In 2024, the missions of the Audit and Financial Risks Committee of the Board (see Section 3.1.4.1 of this document) changed to integrate its new responsibilities on sustainability reporting, particularly its monitoring of impacts, risks and opportunities concerning sustainability. The Committee also ensures the integrity of the non-financial reporting process and the effectiveness of the internal control and risk management systems in terms of sustainability reporting. This step was an extension of the work carried out in 2023, with the presentation of the ESG risk mapping (with a rating aligned with the Groupe risk mapping), and the results of the double materiality analysis, based on the study of impacts, risks and opportunities (IRO) specific to the Company. Regulatory changes in sustainability reporting are shared on a regular basis, along with a parallel analysis of short- and medium-term actions. The Committee was regularly informed of progress by the Chief Impact Officer, as well as the work carried out with the external sustainability auditors to produce the sustainability statements.
- In 2024, the Strategic, Environmental and Social Committee of the Board (see Section 3.1.4.4 of this document) took note of the work carried out by the ESG Committee in April 2024 before the change in form of governance, in particular the preparation of the Sustainability Reporting to meet the new requirements of the CSRD Directive. It was informed of the progress of ongoing projects relating to the three ESG pillars of the Sustainability report. It also monitored the implementation of the Group’s vigilance plan. [ESRS 2 GOV-1-22 (a) to (c) i; ESRS 2 GOV-2-26 (a) to (c)]
- Within the Executive Committee, chaired by Mr. Arthur Sadoun, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, CSR issues are supervised by Ms. Agathe Bousquet, Chair of Publicis Groupe in France, who deals with cross-functional issues across the three pillars of the Company (Intelligent Creativity, Connected Media, Technology), including CSR.
- In May 2024, Mr. Arthur Sadoun created a new position and appointed a Chief Impact Officer, Ms. Nannette Lafond DuFour, a member of the Management Committee. The scope of this position covers the CSR strategy and sustainability reporting, as well as the Groupe’s flagship initiatives, such as the Women's Forum, the Working With Cancer advocacy and issues of impact and equity. [ESRS 2-MDR-P-65(c)]
- The Groupe CSR Department reports to the Chief Impact Officer. This team is in charge of developing and deploying the ESG strategy, projects and changes to the policies involved in the Groupe’s CSR strategy, and monitoring action plans and targets. This department is in charge of non-financial reporting. This department is a source of proposals to Executive Management for changes to be implemented in order to achieve the targets approved by the Groupe’s governance bodies. The Janus Code of Conduct and Ethics incorporates these elements into ESG policies. The CSR Department relies on the CSR Steering Committee, in place since 2015 and bringing together the corporate departments: Legal and Compliance, Finance and Information Systems, Human Resources Operations, Groupe Procurement, Risks, Internal Financial Control, Internal Audit, Shared Services/Re:Sources (IT, Real Estate, etc.). The managers of the countries or businesses are involved in the work in order to take into account clients’ CSR issues. Work in 2024 focused on compliance with the CSRD and ESRS. The CSR Department leads several internal bodies that have been set up for sharing experience and cooperation, such as the Groupe Impact & Equity Council, which brings together the managers responsible for inclusion and Impact & Equity programs every two months, or the Climate Crew, which brings together the teams in charge of reducing environmental impact every two months. It is also working with various business lines in several countries to identify metrics specific to activities around the challenges of responsible marketing.
- The Audit and Internal Financial Control (Financial Monitoring Controls) Department have included certain CSR topics in their work programs, such as those relating to talent, compliance issues in terms of personal data and IT systems security. The Risk Management team developed ESG risk mapping by relying on the Groupe’s major risk mapping methodology and has worked closely with the CSR Department to ensure consistency with the double materiality exercise. It has also participated in the double materiality analysis work.The Risk Management and FMC (Financial Monitoring Controls) teams (see Section 2.2) support the CSR Department in structuring an ESG control framework, which integrates the new elements of the CSRD and ESRS.
- In the agencies and countries, operational deployment of CSR actions is carried out under the responsibility of local management, and priority actions are implemented based on topic by their dedicated CSR teams (CSR Ambassadors or Sustainability Champions) , the Talent, HR or Impact & Equity teams, and of course with the Operational Business teams. Not to mention the local Re:Sources teams for the support functions in the shared service centers, which collect environmental data. It is important to highlight the very large number of employees volunteering to start new CSR initiatives and innovate in their daily professional practices. [ESRS 2 GOV-1-22 (a)]
