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by The Notified Team on Jul 25, 2024 8:51:16 PM
The business world is rapidly evolving, and with it, the expectations stakeholders have of companies.
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) has become a major concern, forcing companies to integrate social, environmental and governance (ESG) objectives into their business strategies and investor relations and public relations efforts.
At a recent event organized by Notified in Paris, CSR experts shared their views on how European companies are tackling and managing these issues. Keep reading to learn the key takeaways from the discussion.
CSR: A Necessity for Companies
With the introduction of the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), EU companies (and non-EU companies operating in the market) are now required to incorporate CSR objectives into their business strategies and communications. These regulations will gradually affect all companies, whether listed or unlisted, as well as subject-matter experts.
As Yoan Besse, Managing Director of Citigate Dewe Rogerson x Grayling France, pointed out, "The aim is to put in place a common framework and to ensure that this work can then serve the ultimate objective, which is to decarbonize and move towards a model where the companies reporting make a positive contribution to the energy transition in particular.”
In this context, adopting a CSR policy is becoming a necessity for companies. With all the complexity that this entails, this is found particularly in terms of governance.
"When we work on CSRD, given the multitude of KPIs involved, we get everyone on board. First and foremost, the CSR teams, but also the financial communications teams, the country finance departments, operations, human resources, etc. There is a real need to pool everyone's efforts, to collect the information we are asked to promote,” said Sébastien Valentin, Investor Relations Officer at Carrefour.
Bertrand Biard, VP of WMH Project, an agency and new mission-driven company, also emphasized the strong impact of this transformation on the company's governance.
In effect, "the company is incorporating into its articles of association a mission that goes beyond the simple exercise of a trade or know-how. This gives the company a long-term perspective on social, ecological and societal issues, and this requires the creation of a mission committee that is open to the outside world as well as to your employees. This becomes a complementary body to the governance of the company that steers all the projects of your mission in all its components, in all sectors of the business,” he said.
Integrating CSR Into Investor Relations and Public Relations
Companies must now integrate CSR into their business strategies and communications. To do this, they must define specific objectives in order to meet the expectations of investors and stakeholders.
At the conference, Valentin emphasized the importance of CSR in discussions with investors. Today at Carrefour, CSR accounts for 25% of the reasons for meetings with investors and requires an increase in the skills of the teams responsible for financial communications. To meet this need, Carrefour is working closely with its CSR teams to ensure the consistency and quality of the information provided to investors.
"We have to be able to respond to this, because it's part of a financial communications team's understanding of the group. Today, we talk about finance, we talk about strategy, we talk about development...and obviously we have to be able to talk about CSR, so it's changing the job a lot,” he said. “What's very interesting, when we look at the financial community, is that the behavior of CSR investors is very different and sometimes even antinomic to what we see with traditional managers. We can see that CSR funds are working together. They are coming together...it's a very positive kind of activism that is helping us to move in the right direction.”
Bénédicte Garbil , VP of Corporate Affairs and CSR at Carbios, explained that the integration of CSR is facilitated by the very nature of the company's business, which aims to develop solutions for recycling plastics and textiles.
Carbios regularly measures and monitors its ESG performance and works closely with various stakeholders to ensure that they adhere to the principles, particularly when it comes to establishing third-party certifications.
"In the end, it's an extremely motivating force across all the company's business lines. We need all the departments involved, whether finance, R&D, production, etc. And when you set an objective of certification by a third party, at the end of the day you're going to have this raw material that will enable you to embark not on transformation but on continuous improvement,” she said. “I therefore believe that simplicity, combined with an external measurement objective that matches our ambitions, will enable us to make significant and lasting progress in the commitment of our stakeholders.”
Pauline Bireaud, Head of Investor Relations at Pluxee, pointed out that integrating CSR into a company's strategy and communications is a collaborative effort between the CSR and finance teams. The aim is to identify the risks and opportunities associated with CSR and integrate them into the company's overall strategy. "A few years ago, CSR was seen as a subject to be dealt with on an ad hoc basis, as an appendix to presentations to investors. Today, it must be part of a company's strategy,” she said. “We are no longer just talking about KPIs to be achieved alongside financial targets. No, we are in the process of integrating all CSR issues at the heart of strategic initiatives. In other words, these strategic initiatives must ultimately have a positive impact on all stakeholders, and not just a financial one.”
Changes in CSR regulations and expectations have prompted companies to integrate these issues into their business strategies and financial communications. Asset managers are now paying increasing attention to companies' ESG performance in their investment decisions. Companies must therefore step up their communication of CSR policies to investors and stakeholders to meet the requirements of transparency and social responsibility.
In a world increasingly concerned about social and environmental issues, CSR has become a powerful lever for companies wishing to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable and responsible development. By integrating CSR objectives, companies can not only meet the expectations of investors and stakeholders, but also help to strengthen their image and performance over the long term.
Learn more about how Notified can help you increase confidence and trust with stakeholders, meet regulatory compliance and achieve greater communications impact.
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