Companies and sustainable development 

EnDD

The objective of the 2016 Business and Sustainable Development Survey is to measure the involvement of companies in a sustainable development approach in its various dimensions (environmental, social, economic). The survey aims to contribute to the assessment of the impact of public policies on the involvement of companies in sustainable development.

Commonly, corporate social responsibility is understood as the application of sustainable development for companies. It is understood as the "responsibility of companies for the effects they have on society" and this in all the fields identified by the main international standards, in particular ISO 26000. This definition given by the European Commission in 2011 is the one used by France.

The EnDD survey questionnaire is available in two versions, with a lighter questioning for companies with 20 to 49 employees and removing questions that are less relevant for smaller companies. The common questions are strictly identical.

This is the continuation of the survey carried out by Insee on this theme in 2011.
The 2011 survey was a new survey, it was part of the Grenelle de l'environnement, which had led to the emergence of a major renewal of sustainable development policies.
The experience of the 2011 survey, on the one hand, and the evolution of the public debate, on the other hand, have led to taking into account:
- the new definition of corporate social responsibility  adopted by the European Commission at the end of 2011, which no longer places the approach beyond legal obligations, and the European directive of 22 October 2014;
- the work of the corporate social responsibility platform, a space for consultation and proposals created by the government at France Stratégie in 2013;
- the existence of the management reports of large companies made mandatory by the decree of 24 April 2012 on corporate social and environmental transparency obligations; these reports are called "extra-financial" because they include indicators of the company's health that are not directly expressed in financial terms;
- the lessons learned from the 2011 survey, in particular to improve the relevance and accuracy of the questioning, by giving it a less declarative orientation, and to deepen the "societal" aspect, more particularly in companies' relations with their suppliers or subcontractors, including abroad;
- new laws or regulations falling within the scope of the corporate social responsibility.

Survey

Punctual or aperiodic

Data and Statistical Studies Departement