The weight of companies in the production of wealth (29 companies are amongst the top 100 world economic powers) has led government bodies and civil society to demand corporate disclosure on the economic, social and environmental impacts of their activities.

If current societal developments are pushing companies to be more socially responsible, they are nonetheless deriving tangible benefits from it. Novethic's studies have classified these benefits into 5 broad categories: Efficiency improvements and cost reductions, meeting stakeholder expectations, the development of new activities, the mobilisation of employees, and improvement in investor relations.

For CSR to become strategically important within a company, the process must be progressive and should include at least three stages:

• Initial stage: The company undertakes a social and environmental impact assessment (i.e. on working conditions, gender equality, anti-discrimination policies, energy and water consumption, and CO2 emissions levels).
• Second stage: The company identifies several focus areas, and defines improvement targets; it may also choose to engage in voluntary initiatives.
• Third stage: The company implements an action plan to change current practices and to build a reporting mechanism; this can involve the support of various stakeholders, sometimes leading to partnerships with NGOs with expertise in social and environmental issues. In France, Article 116 of the NRE Law requires listed companies to provide information on their social and environmental impacts in their annual reports.

Since the impact of business activities on the environment is an important issue, CSR was amongst the subjects debated during the Grenelle de L'Environnement (Environment Round Table) in autumn 2007. The aim of the Grenelle de L'Environnement, initiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is to define, for the next five years, key government policies on ecological and sustainable development issues. The Round Table brought together civil society and public service representatives. Corporate sustainable activities were among the topics that were heavily debated. NGOs are pushing for legislation requiring businesses to integrate sustainable activities while companies are pushing for a voluntary approach.

More information on the Grenelle de L'Environnement