Of Greenwashing to a real corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy: where are we really? Since the establishment of the European Directive on the publication of extra-financial data (CSRD), companies with more than 500 employees must analyze the financial risks to which they are exposed but also the environmental consequences of their activities (quantity of CO2 emitted , damage to natural environments, etc.). This sustainability report will reflect the reality of their CSR policy. However, in the application of this European directive, France is rather ahead. Little by little, a whole movement is developing, with on one side the constraints of the law, and on the other, the weight of employees convinced of the social and environmental role of companies. To the point of making it a choice for their career and gaining influence within management bodies. Silent, the CSR revolution is inevitable. Fabrice Bonnifet analyzes this trend.
The era of the end of abundance has dawned. Corporate social responsibility has become essential. If it was a bit of a gadget for a long time, never transformative, it has become so today, believes Fabrice Bonnifet, president of the College of Directors of Sustainable Development (C3D) and head of Sustainable Development at Bouygues.
L’Express: For a long time, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been tarnished by the term greenwashing. Would you say that they are finally taking the subject head on?
Fabrice Bonnifet: We’re not there yet. CSR has long been the most important of secondary things. Today it is becoming a more strategic subject, because the grip of constraints is tightening. We are still far from a profound transformation of business models to align them with planetary boundaries. Yet this is what we must aim for.
Why do you think there is an emergency?
To believe that we will be able to exceed the biocapacity of the planet for a long time to come without impact on the economy is reckless. If we do not agree to drastically reconfigure our production and consumption models, by integrating more sobriety into the use of primary resources and reducing our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, nature will take care of itself. readjustment.
To avoid sudden change, how should the economy evolve?
It will change its nature: we must move to an economy of use. Concretely, this means manufacturing useful, ultra-durable and repairable products, then marketing their use. With their initiatives “We Play Circular” for Decathlon and “Mobilize” for Renault, these two companies have demonstrated the possibility of no longer charging for a product, but for the use we make of it. Once used, they are returned to the producers. All in a circular logic.
And how should companies go about engaging in this change of model?
The idea is to rethink everything. At C3D, we bring a methodology based on the successes of pioneering companies. Change the method of remuneration, the design, the marketing, the product sometimes. All to reduce pressure on ecosystems and nature. This requires colossal investments, with not necessarily immediate profitability. This is a major paradigm shift.
But, by adopting these new models, can companies still achieve growth?
Of course ! Increasing the intensity of use of products will improve their profitability, because they will no longer have to buy ever more raw materials and emit ever more CO2 to manufacture them. With the looming strain on resources, the functionality economy is no longer an option for businesses, it is a condition of survival.
Doesn’t this mean the death of certain sectors of activity?
Dividing humanity’s carbon footprint by three in twenty-five years will require making choices, and the regulator, namely political power, must take its responsibilities. The only certainty: regenerative business models can be applied to all sectors of activity, and they will prove to generate meaningful jobs.
What prevents a more radical revolution?
There is one element that we do not talk about enough: the chronic deficit in CSR training. People train on the job, often the youngest, but there is a lack of academic teaching on this subject to lead a major revolution. We are demanding that entire CSR cycles be integrated into major schools, in all subjects. And not just modules for a few weeks a year.
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