In a new law, the French Government is obliging listed companies to publish information on the environmental and social impact of their activities.
France has taken up the challenge from the Commission’s Green Paper on corporate social responsibility. It has issued a legal obligation for all listed companies to account for the environmental and social impact of their activities in their annual reports. The reports must include information on:
use of water and natural resources;
energy consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases;
effects on biodiversity;
their efforts to reduce environmental risks and to educate employees about environmental management.
In addition, the companies must describe how they cooperate with trade unions, civil society, neighbourhood communities and NGOs.
France is the second EU country to introduce mandatory environmental and social reporting. In Denmark the law on "Green Accounts" was adopted in 1995. Evaluations so far show that the expectations have been met.
