Since the adoption of the French Corporate Duty Vigilance Law of 27 March 2017, large French companies must adopt a due diligence plan to identify and prevent grave risks of human rights and environmental abuses, including those related to climate...

For the past three years, Notre Affaire À Tous has published an annual report on the climate due diligence measures of French multinationals, analysing thereby compliance with the legal obligations stemming not only from the Corporate Duty of Vigilance Law, but also from other complementary legal bases, such as the obligation of environmental vigilance and the prevention of ecological damage. This report is almost exclusively based on companies' disclosures.

The key lessons of the 2022 Benchmark :

No analysed company can demonstrate full compliance with all our criteria concerning climate due diligence measures...

Jérémie Suissa, Director of Notre Affaire à Tous: "...a majority of the companies we have analysed do not show signs of structural change. It is urgent to implement enforcement tools commensurate with the scale of the failures of these key players to make the transition."

...The main results of the report are the following:

• numerous persistent failures in terms of identification of indirect emissions, in particular those known as "scope 3" (criterion 1-A of the methodology) ;
• a general lack of recognition of responsibility, even though it is indisputable that everyone must do their part in climate change (criterion 1-B);
• considerable companies' commitments are not aligned with the 1.5°C objective of the Paris Agreement and/or do not cover all of the companies' emissions (criterion 2-A);
• Serious shortcomings in the implementation of these commitments (criterion 2-B).
• Some vigilance plans still do not sufficiently integrate climate change (criterion 3).

Failure to comply with these criteria exposes companies to the risk of litigation...