Publicis Groupe was the first communication group to support and promote the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in 2003. The Company confirmed its climate commitments by joining the United Nations “Caring for Climate” advocacy. The first climate targets were backed by the so-called “20-20-20” European Climate-Energy package (by 2020, 20% renewable energy, 20% emission reduction, and 20% increase in energy efficiency). Having achieved its targets in 2019, the Groupe is committed to SBTi, is a signatory of the Business Ambition for 1.5° (United Nations Global Compact) in support of the efforts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC or UN IPCC) asking companies to accelerate the transition to a decarbonized economy and world, and in favor of a fairer society.
The Groupe’s voluntary environmental commitments underpinning the Groupe’s policy, and reaffirmed annually, correspond to the following factors:
Publicis Groupe has voluntarily chosen to follow the recommendations of the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure) now integrated into the ISSB; the environmental policy is based on the recommended principles – governance, strategy, risk management, key metrics and targets – in order to allow a clearer understanding of the targets and resources implemented. Additional information can be found on the Groupe’s website, in the CSR section, where public responses to external questionnaires such as the one issued by the CDP Climate Change can be found.
Publicis Groupe also participates in other trade initiatives as a member of economic organizations such as, in France, through the MEDEF and the “Pacte Climat”, in which several French subsidiaries of Publicis Groupe also participate. This advocacy reaffirms the determination of French companies to promote the objectives of the Paris Agreement, the energy transition and the fight against global warming in a scenario of 1.5° C. Under the French Climate and Resilience Act, Publicis France publishes its commitments on the ADEME website.
The industry 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, the AACC (Association des agences conseils en communication) with the UDECAM (Union des Entreprises de Conseil et d'Achat Média), IAB France (Interactive Advertising Bureau) and ARPP (Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicité), alongside advertisers (Union des marques), 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, Ad Net Zero has been created, a sectoral initiative with the objective to achieve Zero Waste – Zero Carbon in 2030.
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.
