Publicis Groupe’s corporate services activities are based on the marketing of intangible assets. However, the Company’s digital activities require the use of materials, particularly IT, which are part of products that use natural resources in their manufacture. In addition, the storage of digital data requires ad hoc capacities, whether in the form of company servers or the cloud data centers of suppliers. Finally, certain short-lived business activities, such as events and production, can generate waste.
This topic is therefore material at the upstream end of the Company’s value chain and requires in-depth work with suppliers. These regulatory issues were anticipated but required a harmonized management and monitoring tool for suppliers allowing the collection of CSR data, which is the case with the ramp-up of the ARIBA platform. Initial analyses have been carried out and will be extended in 2025 and 2026. This chapter therefore presents a partial overview, and the work will be deepened in 2025 and 2026.
| Impact type | Risks | Opportunities | Policies and organization | Mitigation measures & major actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Impact type The Groupe generates waste and e- waste, linked to digital activities The use of natural resources must be limited throughout the value chain |
Risks The major risk is the increase in energy consumption due to the computing power requirements related to the use of AI, for the Groupe and its suppliers |
Opportunities
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Policies and organization
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Mitigation measures & major actions
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Since its inception, the Groupe’s environmental policy, Net Zero Climate, and its Appendix, has incorporated the need to promote the circular economy to limit the use of natural resources, or raw materials that could be available in another form, thanks to the circular economy. [E5-1-12]
This principle applies to the Company’s operations as well as its business activities. For more than ten years, agencies have voluntarily committed to promoting media made from paper, plastics, fabrics and other recycled materials, whether for print editions or temporary events, working with suppliers to guarantee these raw materials from recycled materials. For example, production and event activities have included the use of the circular economy as a key principle to promote this type of sourcing in their various projects. CSR managers from these agencies are involved at a very early stage of projects in order to reduce waste as much as possible and find alternatives as needed. For temporary events, priority is given to materials from recycled products such as wood for decorations, or choosing carpets from recycled ones (see the example of Publicis Live through its Sustainability Guidelines, shared with suppliers involved in various events on the Groupe’s website). For production, priority is given to used decorative items and rented suits where possible. This encourages virtuous sectors and committed suppliers, and working with some of them on new solutions. [E5-1-16, E5-2-19]
The CSR for Business Guidelines are imposed on suppliers under the Groupe’s contracts as an appendix to the signed contract, and for more than ten years have contained the target of increasing the share of goods purchased from the circular economy, or having a growing share of materials from the circular economy. For example, in the category of laptops and screens essential to all employees, the share of materials from the circular economy – mainly computer casings, keyboards and mice as well as printers – is increasing for all suppliers. [E5-2-20 (a), (b) & (d)]
