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Carbon footprint : where do French companies stand ?

Marie Vabre, Advisor friend

July 15, 2021

For several years now, major companies have been announcing their will to become ""carbon neutral"" or ""zero net emissions"". Although their efforts are not yet sufficient enough, the annual EcoAct study shows steady progress. More and more companies are working together to draw up roadmaps converging towards decarbonisation.
The specialized consulting firm EcoAct scrutinizes the climate reporting performance of CAC 40 companies. What are the trends in the 2020 Ranking that was released last September ? The Paris Stock Exchange main index has the highest average score (62%). BNP Paribas is No. 1 in the CAC 40 ranking (while Microsoft is on the podium of a large number of indices). Two French companies are in the global Top 10 : BNP Paribas (5th) and Danone (8th). The automotive, ICT and luxury sectors are the most represented in the Top 10. EcoAct summarizes « French companies committed to carbon neutrality are leading the way in terms of strategy to achieve their ambitions (59%, compared to less than 50% for the other indices) ».

"Medef tackles carbon for competitiveness.

There is another strong signal that the climate issue is being taken into account : in 2019, the Medef launched the French Business Climate Pledge. This initiative brings together about 130 companies, adding up more than €1.65 trillion in sales and more than 6 million jobs worldwide. These companies have made commitments to accelerate low-carbon innovation through their investments the amount of which has increased from 45 billion euros over the period 2015-2020 to 75 billion euros over 2020-2023. « The signatory companies consider that it is compulsory to meet this essential challenge for the attractiveness and competitiveness of France and Europe », the employers' organization said. The latest objective of this initiative consists in reaching 1,000 committed companies in the near future.

The Great Challenge of companies for the planet.

It's a kind of Citizens’ Climate Convention, but with a corporate twist. The Grand Défi is a multi-stakeholder collective about climate and biodiversity, a nationwide participatory initiative. The ambition of this collective approach consists in offering representatives of 150 French companies, chosen by drawing lots, the opportunity to make recommendations to decarbonise the economy, regenerate the biosphere and implement a sustainable economic model, compatible with the planetary boundaries. The Grand Défi is committed to 100 proposals for priority actions that are internal, lateral and external to the company. An open source resources center will showcase studies, reference data and the conclusions of this collective intelligence work. This initiative already has many supporters in the economic sphere, the scientific world and civil society - including C3D, Entreprises et Progrès, Comité 21, epe, CJD, Orée, and ORSE. Vetted will closely follow its progress.
French companies can be a tremendous driving force in the transition towards a low-carbon economy. To help and support them, Vetted sources the best experts in sustainable solutions. "

Thanks to Vetted, find the player that will help you set your own goals and achieve them.

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