The Mandatory Social and Environmental Reporting: Evidence from France

The objective of this paper is to analyse the mandatory social and environmental reporting in France. Extra-financial reporting requirements brought by Grenelle II Act affects all companies in France. It involves the material extension of reporting obligations; all companies with over 500 employees are required to issue a yearly "social and environmental report", since 31st December 2013. There are 42 information that companies must report spanning social (employment, labour relations, health and safety), environmental (pollution, and waste management, energy consumption); and societal categories (social impacts, relations with stakeholders, human rights). These reports are subject to verification by an independent third party. Social and environmental disclosures requirement reflects the content of the main international guidelines on sustainability reporting (ISO 26000, Global Compact, Guiding Principles of Human Rights and Business, the OECD Guidelines for multinational corporations, Global Reporting Initiative). The main advantage of mandatory reporting is the creation of standardized and comparable measures that enable benchmarking and best practices.