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In this week's CSR news, companies are breaking new ground, whether by integrating sustainability at the heart of their strategy or facing up to complex challenges.
We discover inspiring initiatives, such as the recycling of Olympic Games accessories, and major issues, such as the ethical management of supply chains.
These news items show how companies are innovating and committing themselves to a more responsible future.
Find out all the latest CSR news.
Ernst & Young puts the spotlight on CSR for its Entrepreneur Award
This year, for the 2024 edition of the Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur Awards, CSR has been chosen as a key criterion for scoring. According to Jean-Roch Varon, the new president of EY in France, "A company that is not committed is a company that will no longer exist".
This shift in thinking reflects a change in business models, at a time when CSR is widely recognized for its positive effects on innovation and business growth. In fact, family-run businesses score higher than others: probably because they are used to considering long-term strategies, as CSR requires.
As for start-ups, CSR is often even the raison d'être of their business model. 27% of entries for the "Start-up of the Year Award" are in the greentech sector.
Child labor : Shein in turmoil
Shein has uncovered several cases of child labor in its supply chain. This announcement, made by the company itself, comes against the strategic backdrop of its IPO, at a time when the fast-fashion retailer's business practices are already coming under heavy criticism.
The two cases of child labor were identified at Shein suppliers located in China following an audit. Under 16 years of age, this is a flagrant violation of international regulations.
Estimated at £50 billion, Shein's value on the eve of a possible IPO could suffer the fallout. Especially as its business practices have already come in for criticism: precariousness of workers, excessive working hours, suspicion of forced labor in the Xinjiang region and plagiarism of certain clothing designs.
Disabled employees recycle Olympic accessories
A sewing workshop in Marseilles employs disabled workers to make a range of bags, covers and footstools featuring the Phrygia. This inclusive approach is designed to give a second life to the tarpaulins used during the Paris Olympic Games.
This initiative recycles 1,600 m² of canvas from the sailing and soccer events. It's a double win, both socially and environmentally.
Valérie Guarino, elected representative in charge of disability at the Bouches-du-Rhône département, explains that the aim of this approach is to "promote sustainable development, economic development and social integration".
Circular economy indicators for the company
La Fabrique Mesure de la Circularité is a think tank that has brought together 16 companies over the past two years to establish a method for measuring the impact of circular economy strategies on business models. A series of 30 indicators are the product of these consultations, and are intended to objectify and quantify economic circularity in order to "accelerate the deployment of the model".
Jules Coignard, co-founder of Circul'R and initiator of the project, points out that recent normative innovations are having a clarifying effect on the establishment of criteria and impact measurements. He mentions, for example, the CSRD, asserting that its ratification will "speed up companies' consideration of the subject".
The aim of this approach is to identify and use the most relevant existing indicators, so that companies can take control of them as naturally as possible.
12,000 billion escaped taxation in tax havens
The United Nations has been working on a path to effectively tackle the problem of tax evasion. According to the European Tax Observatory, nearly $12,000 billion is housed in tax havens. This represents 12% of global GDP.
The United Nations has agreed to draft a convention on international tax cooperation within the next three years. This will include measures for the fair taxation of multinationals and the fight against tax evasion.
The European Tax Observatory states that "companies transfer around 36% of their revenues generated outside their home country to tax havens". By 2022, these tax avoidance and optimization practices are expected to amount to $1,000 billion.
EU taken to court for lack of ecological ambition
Two NGO networks, Climate Action Network Europe (CAN) and Global Legal Action Network, are taking the European Commission to court. They criticize the lack of ambition of the Commission's 2030 climate targets.
Considering that the targets set by the EU are not the result of the "best available scientific data", the emission limits and climate targets set by the EU are then deemed "illegal" by the NGOs. This is the rationale behind their legal action.
As a result, a hearing could be held as early as next year at the European Court of Justice (CJEU) on the basis of European environmental law, as well as certain international commitments. The aim of the NGOs is to revise downwards the authorized levels of emissions within the 27 member states.
When the economy suffers from climate change
Of course, the first victims of climate change are the displaced, the refugees and all the human victims of its impact. But on another scale, the global economy is also suffering from its effects. Fires in sugar cane fields, flooded factories, halted automobile production... all losses generated by extreme climatic events.
"14 factories and 28 production lines shut down" in Japan by the Toyota group, anticipating the arrival of typhoon Shanshan. In Bangladesh, textile production has fallen by 15-20% due to repeated flooding, a catastrophe for the national economy, which relies on this sector to make the country the world's 2nd largest exporter.
Favored by climate change, these extreme climatic events should prompt companies to better anticipate, mitigate and adapt their production models to planetary limits.
Environmental DNA, a new method for studying biodiversity
The French government's National Biodiversity Strategy (SNB) reflects its determination to continue efforts to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity. As part of this, a major "exhaustive biodiversity census" project is currently in preparation.
A new method known as "environmental DNA" will be used to carry out the project. This technology involves taking traces of living organisms from their natural environment and analyzing them in the laboratory.
As such, it is non-invasive for natural environments and the species that live there. More respectful of the environment, this method offers the advantage of better understanding biodiversity while preserving ecosystems.
Banks prefer to offset rather than avoid climate risks
In an article published in Le Monde , financier Jérôme Courcier argues that the financial logic of banks, and central banks in particular, should be geared towards avoiding climate risk, rather than simply offsetting it.
According to him, bankers prefer to anticipate risks by adjusting margins, rather than reacting after the fact by increasing capital. In particular, he criticizes them for hiding behind the limits of their mandate (prudence and stability of the banking system) to avoid taking climate issues seriously.
The ECB must take up the challenge of incorporating climate risk directly into banks' capital adequacy requirements".
UN sounds the alarm on rising sea levels in the Pacific
A "global SOS" has been launched by the UN, which, following a series of reports and studies, notes that rising sea levels are hitting the Pacific islands even harder than the rest of the planet. This is because sea levels have risen by 15 cm over the last 30 years, compared with an average of 9.4 cm on the world's other shores.
The situation is one of great ecological injustice, in that the small islands of the Pacific release very small quantities of Co2, yet are the states most endangered by this direct consequence of climate change.
The appeal was made by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called for the prevention of "a global catastrophe" that "endangers this Pacific paradise".
The sources
Les Echos "CSR, the new criterion for evaluating companies".
RSE Magzine "Shein discovers child labor at its suppliers".
Sustainable news "In Marseille, disabled workers breathe new life into Olympic tarpaulins".
Youmatter "Circular economy: 30 indicators to track to help your business grow"
Novethic "Tax havens: profits lodged in offshore countries reach 12% of global GDP"
Novethic "EU 2030 climate targets under legal attack".
Novethic "Textiles, sugar, automobiles: when the global economy seizes up because of climate change"
Sustainable info "Biodiversity: what is environmental DNA?"
Le Monde, Tribune of August 24 by Jérôme Courcier
Le Monde "The UN launches a "global SOS" on rising sea levels in the Pacific".
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