Introduction
Between climate issues, sustainability innovations, and social challenges, CSR is more than ever at the heart of discussions. From the re-election of Trump and its ecological implications, to the launch of tools to simplify sustainable reporting for SMEs, follow the news that further shape the future of our economy.
Discover our 10 CSR news to better understand the trends that are shaping a more sustainable world!
Trump re-elected, bad news for the sustainable economy
While the most powerful world economy has just re-elected a president who is a staunch defender of the exploitation of fossil fuels, who promises to break again with the Paris Agreements and who occasionally adopts climate-sceptical rhetoric, public and private ecological and sustainable economy organizations are worried that this will definitively bury the 1.5°C objective.
Indeed, according to Donald Trump, the ecological advances resulting from the mandate of Joe Biden would be “harmful” to the American economy, and they should be repealed. As a reminder, the United States is the world's largest oil and gas producer.
According to the specialized site CarbonBrief, Trump's policies would cause “an increase of 4 billion tons of CO2 emissions by 2030". Between 2017 and 2021, it had repealed more than 100 environmental laws from the Obama presidency.
New tool to simplify sustainability reporting for SMEs
Gprnt (pronounced “greenprint”) is an ESG platform set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). It has launched a series of useful tools to optimize the rationalization of sustainability data for SMEs, but also for larger groups and financial institutions.
This simplification approach meets a strong demand from economic actors, 40% of whom say they remain unclear about the implementation of their sustainability reports.
An important part of the service is free in order to promote the creation of “regional synergies” in the Singaporean ecosystem. In addition, Gprnt's ambition is an extension to the rest of Asia and the development of an AI system to support users of the platform.
When high growth goes hand in hand with poor mental health for workers
A recent UN report highlights the link between the imperative of economic performance and the deterioration of the mental health of workers. Experts go so far as to mention a “burn-out economy”.
The poorest workers are particularly affected by this phenomenon, according to this report, which follows an initial publication that questioned the idea that economic growth would be an effective lever in the fight against poverty.
Contemporary management methods considerably reinforce the pressure on workers, increasing the risks of psycho-social illnesses and professional precariousness. This report recommends changing this work culture in favor of a better distribution of decisions in the management chain, and better pay equity.
INSEE is interested in social and environmental indicators
INSEE is thinking of new ways to measure the efficiency of the French economy, beyond GDP, via “expanded” indicators that take into account its social and environmental dimensions. The Director General Jean-Luc Tavernier himself held a conference to present this novelty.
The spirit of this approach is to complement, not replace, traditional indicators (such as GDP) of national economic performance.
These indicators aim, among other things, to highlight the importance of redistribution mechanisms in combating income inequalities. For example, these indicators show that “more than half of the population (57%) sees their standard of living increase thanks to redistribution mechanisms”.
Open letter to save the CSRD
180 civil society organizations and economic actors are sending an open letter to the detractors of the CSRD. Indeed, lately the music of a delay or weakening of the sustainability reporting obligation has been heard in some political and business circles.
Thus, companies such as Decathlon, Ikea, Ikea, Patagonia, Patagonia, Accor or Nestlé claim to support “firmly the European Green Deal” and that the latter is not a hindrance for economic organizations but on the contrary a “essential part of the solution”.
For companies that have taken these reporting obligations seriously, pushing back or weakening CSRD would be tantamount to destabilizing their long-term sustainability strategies. Thus, this would at the same time disadvantage these actors in favor of those who do not comply with the imperative of adapting their business models.
What is the regenerative economy?
Afnor (French Association for Standardization) has published a reference document on “the regenerative economy”, a term increasingly used by certain economic actors and which therefore requires a clear definition to avoid any drift in Greenwashing.
The essential elements of definition include, on the one hand, the need for an active business model. “for the integrity of living beings”, and on the other hand that this model involves a “ecological, social and economic prosperity” permitting “continuous renewal” energy and resources.
Thus, the 4 paradigms for thinking about the regenerative economy are:
- Neutralizing negative externalities...
- their repair or compensation...
- if not their avoidance...
- To give rise In fine to net positive externalities.
Reduction in EU emissions thanks to renewable energies
The European Union's GHG emissions fell by 8.3% in 2023 thanks to the use of renewable energies. For several decades, this has been the most significant drop outside of the pandemic.
In 2023, a growing part of the EU's electricity production is provided by renewable energies. This dynamic is strongly supported by wind and solar production. The increase in renewables in the energy mix has the mechanical effect of reducing the share of fossil fuels. This leads to a greater reduction in emissions.
The European Commission report notes a net reduction of 37% compared to 1990, while GDP grew by 68%. This is an encouraging decoupling “between economic growth and emissions.”
Only 22% of women in European tech
In Europe, the tech sector is symptomatic of problems related to gender inequalities in the business world. Although only 22% of women have found their place there, this figure is reduced even more if we focus on “very technical roles”.
Women mainly occupy junior positions since many of them leave the sector after 35 years. Moreover, while they represent 46% of marketing positions, only 17% hold leadership responsibilities.
This reflects the persistence of gender disparities. On the one hand, within initial training courses, with a low representation of women in engineering schools. On the other hand, in collective representations where so-called “technical” jobs are “assimilated to male jobs”. Finally, sexist atmospheres in highly masculine professional environments have a deterrent effect on women's career pursuit.
What is the balance for the future of remote working?
The recent decisions of certain large groups to require a return to 100% face-to-face have sometimes generated major protests from employees. Established by the exceptional circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, the habit of teleworking is now perceived as a given by many employees.
Between face-to-face and remote, two benefits are in opposition. For employees, this is a real advantage for their work/life balance, as well as a guarantee of flexibility. On the other hand, companies emphasize the importance of informal and interpersonal interactions to stimulate the creativity of employees.
In other words, the future of remote work depends on maintaining a balance between the combined benefits of face-to-face and remote work. It remains up to the managers to “better address this practice”.
French people caught between inflation and the desire for sustainable consumption
The Max Havelaar Food Transition Barometer 2024 shows that French consumers attach great importance to sustainable food despite the pressures exerted by inflation on their wallet. In particular, the protection of farmers in the agri-food industry value chain is a driver of this commitment.
In fact, nearly 50% of respondents consider it essential to better remunerate farmers, in favor of a “rebalancing the sharing of value and transparency of margins”. As such, 7 out of 10 French people want better price transparency between the distributor and the farmer.
Finally, we learn that 91% of respondents consume responsibly at least once a month.
The sources
Novethic “The re-election of Donald Trump is putting the 1.5°C objective in danger”
Novethic “Burnout economy”: how growth is destroying the mental health of workers”
Le Monde “Insee: new tools to measure the performance of the French economy beyond GDP”
Carenews “Afnor publishes a guide to define the regenerative economy”
Youmatter “What does the low representation of women in tech say about our society?”
Le Monde “The balance between remote and face-to-face, key to the future of remote working”
RSE Magazine “Food: the French do not want to sacrifice farmers”
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