4.5 CSR methodology and scope
4.5.1 SCOPE OF CONSOLIDATION
The reporting system used to collect social, environmental and societal information is deployed in all the consolidated subsidiaries(1) whose operations are managed by the Group, with the exception of:
- entities sold or deconsolidated during the fiscal year;
- certain entities pending disposal;
- certain entities acquired during the year, for which the reporting system is being rolled out gradually;
- entities meeting certain size criteria: for social data, entities with fewer than three employees and for energy data, premises hosting fewer than ten employees.
The following decisions were taken in respect of the 2019 reporting scope:
- Lagardère Sports Danemark ApS, U! Sports Slovakia SRO and Onside Sports Iberia (Lagardère Sports, Denmark, Slovakia and Spain) (fewer than three employees and pending disposal) were excluded from the social data scope;
- Gigamic (Lagardère Publishing, France), IDF (Lagardère Travel Retail), Skyhigh TV and Aito Media Group (Lagardère Studios, Netherlands and Finland) were excluded from the environmental data scope.
Labour, social and environmental data presented in this document are reported using dedicated software covering all consolidated subsidiaries.
Taking the global footprint into account, after the exclusions listed above, data on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions cover 98.2% of the Group’s workforce at 31 December 2019.
4.5.2 REFERENCE LIBRARY FOR INDICATORS AND REPORTING METHODS
Labour reporting follows the Group’s Human Resources policy, taking the specific needs of each business line and/or geographic area into account. It is based on a library of more than 150 indicators that have been regularly updated, initially in 2006 and again in 2010. The library of social indicators was reviewed in detail in 2012 in order to make it easier to understand for contributors and more relevant for the Group’s divisions and activities, as well as to take account of the provisions of the implementing order of article 225 of France’s Grenelle 2 law.
In 2019, the library of social indicators was once again reviewed in depth to simplify it and to align it with the changes in the Group’s organisation over the year.
Rather than using a Group average approach, frequency, severity rates and lost time due to work accidents are now calculated using the number of theoretical hours worked per year per FTE in each of the Group’s entities. This calculation method enables the Group to take account of the business and geographical specificities of each subsidiary and thereby generate more representative results. Environmental reporting follows the Group’s sustainable development policy, also taking the specific needs of each business line and/or geographic area into account.
In 2012, specific work was carried out on the environmental indicator reference library to improve its reliability and especially to make it more relevant in view of the Group’s many activities. In 2013, the library was reviewed for the purposes of harmonising the methods used for calculating the proportions of certified and recycled paper contained in paper purchases and supplies.
Data on energy consumption disclosed concern the energy used
to produce and supply the goods and services related to the Group’s activities in France as well as that used to heat and light the premises and sites where the Lagardère group’s employees work (offices, storage warehouses and retail stores). Data on electricity consumption also include electricity used by the radio broadcasting sites that are directly managed by the Group. Starting in 2015, all this information is reported on a per-building basis.
With regards to Lagardère Travel Retail’s store network, a common reporting line is defined at the level of each country to gather data on electricity consumption (as well as oil and gas, where applicable) for all points of sale to be consolidated on a country-by-country basis. Energy consumption by equity-accounted entities is included proportionately to the Group’s control.
The greenhouse gas emissions data only concern the above-mentioned energy consumption. The emissions are specified for each type of energy (gas, oil, electricity, district heating) and then grouped together by “scope”, i.e., by category of emissions. Scope 1 includes direct greenhouse gas emissions, and notably direct emissions from fixed sources of combustion (oil and gas). Scope 2 comprises indirect emissions related to purchases of energy, and notably consumption of electricity and district heating. The emissions factors used by the Group in its calculations of greenhouse gas emissions and conversion into CO2 equivalents are determined by reference to the Base Carbone, the French public database of emissions factors needed to establish carbon accounting. These factors are reviewed annually and are an integral part of the reporting procedure review process.
Greenhouse gas emissions are calculated directly by the Group Sustainable Development and CSR Department based on the energy data mentioned above and in accordance with the methodology set out in the environmental guidelines.
The reporting protocol for societal data, which is mainly based on
qualitative questions, has been in place since 2015 and comprises around 15 indicators common to all of the Group’s divisions and about 10 indicators specific to certain activities. Updates to reporting guidelines broadly aim to simplify and facilitate the work of contributors.
The reporting method for social, environmental and societal data follows the same process. Data are entered by a contributor for each Group company included in the reporting scope. This information is then validated/verified by the subsidiary’s management (Human Resources Department or Finance Department) before being sent to the Group Sustainable Development and CSR Department, which checks the consistency of the data.
Consistency checks aim to ensure the quality and fair presentation of reported data, including comparisons with prior periods, thereby improving the reliability of the reporting system. Although the Group seeks to make contributors’ work as easy as possible, by defining a clear reporting process and factoring in the international nature of its operations and activities (objectives that have been made easier to achieve since the reporting guidelines were put in place), certain difficulties, sources of uncertainty, may arise during the reporting process:
- inaccurate assessments;
- calculation errors;
- poorly understood questions;
- data entry errors;
- problems defining an indicator;
- problems responding because of legal and/or political reasons.
Items appearing in the Annual Financial Report are cross‑referenced with the following symbol AFR
(1) The list is provided in note 38 to the consolidated financial statements in this Universal Registration Document.