5.3 Preserve the environment
The main environmental issues faced by the Group are related to climate change, as shown in its summary of risks and opportunities in section 5.1.3.2, page 97. The Group is encouraged to meet the expectations of its stakeholders to support the ecological transition and develop new solutions with a reduced impact on the environment. Climate-related opportunities have been identified through the development of dedicated solutions. To tackle the challenges of climate change, the Group has launched a number of initiatives to reduce the impact of its business activities and its solutions, including:
5.3.1 Reducing the carbon footprint, the consumption of energy and natural resources and waste production
Although it has a direct limited impact on the environment because its operations are service-related, improving the environmental footprint of its business activity is a significant issue that emerged from the materiality assessment conducted with stakeholders.
At the Rencontre des Entrepreneurs de France (La REF), an annual conference bringing together French businesses from all industries, held in August 2019, Edenred joined 98 other French companies working to drastically reduce the planet’s GHG emissions. Signatory companies have made this commitment as part of a European and global strategy to make France and Europe more attractive and more competitive in their respective arenas. Edenred reaffirmed its commitment in May 2020 with the co-signature by its Chairman and CEO of a collective opinion article published in Le Monde, on putting the environment at the heart of economic recovery.
5.3.1.1 Priority issue: energy efficiency and climate change
Since 2012, the Group has been committed to reducing and managing its impacts by operating an environmental management system and monitoring its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. To respond to the great challenges linked to physical risks and stakeholder expectations, and to take into account the opportunities linked to improving its energy efficiency, Edenred is making a sustainable commitment to controlling its emissions.
Environmental management
Edenred has established an environmental management system based on the principles of ISO 14001.
Six countries – France, Brazil (where subsidiaries Ticket Serviços and Ticket Log have both been certified for ten years), Italy, the United Kingdom, Romania and Chile – are already certified locally. Subsidiaries in Mexico and in the Czech Republic have also obtained other local environmental certifications. As a result, 51% of Edenred employees now work in a subsidiary that has received environmental certification.
To encourage other countries to seek local certification, best practices were exchanged between countries in 2019 to present the challenges and advantages of local initiatives and the development of action plans based on the principles of an environmental management system.
At the global level, the Group has implemented a reporting process to consolidate the environmental management program in all countries. It monitors the annual performance of about 20 indicators measuring Edenred’s environmental impact, covering:
- direct and indirect Greenhouse gas emissions;
- energy use;
- use of resources (paper, plastic, water);
- waste production;
- compliance with local environmental regulations and international environmental standards.
Regarding compliance with environmental regulations, Edenred did not set aside any material provisions for environmental risks in 2021 and was not subject to any court rulings on environmental claims during the year.
Managing Greenhouse gas emissions
The Group committed to a process of continuous improvement in 2012 by officially developing an environmental policy to reduce GHG emissions, especially those associated with energy use. A global system to manage emissions across all Group countries was implemented to monitor business operations and material sources of GHG.
