Why have your company's CSR approach certified or labeled?

Committed companies have every interest in promoting and communicating their best practices to their competitors in order to attract new customers, candidates, investors, etc.

2% of French companies are certified or publish CSR information.
Goodwill Management

CSR is an excellent communication tool that must be used. CSR labels or statutes certify and give legitimacy to your commitments!

In particular, we can mention these 4 advantages of a CSR label:

• Get support in your CSR approach: have clear and specific objectives to be achieved in order to obtain certification in order to frame its CSR approach.
• To be able to communicate and certify your CSR approach: promote and legitimize its CSR approach with all its stakeholders.
• Capitalize on your commitment and certification: labelled companies have an average growth rate of 7.6% per year, compared to only 1.6% for French companies with less than 250 employees (Goodwill Management, 2020).
• Join a community of committed actors: take advantage and exchange of its best practices to commit to sustainable development.

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CSR statutes in France

The status of a company with a mission

Introduced by the PACTE law relating to business growth and transformation in 2019, the French model of a company with a mission allows a company to include in its statutes a “raison d'être” consisting in the achievement of objectives, benefiting the common interest and having an impact on the quality of the environment.

These elements must be entered in the company's statutes and declared to the registry of the commercial court.

A company with a mission is also required to call on an Independent Third-Party Organization (OTI) every two years to verify the implementation of its social and environmental objectives.

As of June 2023, there are 1961 mission-based companies in France. Among them, we count Danone, the MAIF...

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ESUS certification

The “Solidarity Enterprise of Social Utility” approval, known as “ESUS approval”, is a French approval, governed by the law relating to the Social and Solidarity Economy (ESS) of 2014 and awarded to SSE companies meeting certain conditions.

SSE companies are characterized by a democratic mode of operation and the use of profits for the maintenance or development of the structure, rather than personal enrichment.

In particular, ESUS approval allows the companies concerned to access the financing of solidarity savings or to attract investors, who benefit from tax reduction schemes.

To obtain ESUS approval, a company must meet 4 criteria:

• Pursue social utility as a main objective;
• Prove that the search for social utility has an impact on company income statement;
• Have a remuneration policy that meets two conditions:
  • the average of the amounts paid to the five best-paid employees or managers must not exceed an annual ceiling set at 7 times the SMIC;
  • The remuneration paid to the highest paid employee must not exceed an annual ceiling set at 10 times the SMIC.
• Company equity securities should not be traded on a financial market.

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The main CSR labels in France

The different types of CSR labels

The number of CSR labels offered to businesses is multiplied every year. So how do you know which to choose? Labeling takes time: it is therefore essential to choose the labels you want to obtain carefully by comparing them and finding the one that is most suited to your business and its problem.

And first of all, it is necessary to fully understand the different types of labels that exist in France:

• General labels are aimed at all companies (of all sizes and from all sectors) and deal with all CSR topics. In France, the three main ones are the Label LUCIE, Committed to CSR, and B Corp.
• Sectoral labels are aimed only at a particular sector but deal with all CSR topics, e.g.: ISR label (responsible investment), Label Human for Client (customer relationship), Label Scop BTP (CONSTRUCTION), SME+ (label for small businesses)...
• Thematic labels are aimed at all companies (of all sizes and from all sectors) but only deal with very specific subjects, e.g.: to engage its stakeholders in CSR (label Positive Company), to respect the planet's limits (the label Lucie Positive) quality of life at work (Great Place to Work), responsible purchasing (The supplier relationship and responsible purchasing label), digital (responsible digital label),...

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Choosing the CSR labels that are most suited to your business

1. Committed to CSR:

With the Committed CSR label, structure your approach, make progress through concrete actions and show your performance thanks to a logo issued by a trusted third party. It is a certification managed by AFNOR, which allows you to obtain a label. It only concerns France. A similar label exists at European level: “Responsibility Europe”.

The label is aimed at all types of organizations (companies, associations or territories) and regardless of the maturity in CSR, the size of the entity or the sector of activity.

More than 220 organizations are certified in France and internationally, and more than 600 organizations are involved in the “Committed CSR” solution path.

Today, Engaged Companies represent a business community through 13 regional delegations and 39 international locations.

The label is obtained following an audit carried out on 55 criteria based on ISO 26000:

• On-site evaluation by an AFNOR expert;
• Verification of the evidence previously provided;
• Interviews with internal and external stakeholders;
• On-site follow-up after 18 months to ensure that the objectives set have been achieved;
• The label is awarded by an AFNOR CSR expert committee.

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2. LUCIE 26000:

Historically the first French CSR label, LUCIE 26000 has been supporting companies, associations and communities since 2007 that wish to integrate social and environmental issues into their activities and contribute to sustainable development goals.

This label evaluates, develops and values the CSR actions and commitments of all types of structures (TPE-SMEs, ETI, large companies, associations, communities, etc.), in more than 100 sectors of activity. The Lucie agency thus offers 8 sectoral options for small businesses, banks, local authorities or even social housing.

The certification attests to the successful implementation of a CSR approach within a company. By obtaining this label, we are complying with the standard. The Lucie 26000 label is awarded following an evaluation conducted by an auditor based on the 24 questions of the self-diagnosis.

The LUCIE framework is structured into themes (which include the 7 central questions of the ISO 26000 standard). Each theme is divided into Principles of Action (PA) and each PA is then divided into Responsible Investment Types (TIR). There are a total of 7 themes, 25 APs and 79 TIRs. You will find the repository On this link. In this framework, sponsorship is mainly covered by PA 24 and 25.

With nearly 1200 committed organizations and more than 400 certified in 2022, the LUCIE Community represents the largest community of organizations committed to CSR in France.

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3. B Corp:

Founded in 2006, B Corp is a progressive international movement that is creating a new path for business to rethink its role in our society. It is intended to profoundly transform our economic system so that it is beneficial to humans and the living beings of which they are a part. Today, B Corp brings together more than 9,500 companies of all sizes and all sectors in 100 countries, including more than 530 in France.

Incubated at its beginning in France in 2015 by the firm UTOPIES, the movement is now led by B Lab France (association status 1901).

B Corp is a certification based on 200 criteria divided into 5 areas:

1. Governance (mission, ethics, transparency...)
2. Collectivity (supplier policy, territorial impact, societal commitment...)
3. Environment (energy, emissions, biodiversity...)
4. Clientele (management, transparency, data...)
5. Collaborators (health, remuneration, training...)

To obtain the label, it is necessary to obtain a minimum of 80 points in the B Corp assessment, the “B Impact Assessment”, which is available free of charge.

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B Corp standards will change during 2025: the evaluation will move from the point system to a system including mandatory prerequisites: a minimum performance level will be expected out of 9 requirements.

The label is awarded by B Corp's CSR experts and renewable every three years.

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4. The Positive Company Label

Created in 2019, the Positive Company label (formerly Positive Workplace) guarantees the authenticity of corporate CSR practices.

The label is based on 5 themes inspired by the 7 pillars of ISO 26000, GRI, CSRD and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and continuously integrates new European regulations.

It supports a European vision of CSR, i.e. imposing strong regulatory constraints, involving a greater diversity of stakeholders and a Reporting subject to verification by an Independent Third-Party Organization.

The Positive Company certification program lasts 3 months and consists of 3 phases:

• Online audit on 5 pillars (20 points per pillar, 100 in total)
• Questioning your main stakeholders anonymously
• Restitution and action plan

Employees, customers, suppliers are therefore involved and can both demonstrate the commitment of a brand as well as suggest improvements.

The label is valid for 3 years requiring an intermediate audit.

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5. EcoVadis

EcoVadis is a globally recognized corporate CSR policy assessment agency that is on the way to becoming the standard for CSR assessment of suppliers.

In total, 100,000+ companies were evaluated (including 750 multinationals) using a methodology that covers 200 purchasing categories and business sectors and covering more than 175 countries.

In most cases, the EcoVadis assessment is requested by a business partner. Attention, the organization does not provide a label or certification, but a CSR evaluation under a score of 0 to 100 which can allow you to receive a medal depending on its score (top 1%, 5%, 25% or 50% of the companies evaluated).

The objective of the EcoVadis methodology is to assess the quality of a company's CSR management system through its policies, actions and results.

The evaluation focuses on twenty-one (21) CSR criteria grouped into four themes: Environment, Social & Human Rights, Ethics and Responsible Purchasing.

When evaluating your business, EcoVadis analysts only consider criteria that are relevant to the size, industry, and location of your business. They will take into account the information given in your company questionnaire and the supporting documents attached.

For businesses, using EcoVadis has several advantages:

• Credibility and transparency : An independent and objective evaluation reinforces the credibility of CSR approaches among stakeholders.
• Continuous improvement : The recommendations provided allow companies to identify areas for improvement and to implement corrective actions.
• Market access : Many large businesses and multinationals use EcoVadis to assess their suppliers, which can make it easier for high-rated businesses to access new markets.
• Risk Management : A better understanding of CSR risks makes it possible to anticipate and manage them more effectively.

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The Impact Score:

Like EcoVadis, the Impact Score is not a label or a certification. It is a common framework, developed by the Impact France Movement and more than 30 networks of committed companies, to accelerate the ecological and social transformation of their members and the economy in general.

It makes it possible to assess the company's level of commitment on 3 key pillars:

• Limiting negative externalities (social and ecological)
• Sharing power and value
• Positive impact strategy

This tool is for all businesses, regardless of size, sector, or level of commitment.

THEImpact Score has various benefits for the company:

• A quick diagnosis which requires less than 2 hours and that's free of charge;
• Identify your areas of progress and monitor progress.
• Communicate with its stakeholders allows your employees, suppliers and consumers to understand the real impact of your organization.
• Preparing for other RSE/Impact standards, because at the end of the Impact Score, you will have already answered a significant part of the questions from CSRD, B Corp, EcoVadis or Engaged CSR for example.

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Obtaining a CSR label or certification more easily thanks to the Komeet platform

The Komeet platform allows companies to easily mobilize their employees around their CSR strategy and in solidarity actions. And it is a key axis in obtaining CSR labels!

Concretely, mobilizing your employees with Komeet is valuable in most key CSR labels:

• Committed to CSR : In 8 of the 55 criteria of the label.
• LUCIE : In 7 of the 24 self-diagnosis questions.
• B Corp : Up to 5.81 points out of the 80 required.
• Positive Company : 1.75 points/20 from the “Societal” pillar
• EcoVadis : Evaluable in 5 criteria.

I discover Komeet

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