Using Europe’s new reporting rules for sustainability

Negotiating our green and digital transitions has been a major talking point for European workers over the course of the ninth institutional mandate. With a variety of files adopted to help green our workplaces, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is one of the most significant, giving new negotiation and consultation rights to works councils. In France, CFDT Cadres has produced a series of webinars on how to use these newly won rights.

With the CSRD, Europe has adopted a law with major implications for corporate social responsibility. The European Commission’s adopted framework on social, environmental and governance performance is a major step forward and a great victory for civil society. It provides valuable data for social dialogue, with companies now required to inform and consult their works councils on CSRD data. Data from European sustainability standards is invaluable in delivering a change in policy and culture within workplaces, with the directive specifying that:

“Member States should ensure that sustainability reporting is carried out in compliance with workers’ rights to information and consultation. The management of the undertaking should therefore inform workers’ representatives at the appropriate level and discuss with them relevant information and the means of obtaining and verifying sustainability information. This implies for the purpose of this amending Directive the establishment of dialogue and exchange of views between workers’ representatives and central management or any other level of management that could be more appropriate, at such times, in such fashion and with such content as would enable workers’ representatives to express their opinion. Their opinion should be communicated, where applicable, to the relevant administrative, management or supervisory bodies.”

This file is a key pillar of the European Green Deal package, unveiled first in 2019. The European Green deal is an extensive programme to cover all aspects of the ecological transition in all sectors in order to reach a climate-neutral and sustainable economy. Its legal acts cover industry, agriculture (“from farm to fork”) the circular economy, a “zero pollution” ambition, biodiversity and the renovation of buildings. The wide array of actions needed was first addressed in the financial sector, in order to direct the funds necessary for this green transition to all sectors of the economy. The emphasis on extra-financial, ecologic, social and governance (ESG) criteria is not trivial. It is in fact a strong incentive to companies to direct their investments towards supporting the transition. The CSRD aims for transparency for companies fulfilling two of the three criteria: an annual turnover of above €50bn, a total balance sheet of more than €25bn and more than 250 employees. Its application has started this year, the first reports will be available in 2025, with the first consultations of works councils to also take place next year. In order to give members of works councils the appropriate knowledge on the new legislation and possibilities to negotiate a just transition in their companies, CFDT Cadres has developed a series of webinars on the topic, with four currently available and three more to follow.

Introduction: ESG reporting, a new tool to negotiate the just transition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFFxBdpv8ng&list=PLEY27yEXwPnBXWzYy6zlrFvKrruxSQ_BC&index=1&t=3s

Double materiality and compulsory data:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-zkOz57O8k&list=PLEY27yEXwPnBXWzYy6zlrFvKrruxSQ_BC&index=2&t=327s

Climate change transition plans:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUtEOQiMwFo&list=PLEY27yEXwPnBXWzYy6zlrFvKrruxSQ_BC&index=3

Taxonomy :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4f5uPNNJHQ&list=PLEY27yEXwPnBXWzYy6zlrFvKrruxSQ_BC&index=4