Publicis Groupe, as a member of the United Nations Global Compact since 2003 and a Company committed to SBTi, is a signatory of the Business Ambition for 1.5° in support of the efforts of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – or UN IPCC) calling on companies to accelerate the transition to a decarbonized economy and world, and in favor of a fairer society.
Publicis Groupe has voluntarily chosen to follow the recommendations of the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure) and its environmental policy is structured according to the recommended principles in order to allow a clearer understanding of the objectives and means implemented. Additional information can be found on the Groupe’s website, in the CSR section, or in public responses to external questionnaires such as the one issued by the CDP Climate Change.
Publicis Groupe also participates in other inter-Company initiatives, as a member of economic organizations such as in France through the MEDEF and the French Business Climate Pledge, in which several French subsidiaries also participate. This plea reaffirms the determination of French companies in favor of the objectives of the Paris Agreement, the energy transition and the fight against global warming in a scenario of 1.5°C.
The sectoral professional organizations to which the Groupe and its agencies belong, particularly in Europe, have made strong commitments to reduce the impact of communication and advertising in all their forms. The Groupe is a voluntary player in this area in order to quickly take all the measures necessary for the essential collective effort. In France, AACC with UDECAM, IAB France and ARPP, alongside advertisers, are working on a trajectory to achieve carbon neutrality. In the United Kingdom, spearheaded by the Advertising Association, which brings together the industry, from advertisers to agencies and media to platforms, has created Ad Net Zero, a sectoral initiative with the objective to achieve Zero Waste – Zero Carbon in 2030. This body has adopted the AdGreen carbon calculator inspired by the calculator already in place in the United Kingdom for around ten years by the film industry.
Publicis Groupe is among the companies whose carbon trajectory is assessed by SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative), as well as by the United Nations Business Ambition for 1.5° and Race to Zero, which bring together committed companies.
As indicated in the Duty of Care Plan (see Section 4.2.4), more in-depth work began in 2021, with the help of an external firm, to better determine the risks of climate change on the Groupe, by analyzing several scenarios. An ad hoc working group was set up, Climate Task Force, managed by the Groupe’s CSR Department with the support of the Risk Management, Finance, IT and GSO (infrastructure and information systems security), Legal, Real Estate and Insurance Departments and teams and with operational staff. This work made it possible to map risks and opportunities with regard to various scenarios, aligned with those of the IPCC (United Nations). 12 work scenarios were built and worked on with help from an external firm and aligned with the key points of the method used by Groupe Risk Management (time horizon, frequency, financial impacts, mitigation measures). Given the Groupe’s intellectual services activities and its geographical presence, two scenarios were selected to guide the internal work:
The work therefore aims to identify and prioritize the various risks and opportunities associated with these scenarios based on the typology established by the TCFD, which distinguishes between:
1 - The physical risks: they are associated with the impacts of climate change, due to the geographical location of the offices, employees and data centers, which may impact employees and their working environment, alter the continuity of service for clients and the normal operation of the Company; Six scenarios were examined taking into account rising temperatures, rising sea levels, extreme rainfall with flooding, major fires and tornadoes.
2- The transition risks: they come from changes in the market, regulations or technology to limit global warming to 1.5°C were grouped into six other scenarios. Particular attention was paid to possible regulatory changes, such as the end of certain product categories for the Groupe’s clients, the ban on communicating on certain products, stricter restrictions for certain products, or the possible occurrence of additional taxes. The issues surrounding carbon taxes in different forms were analyzed in detail.
