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CSR Committee : Covid-19, Opportunity or threat for sustainability ?

Last week the French Chamber of Commerce held its second CSR Committee of the year. Together with 9 member companies, we discussed whether the covid-19 crisis represents a threat or an opportunity for sustainability. 

Since the beginning of the crisis, nature seems to retake its territory, air quality improves and numerous States as well as the European Union highlight the necessity to combine an economic relaunch with ambitious plans for Climate. But on the other side, the collapse of the economy has a strong social impact as people lose their job or domestic violences increase. Some countries and firms are more eager to put environmental considerations aside in order to spur the economy. This difficult balance between economy and sustainability will represent one of the main challenges for the post-crisis period. 

After a presentation of the issue by Sonia Le Masne, Sustainability Specialist at the CCFS, the word was given to the participants. Some of them underlined that the shift toward more sustainability is not a given and implies strong political leadership from the EU. The necessity to work from home increased companies’ capacity to use digital resources, gaining efficiency as well as reducing business travels. But at the same time, social distancing can have a negative impact on creativity as shown by numerous surveys.  

The meeting also focused on the question of relocalisations and how to link social and environmental agenda. For some of the members, the urgency is now to handle the social consequences of the crisis (employees working at home, working time reduction, redundancies, factory closures…). Environmental consideration implies a long-term strategy and is not necessary the main focus for the companies at this time. Nevertheless, the current crisis seems to accelerate trends that already existed before such as trying to adopt more responsible consuming behaviors or the shift to e-commerce, which should be regulated to avoid negative environmental impact. 

We once again thank our committee members for their commitment and we look forward to our upcoming meetings. If you are interested in joining our CSR Committee, do not hesitate to contact Sonia Le Masne.