF 120 companies include "environmental" and "climate" objectives in the variable remuneration of their executives, both in the short and long term.
Generally speaking, the reduction of GHG emissions is the main long-term objective: it concerns the policy of 58% of companies. This represents a significant change compared to 2022, when only 24% of companies had this objective.
A coalition of companies to save CSRD's ambitions
Against a backdrop of increasing calls for the CSRD to be simplified and its ambitions scaled back, 12 networks of companies and financiers have published a "joint position paper", initiated by Impact France. They call for "simplifying the CSRD without abandoning its ambition".
In addition to the Impact France network (comprising 15,000 committed companies), other signatories include players such as B Lab and France Invest.
They recognize the importance of simplification, particularly for VSEs and SMEs who may be faced with requirements "disproportionate" to their means. At the same time, they affirm the importance of maintaining the text's ambitions. To this end, they recommend, for example, "giving priority initially to certain quantitative indicators". They also recommend maintaining the directive's "extra-territoriality principle", to avoid unfair competition from non-European companies.
Workplace accidents: 2 deaths per day by 2023
According to figures revealed by the CPAM (Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie), in 2023 there were 759 deaths caused by accidents at work. This represents an average of 2 deaths per day. According to some experts, these figures are "underestimates".
Construction workers, farmers using dangerous machinery and truck drivers are among the professions most affected by fatal accidents at work. Most often, this is linked to "safety failings".
Lack of manpower and resources for labor inspectors, on the one hand, and employers' failure to comply with certain safety standards, on the other, are the reasons generally cited for the persistence of fatal accidents. The French Ministry of Labor indicates that these accidents mainly concern subcontractors and temporary workers.
A quarter of global GDP threatened by climate change in 2050
BCG and the World Economic Forum have tackled the thorny issue of the economic impact of climate change, still hotly debated to this day. The report concludes that by 2050, up to 25% of corporate profits will be threatened "by the material risks of climate change".
We would like to draw your attention to 4 facts:
- Heat stress", which could reduce working time by 2% on a global scale
- Declining agricultural yields
- Infrastructure damage
- Damage to ecosystems
To address these risks, the report's experts assert the imperative of massive investment to limit their impact. They call on companies to make a long-term accounting calculation, where investing in this way could generate "between 2 and 19 dollars for every dollar invested".
The Sustainable SME Pathway, a UN support tool
To offer SMEs, their managers and their employees the opportunity to appropriate the key tools and ideas of CSR, the UN Global Compact - France Network has set up a "Sustainable SME Pathway". This interest in SMEs stems from their conviction that they play a central role in the sustainable transition of business models on a global scale.
This program aims to provide SMEs with the resources they need to get involved, as many of them are still hesitating due to a lack of knowledge about CSR on the one hand, and the opportunities it offers on the other.
This online training program is made up of 8 practical modules, allowing everyone to learn and interact with concrete exercises. Designed in partnership with the network's SME members, the 2-hour training course is tailored to the real needs of managers and employees.
Sustainable transition: the risk of a backlash?
A survey conducted by Novethic among CSR professionals reveals a concern shared by a large majority of them: that of a backlash. In other words, that institutions and companies will backtrack on the commitments they have made in recent years, or even on the regulatory advances that were seen as indestructible achievements.
In the anti-environmental and anti-social climate spreading through companies and public discourse, they deplore a "one step forward, two steps back" dynamic . The omnibus legislation at the end of February, which could call into question the Green Deal and the CSRD, only confirms these fears.
Fabrice Bonnifet, President of the C3D, is worried about a "CSR backlash orchestrated by supporters of "back to basic". The arrival of Trump and budget constraints on a European scale are likely to confirm these concerns.
Record renewable energy production in France in 2024
RTE, the French electricity transmission system operator, has published figures that tell us about the country's energy performance in 2024. Last year, 27.6% of total electricity production came from renewable sources (148 TWh). A new record.
Hydroelectric generation has proved particularly efficient. There has also been "sustained growth in wind and solar power", from 48 TWh in 2019 to 70 TWh in 2024.
Overall, France has an excellent record in low-carbon energy production (nuclear and renewable), which accounts for 95% of our business. These results have been made possible by sustained investment in these sectors since the 1970s.
How do large companies promote the circular economy?
In a recent publication entitled "Panorama de l'économie circulaire", waste management platform Urbyn looks at the circular economy practices of France's leading SBF 120 companies. Their conclusion is that these companies favor "unambitious solutions".
Indeed, 88% of SBF 120 companies mention the circular economy. However, 90% of these companies cite recycling as a means of achieving this. In comparison, only 42% mention repair and 48% second-hand.
In other words, Urbyn registers under-ambitious practices that don't take sufficient account of the more effective prospects of reuse and re-employment, which are generally more sustainable in extending the life of products and materials.
The sources
Novethic "CSRD: Stéphane Séjourné announces the "abolition of reporting"".
Youmatter "Climate criteria are becoming more widespread in SBF120 variable compensation".
France culture "Accidents du travail: les morts cachés" (Occupational accidents: the hidden dead)
Novethic "Corporate profits cut by 25% due to climate change".
Novethic "CSR professionals anxious ahead of a dangerous year".
Sustainable news "Renewable electricity production in France reaches record high".
Carenews "Major French companies favor recycling over other circular economy methods"
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