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News
The CSRD: A Real Step Forward for European Companies
Carbone 4 Opinion Piece
On February 26, the European Commission will propose a draft “omnibus” directive revising the CSRD, the CSDDD, and the European taxonomy. Some are calling for these measures to be weakened, their implementation postponed, or even scrapped altogether, citing various pretexts, some of which are questionable. Admittedly, implementing these measures within companies requires human resources and management time; admittedly, it is useful to reduce the regulatory complexity of the CSRD and to propose a phased implementation, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. But this must be done with nuance, without losing sight of the essentials or systematically pitting sustainability against competitiveness.
In a context of increased competition, we must, on the contrary, promote and strengthen Europe’s achievements. Abandoning or scaling back our ambitions for sustainability—after the European Union and its member states have invested significant political capital in this area and companies have devoted substantial resources to it—would be a strategic mistake. We must not underestimate the ripple effect the European Union can have in international relations. China, for example, has adopted dual materiality, a flagship principle of European regulation.
How can we believe, in 2025, that companies could grow without taking social and environmental issues seriously? To make informed decisions, it is more essential than ever to have a precise, common language—one that is indispensable for understanding and comparing ourselves to others. For this language to be shared, it must be partially standardized. Otherwise, each company will adopt its own conventions, and stakeholders—starting with the financial community—will be unable to see the big picture. This new framework has also helped bring financial and non-financial teams within companies closer together.
This common language is essential for assessing and, where necessary, measuring the impacts, risks, and opportunities associated with global warming, biodiversity loss, and the impact of human activities on populations.
As for the strategic issue, it lies at the heart of the CSRD’s challenges. Reporting is not an end in itself. It is a means of acquiring a “set of glasses” that is indispensable for strategic thinking, which cannot take place in the fog and without an understanding of risks and opportunities. In particular, this information is essential for soundly defining and implementing transition plans, which are indispensable in the current context. It is equally essential for ensuring the robustness of a company’s strategy and business model. Just because some people deny the existence of physical and biological limits to our activities—limits that are now well-documented scientifically—does not mean that these limits will magically disappear.
In this context, the European Union—and France in particular—bears a special responsibility. On our continent, which is particularly lacking in resources and particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, we must succeed in balancing economic performance with a clear-eyed approach to social and environmental issues. It is not by skipping an appointment with the optometrist or refusing to invest in a pair of glasses that we will see things more clearly—quite the opposite. The EU did not implement the Green Deal directives for the wrong reasons. Let us keep this in mind as we make these final adjustments, so that today’s efforts can yield their full benefits tomorrow.
Op-ed available on the website Les Echos
The signatories:
NAME | First Name | Position, Unit |
GRANDJEAN | Alain | Partner, Carbone 4 |
FREROT | Antoine | Chairman of the Board of Directors, Veolia |
DEMURGER | Pascal | Chief Executive Officer of the MAIF Group, Co-Chair of Impact France, MAIF, Impact Finance |
N’DIAYE | Hélène | Deputy Chief Executive Officer of MAIF, Chief Executive Officer of MAIF Vie |
LOUETTE | Gauthier | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SPIE |
LEMAIGNAN | Benoît | Co-founder, President and CEO, Verkor |
JANCOVICI | Jean-Marc | Partner, Carbone 4 |
MOREL | Laurent | Partner, Carbone 4 |
LEGENDRE | Vincent | Chairman of the Executive Board, Legendre |
DUVAL | Pauline | Chief Executive Officer, Duval Group |
DELPONT | Sebastien | Co-founder & President, Ressorts |
BERTHOME | Jean-Paul | President, Expanscience |
NYSSEN | Jules | President, Renewable Energy Association |
NOGIER | Antoine | President, Sun'R |
MENU | Bruno | Co-founder, Granular Energy |
ADHEMAR | Bruno | President, Sublime Énergie |
DEFRÉVILLE | Hugues | Co-founder & President, Newheat |
BAITINGER | Florence | President, Gobilab |
CHAPUT | Valentin | Co-founder & CEO, Open Source Politics |
DEAU | Thierry | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Meridiam |
ZAOUATI | Philippe | Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Mirova |
PICARD | Fanny | President, Alter Equity |
BADRE | Bertrand | Former Managing Director of the World Bank |
CADIEU | Stéphane | Chairman of the Executive Board, Arkéa Asset Management |
HOMO | Frédéric | Secretary General, Arkéa Corporate & Institutional Banking |
TOUCHARD LE DRIAN | Aglaé | Associate Director, RAISE |
FROM FONTENAY | Sophie | Secretary General & Head of Sustainability, RAISE |
HERRMANN | Xavier | President, Yotta Capital Partners |
HERVE | Nina | Head of ESG and Investment, Yotta Capital Partners |
FRANC | Pierre Etienne | Co-founder & CEO, Hy24 |
AURIAC | Vincent | President, Axylia |
GAVOTY | Patrick | Partner & Head of Sustainability, Apheon |
LE MOAL | Ronan | Co-founder & CEO, Epopée Gestion |
MARQUIS | Arnaud | Chief Sustainability and Safety Officer, Tarkett |
AUTRET | Amandine | Director of CSR and QSE, Astre |
TANGUY | John | Director of Strategy, Environment, and Innovation, Société des Grands Projets |
SOILLY | Florian | Chief of Staff - Executive Vice President of People & Sustainability, Opmobility |
DELFELD | Christophe | CSR Director, NaTran (formerly GRTGaz) |
OTT | Nicolas | Director of Strategy & Impact, Elmy |
PFEIFFER | Cécile | CSR Director, Orange |
DELAMARRE | Stephanie | Director of CSR & Sustainable Development, Samsic |
GUYADER | Isabelle | Head of Sustainability for Sports & Products, Decathlon |
BELOT | Stéphane | Director of Environmental and Social Transition, Electro Dépôt |
JORDAN | Quentin | Head of Performance & CSR, Télégramme Group |
FOURNIER | Lionel | Director of Impact & Sustainable Health, Harmonie Mutuelle |
LEMA | Christian | Global Head of ESG & Sustainability, Nhood |
SMIA | Ladislas | ESG Director, MBO+ |
DENIAU | Clara | Chief Impact Officer, Citizen Capital |
METZGER-CORRIGOU | Servane | Chief Impact Officer, Ring Capital |
ORMIERES-SELVES | Zoe | ESG Director, Épopée Gestion |
DIDIER | Damien | Head of Sustainability, Daphni |
FAUGIER | Angèle | Managing Director, Naxicap |
JOLIVET | Manon | ESG Director, Origine Partners |
BOULUD | Elodie | Sustainable Procurement Manager, Etex |
MAESTRI | Cécile | CSR Manager, Biolandes |
BOURCIER | Pauline | Head of Research & CSR, Unilet |
MORGANT | Ingrid | CSR Project Manager, Hermès |
CAMPOS | Emmanuel | Footprint Manager, Deere |
BEITZ | Chloé | CSR Manager, LGM Group |
HAMEL | Aymeric | CSR Manager for Private Label Brands, Rexel Group |
SANDANSAMY | Alain | Chief Technical Officer, EDF Renewables |
DARMEDRU | Pauline | CSR Manager, Mutex |
BERGER | Edouard | Sustainability Strategic Analyst, BNP Paribas |
DUVAUD | Eric | CSR Expert |
RAMBAUD | Alexandre | Associate Professor, Co-Director of the "Ecological Accounting" Chair, Agro ParisTech |
SIBIEUDE | Thierry | Professor Emeritus, Co-Founding Professor of the Global Circular Economy Chair, Founding Professor of the Social Innovation Chair, ESSEC Business School |
ACQUIER | Aurélien | Professor and Coordinator of the "Social Innovation, Alternative Business Models, and Sustainability" specialization, ESCP Business School |
THIBIERGE | Thierry | Associate Professor, Department of Finance, ESCP Business School |
GAUTHIER | Thomas | Professor, Associate Dean, Holder of the Carbone 4 Chair in “Strategy in the Anthropocene,” emlyon business school |
LEANDRI | Noam | Associate Researcher, ESSCA |
ANTHEAUME | Nicolas | Professor of Accounting for Sustainable Development, Nantes University |
SERVANT | Yannick | Co-founder, Business Climate Convention |
THOMAS | Gilles | Vice President, Shareholders for Climate |
BURLOT | Pierre-Yves | President, Orée |
PHILIPPONNAT | Thierry | Chief Economist, Finance Watch |
BERLINGEN | Flora | Advocacy Coordinator for En Mode Climat, En Mode Climat |
HETZER | Mathieu | President, Young Leaders Center) |
LONGPRE | Mélina | GenActor |
GUILLO LOHAN | Pascale | Air & Climate Representative |
LAVILLE | Elisabeth | Founder, Utopies |
MARTIN | Claire | Founder & CEO of Lucidergie, Executive Director of Universcience Partenaires |
BLAIN | Eric | Founder & Partner, Chloé in the sky |
BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS | François | CEO, Chloé in the Sky |
VIAL | Marie-Hélène | Director of Marketing & Communications, Chloé in the Sky |
VIAL | Françoise | Co-Chair of the National Digital Council, founder and chairman of Auxo Dynamics, Auxo Dynamics |
RISBOURG | Alain | President, Covivance |
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