Universal Registration Document 2025

4.2.5 Offsetting actions

Investments enabling carbon emissions reduction and offsetting transactions are managed by the Groupe CSR Department in order to concentrate efforts on authenticated local projects, audited by third parties and with recognized certifications such as Gold Standards for the UN SDGs, VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) and CCBA (Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance). These transactions appear publicly in the VERRA registers [E1-7-61 (c)]. Publicis Groupe is supported in these projects by an external firm in order to validate the robustness of the projects selected and to monitor their evolution over time. [E1-7-59 (a) & (b)]

Carbon offsetting through the purchase of carbon credits remains the action taken as a last resort. Publicis Groupe has set itself the intermediate objective of achieving carbon neutrality for Scopes 1 and 2 by 2030, with the use of renewable energy from direct sources as its main lever. Carbon offsetting, as part of the committed plans, aims to offset irreducible Scopes 1 and 2 emissions. In recent years, the Groupe has included emissions related to business air travel (Scope 3 share) in its offsetting plan. [E1-7-56 (a) & (b), E1-7-58]

In 2025, the Groupe canceled the equivalent of 83,260 TeqCO₂ through VCCs. These reduction and offsetting actions enabled Publicis Groupe to achieve carbon neutrality for Scopes 1+2 and business travel in 2025 (and since 2020), in accordance with the requirements of the Paris Agreement. [E1-7-56 (b), E1-7-AR 61]

Since 2022, Publicis Groupe has included Scope 3 emissions related to air transportation from business travel in its current offsetting plan. In 2023, a second five-year multi-year project was implemented to build on the first. This “VCC Plan 2” includes:

• 85% the continuation of the Gandhi/Pawan program (certified Verified Carbon Standard - "bundled renewable energy project"), which will mean ten years of support for this wind project in the same three regions of Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra, with a strong social impact around the education of children and economic emancipation of women. This project is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7, 8 and 13;
• 15% of VCCs come from forestry projects in the United States (certified American Carbon Registry - "IFM - Improved Forest Management)", in the states of Maine and Michigan (Baraga), in the same vein of prioritizing countries where the Groupe has a strong presence. These projects are aligned with SDGs 6, 13 and 15.

In order to anticipate future needs in terms of carbon credits, to offset irreducible residual emissions, Publicis Groupe has joined the Climate Fund for Nature, managed by Mirova/ Natixis. This is a pooled fund in which the Groupe has invested 20 million euros in exchange for carbon credits for the next 15 years – see the description in Section 4.2.2.2.

/ Carbon offsetting: projects supported in Plans 1 & 2 since 2019 [ESRS 2 E1-4, AR 25 (a) & (b), E1-7-AR 56 (a) & 56 (b), 58, 59 (a)&(b)]