CSR/ESG reporting is based on social, societal and environmental indicators collected in 819 entities of the Groupe, and since 2009, with a coverage rate of 99% of the workforce of the Groupe. The scope of CSR and non‑financial reporting is aligned with that of consolidated financial reporting, including all subsidiaries more than 50% owned by the Groupe, and entities over which the Groupe has operational control. It is based on the collection and consolidation of actual data collected at the level of each subsidiary/entity. However, some indicators are subject to lower coverage rates, and exclusions are due to the lack of data on these topics from our subsidiaries:
The 2023 CSR reporting covers the period from January 1 to December 31, 2023 and is carried out annually.
Quantitative social, societal and environmental data is collected in accordance with financial reporting control rules and processes via a dedicated module (HFMCSRGRI) incorporated into the financial information system and specific verification, control and validation processes. This data is under the responsibility of the agency and country Financial Directors.
Quantitative social information is collected via Career Settings, the human resources reporting system (HRIS – Human Resource Information System). The data included in this system are the responsibility of the Chief Talent Officer (CTOs or Human Resources Managers) of the agencies and countries, in charge of data verification. Backed by Career Settings, Career Conversation makes it possible to carry out and monitor employee assessments and the various systems for taking stock. Lastly, Marcel and Marcel Classes are also used to consolidate data related to employee training.
Qualitative social, societal and environmental information is collected via a dedicated internal platform, PARIS (Publicis Groupe Platform for Agencies Reporting on Impacts & Sustainability), accessible to all agencies (PARIS replaces NAXOS). Qualitative information is placed under the responsibility of the agency and country Chief Talent Officers, who sign off on the content shared.
HFMCSRGRI and PARIS are linked in order to ensure consistency and run materiality tests. The definitions and calculation methods are aligned with the GRI and are presented in the CSR Smart data section.
The scope calculated for greenhouse gas emissions includes the Company and all its subsidiaries (100%), as well as some third‑parties associated with digital activities for clients (e.g. servers) and those relating to employee personal travel, outside of lockdown periods, and includes most of the direct suppliers.
Automatic exclusions: as every year, subsidiaries acquired on or after July 1, 2023 are not included in the 2023 CSR/ESG reporting; they will be included in the 2024 reporting.
Since May 2021, the Supervisory Board has had an ESG Committee. Chaired by Suzan LeVine, it met twice in 2023 (see Sections 3.1.2.4 and 3.1.2.9 of this document, as well as the introduction in this Chapter 4). CSR is under the responsibility of the Secretary General, who sits on the Management Board. CSR topics are examined by the Management Board through the regular monitoring of demographic, social and diversity indicators. Certain topics related to talent and diversity are regularly discussed during Supervisory Board meetings. Groupe and structuring projects on the three ESG priorities are validated by the Management Board.
A summary of CSR/ESG key indicators is presented to the General Shareholders’ Meeting annually.
The CSR Department manages an internal CSR Steering Committee, grouping of the Groupe’s main corporate functions (Finance, HR Operations, Internal Audit, Legal, Procurement, Risk Management, etc.) which covers all key areas included in CSR or non‑financial reporting. The CSR Steering Committee plays a role in the detailed work done on integrated reporting. The CSR Department is also supported by external firms such as Ecoact or Carbone 4 on environmental issues and Bureau Veritas on issues of measurement and methodology related to greenhouse gas emissions. The CSR Department works in project mode with various teams worldwide. Using a dual approach: “push” to help with the roll out of internal initiatives and to push forward certain issues, and “pull,” with the comprehensive steering of non‑financial reporting.
The Internal Control and Internal Audit teams verify, during the course of their work carried out throughout the year, that the agencies correctly implement the CSR reporting processes and have access to historical tracking of data and information.
