This week, in CSR news, we are going to talk about the challenges and opportunities faced by SMEs in the face of increasing sustainability requirements.
As initiatives to ease CSR standards for small businesses are emerging, debates about wages, climate issues and environmental policies are multiplying.
Here are the ten highlights of the week, happy reading!
The double penalty for SMEs in the face of CSR standards
Patrick d'Humières, expert in CSR management, gives a forum to Novethic. He argues that SMEs, unlike major contractors, do not always have the means to comply with market CSR requirements.
While the project to extend CSR to all categories of companies is obviously commendable, it is being done “without worrying about the cost structure of the value chain and the weakness of its margins”. Thus, the model seems unsustainable for SMEs that suffer the double pain of not being able to fully meet such obligations, while being forced to reduce their margins.
Thus, CSR models must be better adapted to SMEs, in particular by considering partnership and contractual relationships between large groups and them.
11 SMEs test subjects for CSRD's “lightweight standards”
Eleven SMEs were selected as part of a public consultation in order to test a lightweight version of the European CSRD standard. The results of this process will be sent to the European Commission by Bercy on May 21.
This lightweight version, known as the “voluntary standard”, could in the future be applied to SMEs, while over time more and more companies will be affected by the standards package.
The system is intended to be simplified: reduced to 71 questions. The aim is to offer SMEs the opportunity to engage in simpler sustainable approaches. However, managers confronted with this prior consultation say they are still as worried about the administrative burden it involves:
“On some points, accessing data is complex and requires time and investment”
(Sophie Dartois, CSR manager of one of the 11 SMEs)
Salary remains the first motivation for employees
While discourses on the search for meaning at work, on the ethical values of the company and the CSR commitment of employees abound, a recent study by Randstad puts this trend into perspective.
According to them, 43% of employees say that “remuneration that is too low compared to the cost of living remains the main reason for changing employers”.
However, there is an interesting distribution of these results according to the age of the respondents. So, put the salary in the first place:
- Generation Z (1997-2012): 38%
- Millennials (1981-1996): 45%
- Generation X (1965-1980): 42%
- Baby boomers (1946-1964): 41%
Lucie Positive, the label that goes further than CSR
Alan Fustec is the founder of the Lucie agency and the firm Goodwill Management. He defends the vision of a business model that would go beyond the usual framework of CSR. Thus, he proposes to calculate a “global limit quota” for each company. In other words, a label awarded to companies that are committed to respecting global boundaries.
A demanding certification that implies compliance with quotas for “consumption of water or raw materials, air pollution, waste emissions”. But also, which implies a zero wage gap between men and women, as well as a sustained training policy. To date, no company has obtained the label.
According to him, companies “cannot content themselves with reducing their negative impact on the environment”, but must completely rethink their production models.
380 climate scientists express their dismay
The British Guardian interviewed 380 climate experts and scientists, 77% of whom were appalled by a situation where “the average temperature on the planet will rise by at least 2.5°C, with disastrous consequences”.
Thus, the vast majority of these scientists are pessimistic, and consider a catastrophic scenario in the future. Among the obstacles to action identified, two are mainly mentioned: the lack of political will and corporate interests.
While the multiplication of extreme climate events is envisaged, scientists consider it absurd that governments are not responding now. “1 trillion dollars a year is needed. That's half of military spending. It's not inaccessible,” says Philippe Ciais, research director at the Climate and Environmental Sciences Laboratory (LSCE).
For employee savings in line with CSR objectives
Epsor, a company with a mission, has published a “Guide for committed employee savings and retirement”. The challenge of this document is to enlighten company stakeholders on the links that exist between employee savings and CSR policies.
Indeed, according to this report, more than 50% of assets are invested in funds that are not certified responsible finance. In addition, it appears that 78% of the funds analyzed “invest in at least one company in connection with unconventional oil and gas extraction activities or oil and gas exploration”.
In other words, a situation where employee savings and retirement savings schemes do not follow accountability objectives. For example, Epsor recommends including CSR issues in company incentive agreements.
The global turnover of ESS is 2000 billion!
The Schwab Foundation has published a global review of global data related to the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE). An unprecedented work that reveals the considerable weight of the sector around the world. Thus, in the world, ESS represents:
10 million social enterprises
That is 3% of businesses in the world
Of which 50% are run by women
2000 billion € in annual revenues
The creation of more than 200 million jobs
The director of the François Bonnici Foundation affirms that his approach to quantifying the sector aims to make decision-makers and investors aware that the SSE is an interesting sector. The data collected will feed the discussions of a working group at the United Nations, with a view to the publication of a report.
Major NGOs are concerned about EU environmental policies
Greenpeace, the LPO and the WWF have co-signed an open letter directly addressed to the political leaders of the European Union. At the heart of their concerns is the decline in environmental policies. According to these dozens of NGOs, a “dismantling of green measures” is under way, which must stop “before it is too late”.
Politicians all around Europe and leaders in Brussels are targeted. They are criticized for considering nature as an obstacle to the development of their policies, even though it should constitute “the very foundation” of any public action system.
For example, they criticize the pressure exerted against the “restoration of nature” legislation, or even that “agriculture ministers threaten the new EU rules designed to fight against deforestation in the world”.
ESS 2024 Prize: there is still time to apply
The national competition for Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) Prizes aims to reward an SSE structure for its exemplarity in the positive transformation of society: both through its inclusive nature and for its respect for the environment.
Thus, the two main criteria used by the jury to select the winners are: Social Utility and Ecological Transition. The projects rewarded every year are therefore those that best meet the objectives of “improving social well-being, fighting inequalities, and promoting sustainable resource management”.
Applications are open until June 24, and the results will be announced during ESS month in November.
Measures towards a protectionist European economy?
Recently, the subject of commercial and industrial competition from China and the United States has come up again and again. Thus, “the taboo of protectionist measures is slowly falling” in Europe. These measures would be called the Buy European Act.
The challenge would be to organize green economic signs on European markets, imposed by public procurement governed by local and environmental production criteria. In other words, green protectionism for European preference.
On the eve of the European elections, ideas abound: a label “made in Europe”, the concept of “European preference” or even “solidarity protectionism”: all the parties are promoting their vision of the project.
sourcing
Novethic “Buy European Act: the temptation of green protectionism against the US and China”
Sustainable News “Dozens of NGOs are worried about a setback in environmental policies in the EU”
Youmatter “Globally, SSE weighs more than advertising!”, François Bonnici (Schwab Foundation)”
Reporterre “Over 300 climate scientists terrified of the future of the planet”
Carenews “Epsor publishes a guide on employee savings and CSR”
CSR Magazine “Social and Solidarity Economy Prize 2024: a springboard for sustainable innovation”
Les Echos “Extra-financial reporting: what SMEs are still worried about”
Novethic “Let's invent a partnership-based CSR model, really adapted to SMEs”
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