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This week, CSR news is marked by major upheavals: the CSRD could see its reporting suppressed under political pressure, while a coalition of companies is trying to preserve its ambitions.
At the same time, Trump is once again withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreements, threatening climate cooperation. Despite this bad news, here are some glimmers of hope: climate criteria are becoming widespread in the remuneration of managers, France has reached a record for renewable energy, and the UN is launching a support program for SMEs. Finally, an alert investigation into a possible CSR “backlash”, a sign of a sustainable transition under stress. 2025 will be a year of change.
CSRD: reporting threatened with suppression by the European Commission
After the lobbies of major manufacturers, the European right and the Draghi report, it is the turn of the Vice President of the European Commission to attack the CSRD head-on.
Former French Minister Stéphane Séjourné, today in charge of prosperity and industrial strategy at the Commission, announced the possibility of a “deleting reporting”, in an interview on France Inter.
Deploring the “bureaucracy” That it causes, he affirms that the objectives will remain the same, but that the means to fulfill them will be modified.
This statement is blowing a wind of uncertainty on the companies concerned by the first mandatory publication of their reports. Not to mention the risk of market disempowerment with regard to social and environmental commitments.
Trump withdraws from the Paris Agreements a second time
The president of the world's largest economy, who considers global warming to be a “hoax”, has just fulfilled 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.
Thus, the United States is now part of the very exclusive club of the 4 countries in the world that do not ratify this text, along with Iran, Libya and Yemen.
At the same time, he declared a “state of energy emergency”, in order to justify its policy of intensive exploitation of fossil resources: “Drill, baby, drill!” he keeps chanting.
In addition to the risk that some countries will be tempted to lower their climate ambitions, this announcement considerably weakens international climate cooperation, while the symbolic threshold of 1.5°C of warming was crossed in 2024.
Variable remuneration for top managers: the climate criterion is becoming more widespread
In its SBF 120 “Pay Barometer” 2024, the consulting firm Ethics & Boards publishes the results of its study on variable compensation for top business leaders. They show that environmental criteria are tending to be generalized.
Indeed, to date, 92% of SBF 120 companies include “environment” and “climate” objectives in the variable remuneration of their managers, in the short and long term.
In general, the reduction of GHG emissions is the most accepted as the main long-term objective: it concerns the policies of 58% of companies. A significant evolution compared to 2022, where this was the case for only 24% of them.
A coalition of businesses to save CSRD's ambitions
In the current context, which is seeing increasing calls for the simplification and reduction of CSRD's ambitions, 12 networks of businesses and investors have published a “joint position note”, initiated by Impact France. They are calling for “simplifying CSRD without giving up its ambition”.
In addition to the Impact France network (bringing together 15,000 committed companies), the signatories include actors such as B Lab or France Invest.
Thus, they recognize the importance of simplification, especially for VSEs and SMEs, which may face requirements. “disproportionate” compared to their means. However, they affirm the importance of maintaining the ambitions of the text. To do this, they recommend, for example, “give priority to certain quantitative indicators at first”. Also, to maintain the “principle of extraterritoriality of the directive”, to avoid unfair competition from non-European companies.
Workplace accidents: 2 deaths per day in 2023
According to figures revealed by the CPAM (Primary Health Insurance Fund), in 2023 there were 759 deaths caused by accidents at work. That's an average of 2 deaths per day. According to some experts, these figures would be “below reality”.
Construction workers, farmers who use dangerous machinery, and truck drivers are among the professions most affected by fatal workplace accidents. Most often, this is related to “breaches in terms of safety”.
The lack of staff and resources for labour inspectors on the one hand, and the failure of the employer to comply with certain safety standards on the other, are reasons generally cited to explain the persistence of fatal accidents. The Ministry of Labour indicates that these mainly concern subcontractors and temporary workers.
A quarter of global GDP threatened by climate in 2050
BCG and the World Economic Forum have addressed the thorny issue of the economic impact of climate change, which is still hotly debated to this day. This report concludes that by 2050, up to 25% of corporate profits would be at risk. “through the material risks of climate change”.
Attention can be drawn to 4 data points:
- The “heat stress” which is likely to reduce working time globally by 2%
- The decrease in agricultural yields
- The damage caused to infrastructure
- The damage caused to ecosystems
To deal with these risks, the experts in the report affirm the imperative of massive investment to limit their impact. They call on companies to do a long-term accounting calculation, where investing in this sense could generate “between 2 and 19 dollars for each dollar invested”.
The Sustainable SME Course, a UN support tool
To offer SMEs, their managers and their employees the opportunity to take ownership of the tools and key ideas of CSR, the UN Global Compact — France network has set up a “Sustainable SME Course”. This interest in SMEs is due to their belief 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 hesitant due to a lack of knowledge about CSR on the one hand, and in the opportunities it offers on the other.
This online educational program includes 8 practical modules, which allow everyone to learn and interact with concrete exercises. Designed in partnership with SMEs members of the network, the 2-hour training course is intended to be adapted to the real needs of managers and employees.
Sustainable transition: the risk of a “backlash” ?
An investigation conducted by Novethic among professionals in the CSR sector reveals a concern common to a large majority of them: that of a Backlash. That is to say, a return by institutions and companies to the commitments made in recent years, or even regulatory advances that were seen as unbreakable achievements.
In the anti-ecological and anti-social climate that is spreading in businesses and public discourse, they deplore a dynamic “one step forward, two steps back.” 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 C3D, is worried about a “CSR backlash orchestrated by the supporters of “back to basic”. The arrival of Trump and budgetary constraints at European level are likely to confirm these concerns.
Record renewable energy production in France in 2024
The French electricity transmission system operator RTE has published figures that tell us about national energy performances in 2024. Last year, 27.6% of total electricity production was provided by renewable sources (i.e. 148 TWh). A record.
Hydroelectric production has proven to be particularly effective. We also note the “sustained growth of the wind and solar industry” which increased from 48 TWh in 2019 to 70 TWh in 2024.
Overall, France has excellent performances in the production of low-carbon energy (nuclear and renewable), since the latter represents 95% of its activity. These results have been made possible by sustained investment in these sectors since the 1970s.
How do big companies do the circular economy?
In a recent publication entitled “Panorama of the circular economy”, the Urbyn waste management platform looks at the practices of large French SBF 120 companies in terms of the circular economy. Their conclusion is that the latter prefer “unambitious solutions”.
Indeed, 88% of SBF 120 companies mention the circular economy. However, 90% of these require recycling to do so. In comparison, only 42% mention repair and 48% second hand.
In other words, Urbyn registers practices that are too unambitious that do not sufficiently take care of the more effective prospects of reuse and reuse, which are generally more sustainable to extend the life of products and materials.
The sources
Novethic “CSRD: the “suppression of reporting” announced by Stéphane Séjourné”
Youmatter “Climate criteria are becoming more common in SBF120 variable compensation”
France culture “Accidents at work: the hidden deaths”
Novethic “Corporate profits cut by 25% due to climate change”
Novethic “CSR professionals worried about all the dangers ahead of a year”
Sustainable news “Renewable electricity production in France has reached its highest level”
Carenews “Large French companies favour recycling over other circular economy methods”
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