This week, in CSR news, we are going to talk about jobs in full transformation, alarming reports on climate adaptation or even natural disasters with amplified impacts, the challenges are numerous...
What are the most profitable CSR jobs?
Les Echos, in partnership with the recruitment firms Birdeo and Brawo and the Jobs_That_MakeSense platform, have published a list of the “most prominent” CSR jobs at the moment. Focus on some of them.
Responsible purchasing manager for a large company (from 60,000 to 80,000 euros per year): in charge of guaranteeing the CSR compliance of procedures between suppliers and products.
Chief Value Officer for a company subject to the CSRD (from 80,000 to 100,000 euros per year): in charge of creating a Business model responsible and to guarantee the conditions for a sustainable approach to the management and governance of the company.
Climate change adaptation manager (from 70,000 to 90,000 euros per year): responsible for monitoring climate risks throughout the value chain, and for proposing adaptation options.
68% of VSEs/SMEs do not see the environment as a strategic priority
The Public Investment Bank has published a study that aims to assess the measures taken and the interest shown by SMEs and VSEs in the challenges of adapting to climate change. But the results are far from encouraging. A first indicator is the extremely small number of participants: only 360 companies answered, out of the 60,000 surveyed, “the lowest score in terms of respondent rate” says the person responsible for the study.
Among the responses obtained, we find that for 68% of the SMEs and VSEs questioned “adapting to climate change is neither a priority nor a strategic one”. However, 53% of managers still consider it to be an “important” subject.
Finally, 60% of respondents admit that they are not aware of support systems for adapting to climate change.
Delayed adaptation will be very costly for businesses
While numerous studies have shown the future magnitude of the cost of inaction at the macroeconomic level, a recent study of the World Economic Forum is interested in it at the corporate level. Their result is as follows: by 2035, businesses that are least adapted to the consequences of climate change could lose up to 7% of their annual revenues. A figure that rises to 12% by 2055, according to the expectations of the study.
Thus, the eternal principle according to which “the cost of inaction is much greater than the cost of adaptation” does not only concern public authorities.
Sectors whose business operations and supplies are most dependent on extreme climate events will be the most affected, such as telecommunications and energy suppliers.
The Court of Auditors highlights the State's CSR shortcomings
The State's investment choices and public procurement strategy were highlighted by two reports published by the Court of Auditors, which highlight a series of shortcomings in terms of social and environmental responsibility.
For example, the agency in charge of managing shareholder positions and state investment strategies (the APE) is singled out for its “extremely summary CSR approach”. Limited social and environmental indicators on the one hand and too few resources on the other reflect a lack of commitment on the part of the agency.
The Court of Auditors goes so far as to recommend that this state agency rely on the CSRD to structure its sustainability reporting policy. A remarkable recommendation, considering that this European directive was originally intended for businesses.
Mayotte: the political situation worsens the natural disaster
Cyclone Chido, which hit Mayotte, caused extreme damage to populations and infrastructure. A disaster situation amplified by the precariousness of housing and buildings “dilapidated and saturated” and the structural vulnerability of the archipelago to climate change.
According to a study conducted by theImperial College London, the effects of climate change on the island tend to significantly intensify the violence of these cyclonic phenomena. According to them, storm Chido has “40% more likely to happen in the climate of 2024”.
In addition, 77% of the inhabitants of the island live below the poverty line, and half with “less than 3,140 euros per year”. Thus, 320,000 people saw the slums where they live be “completely destroyed”.
Shein and Temu win the hearts of French consumers
As the holidays approach, the trend of a sharp increase in purchases on the e-commerce platforms Shein and Temu is expected to strengthen, and even experience a peak in consumption. Indeed, despite the controversies, these two Chinese e-commerce giants remain very popular with consumers, in an economic context that is becoming more and more restrictive for French households.
According to La Poste, 22% of the packages distributed today come from both platforms... France is Temu's 2nd European market, with “12 million monthly recipients”.
These trends include CSR policies that are harmful to the environment and the sending of products that are dangerous to health, especially that of children.
Oil spill off the coast of Crimea: 35 km of devastated coastline
Two Russian tankers carrying nearly 9,000 tons of fuel oil went through a storm as they passed the Kerch Strait, off the coast of Crimea. One of them broke, while the other was severely damaged. To date, more than 3,000 tons of fuel oil would already form a drifting oil slick.
35 km of coastline would be contaminated by this oil spill, intoxicating the local fauna and flora, as evidenced by the photographs sent to European journalists. Specialists are still waiting to know the exact nature of the oil spilled in order to accurately estimate the damage.
These two ships would belong to a “ghost fleet” discreetly put into service by Russia to support its war effort. One of the tankers didn't even have a navigation license anymore, and both should have been dismantled 15 years ago...
Major new publications from the IPCC on biodiversity
IPBES, an intergovernmental body generally referred to as “Biodiversity IPCC”, has published 2 reports, one of which urges the simultaneous treatment of the various issues related to ecosystems, while the other explores the obstacles to action and change in biodiversity.
Calling for “transformative change”, they identify 3 priorities for action: the transformation of our ways of thinking, the transformation of our organizational structures, the transformation of our practices.
The other report highlights the importance of an approach that integrates the various subjects together (water, biodiversity, food, energy, etc.) to increase the coherence and effectiveness of environmental protection actions. As such, they identify 71 solutions within the reach of States to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.
A European coalition of sustainable banks?
It is under the name of Sustainable Banking Coalition that various European banking institutions have joined together, in order to encourage individuals and investors in the European Union to move towards a “ethical banking system”.
Its objective is clear: to give the sustainable finance sector, which is concerned with respecting ESG issues, enough importance and authority to position itself as an influential player in the eyes of European public authorities.
3 strategic priorities are announced by the coalition:
- Increase the representation of banks “focused on ESG impact” in EU institutions
- Ensure that the Green Deal is well respected by other banking players
- Establishing a “European regulatory framework” for these so-called “ethical” banking institutions
In France, the plastic sector is adapting to CSR requirements
The Xerfi Institute has just published a study for Elipso, which focuses on the French plastic packaging sector for the year 2023, whose companies surveyed represent 65% of the sector's turnover (i.e. 7.2 billion €).
In 2023, the sector produced 1.3 million tons of plastics, a decrease of -7% compared to 2022. In addition, compared to 2018, the weight of half of plastic products was “reduced by 17%.”
Plastic packaging manufacturers increased the share of their investments in Research & Development (+8%) and for the circular economy (+3%) compared to 2022. To date, nearly a third of packaging is not petroleum-based, but biobased (8%) or recycled (28%).
The sources
Les Echos “The 11 most popular green jobs (and their salaries)”
Sustainable news “Adapting to climate change: not a priority for SMEs and medium-sized companies”
Youmatter “Climate risks: businesses could lose up to 7% of their revenue”
Novethic “Purchases, investments: the State's CSR strategy singled out”
Novethic “Despite the controversies, Temu and Shein have become the darlings of the French”
Carenews “A coalition of banks in favor of environmental and social sustainability”
Elipso study (professional association) “2023 key figures for plastic packaging in France”
