Universal Registration Document 2023

4. Corporate Social Responsibility Non-Financial Performance - AFR

CSR reporting is done within each Groupe entity with the assistance of the CSR Champions in the agency and the support of the teams in the shared services centers (Re:Sources), who are closely involved from the earliest stages of the reporting. The internal guide, entitled "2023 CSR Comprehensive Guide," is updated annually; it defines the required collection and validation processes at the different levels, as well as the content and definitions of the various indicators (over 100 quantitative and qualitative indicators). This guide has been distributed to a cross‑functional working group of roughly 100 people and more than 1,000 contributors during preparatory online sessions held from October 2023 to December 2023. In the course of its data checking and verification process (of each indicator per agency), the Groupe’s CSR Department was in direct contact with all the local teams during the final consolidation phase.

All of the quantitative data and qualitative information is checked and analyzed by the Groupe CSR Department, which compiles the consolidated reporting for the whole Groupe. Grant Thornton auditors carried out 107 so‑called “on‑site” audits in the branches (sometimes carried out remotely due to local health measures): Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, United States, France, India, United Kingdom, representing nearly 55% of the workforce. The whole CSR report is checked by the external auditors (see “Opinion” in Section 4.8) in accordance with regulatory requirements: they check the consolidated quantitative and qualitative data by conducting random checks in all Groupe entities. They also analyze the processes and explanations provided, as well as the consistency of the exercise as a whole.

International standards used

Non‑financial reporting was prepared in accordance with the provisions of articles L. 225‑102‑1, L. 22‑10‑36, R. 225‑105 and R. 225‑105‑1 of the French Commercial Code on corporate social and environmental transparency obligations and on auditing methods. The reporting takes into consideration several European CSRD and ESRS directives (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, as well as the European Climate Taxonomy) as well as the French laws on the energy transition and green growth and non financial reporting, but also on the fight against food waste, as well as on the modernization of social dialogue and the securing of career paths. This also integrates the Duty of Care Law and the Sapin 2 Law (anti‑corruption), as well as the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The other guidelines that the Groupe voluntarily follows are:

  1. GRI standards (Global Reporting Initiative); this is the main structure followed by the Groupe since 2009, including its standards and indicators, as well as its ten principles (GRI 101). The 2022 reporting was prepared in accordance with GRI standards: Core option. A GRI content index provides an overview of important information related to sustainable development and is available at: https:/publicisgroupe‑csr‑smart‑data.com/ en/;/
  2. the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, to which Publicis Groupe has been a signatory since 2003, since 2017 supplemented by the UN Women’s seven Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs);
  3. the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Groupe has chosen to report on nine of the 17 SDGs (see Section 4.4);
  4. the ISO 26000 guidelines, which the Groupe has followed since 2011 in order to better accommodate the views of stakeholders;
  5. the American Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) guidelines, drafted in 2014 for the technology and communications sector;
  6. the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises (Recommendations for responsible business conduct in a global context);
  7. the United Nations Caring for Climate pledge signed by Publicis Groupe in 2007, as well as the pledges signed by the companies at the COP 21 in 2015 (Paris Agreement) under the French Business Climate Pledge;
  8. the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) endorsed by the Groupe on a voluntary basis since 2009 in order to contribute to the general effort to achieve transparency concerning the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental data are published using the location- and market based rule for scope 2;
  9. the Task Force on Climate‑related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) which defines environmental governance and disclosure rules in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
  10. the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which validates companies’ objectives in terms of reporting environmental impacts and carbon emissions, an approach which is in line with the Paris Agreement 1.5°C scenario;
  11. WEF & IBC Core ESG Metrics proposed by the World Economic Forum International Business Council Index;
  12. with the entry into force of the European CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), this reporting also took into account elements appearing in the ESRS – European Sustainability Reporting Standards established in 2023 by the EFRAG (European Financial Reporting Advisory Group).

The summary and ESG indicators, including the cross‑reference table with all the selected benchmarks, is publicly accessible under "CSR Smart data" at https:// publicisgroupe‑csr‑smart‑data.com/en/.