Reporting regulations in France

In May 2001, the French Parliament passed the New Economic Regulations law that compels companies to report about the social and environmental impacts of their activity. The text applies for the annual reports of 2002 that will be published in 2003. The decree of application was published in February 2002.

Law n° 2001-420 of 15 May 2001 relevant to the new economic regulations

Article 116 :
….The report [of the board or executive board] contains information, the list of which is determined by a decree of the Council of State, about the way the company takes into account the social and environmental consequences of its activity.

Decree n° 2002-221 of 20 February 2002 for the implementation of article L. 225-102-1 of the trade code and amending decree n° 67-236 of 23 March 1967 on trade companies

Article 148-2 of the code of trade :
In accordance with article L.225-102-1 of the code of trade, paragraph four, the following social information appears in the report of the board or executive board :

1.
a) Total workforce, recruitment with distinction between fixed-term contracts and permanent contracts and analysis of possible difficulties with recruitment, lay-offs and their grounds, overtime, labour from outside the company
b) If need be, information relating to the plans of staff cuts as well as protection of employment and to the efforts of redeployment, reemployment and attendant measures
2. The organisation of working hours, their term for full-time and part-time wage earners, absenteeism and its grounds
3. Pays and their evolution, welfare costs, application of the measures that appear in the code of trade, book four, title four, professional equality between women and men
4. Professional relations and the assessment of collective agreements
5. Conditions of health and safety
6. The training
7. The employment and the integration of disabled workers
8. The social works
9. The size of subcontracting.

The report shows how the company takes into account the territorial impact of its activities as far as employment and regional development are concerned. It describes, if need be, the relations the company maintains with the associations for integration, the education institutions, the associations for the protection of the environment, consumer’s associations and populations living next to the company.

The report indicates the size of subcontracting as well as the way the company promotes next to its subcontractors and makes sure its subsidiaries respect the measures stipulated by the fundamental conventions of the International Labor Organization. Furthermore, it indicates the way foreign subsidiaries of the company take into account the impact of their activities on regional development and local populations.

Article 148-3 of the code of trade :
Appears in the same conditions in the report of the board or executive board the following information relating to the consequences on environment of the activity of the company ; this information is given according to the nature and effects of this activity.

1. Consumption of water resources, raw materials, energy along with measures taken to improve energetic efficiency if need be, use of renewable energies, conditions of use of soils, emissions in air, water and soils seriously affecting the environment, a list of which will be determined by an order of the ministers of the Environment and Industry, noise and olfactory pollution and waste
2. Taken measures to reduce damage to biological equilibrium, natural ecosystems, protected animal and plant species
3. Undertaken course of action for the evaluation or the certification of environmental issues
4. Adopted measures, if need be, to ensure that the activity of the company is in conformity to legal procedures and regulations relating to environment
5. Incurred expenditure to prevent the consequences on environment of the activity of the company
6. Presence within the company of internal departments in charge of environmental management, training and information of the employees about the latter, means dedicated to cut on environmental risks as well as the set up organisation to face pollution accidents that have consequences beyond the company establishments
7. Amount of provisions and guaranties allocated to environmental risks, except if this information is likely to cause a serious prejudice to the company in a point at issue
8. Amount of compensations paid in the current year in compliance with a court order relating to environmental issues and undertaken actions to compensate for the damages caused to the environment
9. All the elements concerning the aims the company assigns to its foreign subsidiaries as far as the above points 1 to 6 are concerned.

Article 3 :
The minister of economics, finance and industry, the minister of employment and solidarity, the ministry of land management and environment and the state secretary of industry are in charge, with regard to their concerns, of executing this decree, which will be published in the French government publication giving information to the public about new laws (Journal officiel de la république française).