Regarding the assessment of impact materiality and financial materiality
The information relating to the assessment of impact materiality and financial materiality is presented in paragraph 4.1.9 ‘Double materiality analysis – impact and financial’ of Chapter 4 ‘Sustainability’ of the group management report.
We reviewed, through discussions with management and inspection of the available documentation, the process implemented by the entity for assessing impact materiality and financial materiality, and we assessed its compliance with the criteria defined in ESRS 1.
We notably assessed the manner in which the entity established and applied the information materiality criteria defined in ESRS 1, including those relating to the determination of thresholds, in order to identify the material information disclosed:
- for the indicators relating to the material IROs identified in accordance with the relevant topical ESRS;
- for the entity-specific disclosures.
Compliance of the sustainability information included in sections 4.1 to 4.4 of Chapter 4 ‘Sustainability’ of the group management report with Article L.233-28-4 of the French Commercial Code, including the ESRS
Nature of procedures carried out
Our procedures consisted in verifying that, in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements, including the ESRS:
- the disclosures provided enable an understanding of the basis for the preparation and governance of the sustainability information included in sections 4.1 to 4.4 of Chapter 4 ‘Sustainability’ of the group management report, including the basis for determining the information relating to the value chain and the disclosure exemptions applied;
- the presentation of this information ensures its readability and understandability;
- the scope chosen by PUBLICIS GROUPE SA for providing this information is appropriate; and
- on the basis of a selection determined by our analysis of the risks of non-compliance of the information provided and the expectations of users, this information does not contain any material errors, omissions or inconsistencies, i.e. those likely to influence the judgment or decisions of the users of this information.
Conclusion of the procedures carried out
Based on the procedures we have carried out, we have not identified any material errors, omissions or inconsistencies regarding the compliance of the sustainability information included in sections 4.1 to 4.4 of Chapter 4 ‘Sustainability’ of the group management report with the provisions of Article L.233-28-4 of the French Commercial Code, including the ESRS.
Elements that received particular attention
We present below the elements to which we paid particular attention regarding the compliance of the sustainability information included in sections 4.1 to 4.4 of Chapter 4 ‘Sustainability’ of the group management report with the provisions of Article L.233-28-4 of the French Commercial Code, including the ESRS.
Information provided in application of environmental standards (ESRS E1 to E5)
The information published under climate change (ESRS E1) is presented in section 4.2 ‘Environment: fight against climate change’ of Chapter 4 ‘Sustainability’ of the group management report.
We present below the elements to which we paid particular attention regarding the compliance of this information with the ESRS.
Our procedures notably consisted in:
- assessing, based on interviews conducted with management or the relevant individuals, in particular the Sustainability Department, whether the description of the policies, actions and targets implemented by the entity covers the following areas: climate change mitigation and renewable energy;
- assessing the appropriateness of the information presented in sections 4.2.1 to 4.2.4 of Chapter 4 ‘Sustainability’ of the group management report and its overall consistency with our knowledge of the entity.
With respect to the information published on the greenhouse gas emissions inventory:
- we assessed the consistency of the scope used for the assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions inventory with the scope of the consolidated financial statements and the upstream and downstream value chain;
- we reviewed the data collection and compilation process;
- regarding Scope 3 emissions, we assessed the justification for the inclusions and exclusions of the various categories and the transparency of the information provided in this respect;
- we assessed the appropriateness of the emission factors used and the related conversion calculations, as well as the calculation and extrapolation assumptions, taking into account the inherent uncertainty associated with the state of scientific or economic knowledge and the quality of external data used;
- we held discussions with the Sustainability Department to understand the main changes in the entity’s activities during the year that could have an impact on the greenhouse gas emissions inventory;
- for physical data (such as energy consumption), based on sampling including four contributing countries — France, the United States, the United Kingdom and India — we reconciled the underlying data used to prepare the greenhouse gas emissions inventory with supporting documentation;
- we performed analytical procedures;
- we verified the arithmetic accuracy of the calculations used to produce this information, including, where applicable, after applying rounding rules.
