Why France will become the leader of the ecological and social transition

The unveiling of the CAC 40’s impak Scores^tm is not a publicity stunt to promote our impact assessments. The development of index concepts such as our IMPAK French 40^tm is, in fact, highly relevant in the context of investors continually demanding more transparency from the extra-financial data of large-cap companies, just like those making up the CAC 40.

The IFRS of impact, a must-have
Our assessments show quantitative and qualitative data that can be verified, that allows for comparison and most importantly, that is independent of any commercial or financial interest. Going above and beyond ESG – meaning we’re not restricting the measurement to negative impacts – the impact assessment is similar to the IFRS in that it offers a comprehensive and transparent analysis of both negative and positive impacts of a company, making it a truly holistic impact measurement. In the aftermath of a deceiving COP25 and the adoption of the European Green Deal, it is clear that each and every economical agent has a role to play in the social and ecological transition to come. Which is what motivated us to build a simple and efficient way to conduct an extra-financial assessment of any organisation, including the ones that are the most impactful on the people and planet.

Planet and profit
Our global impact assessment reaches two goals: to show the efforts that have been made so far by a business, as well as what needs to be done to improve its impact performance. The last report from the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) demonstrates that the portfolio performance of impact investment funds equals or exceeds forecasts both for positive impact and profitability. We can also note that the GIIN estimates the global market of impact investment to have reached USD 502 billion at the end of 2018. The impact transformation of companies like the ones making up the CAC 40 seems inevitable and likely to enhance the wellbeing of these companies’ shareholder portfolio. Moreover their impact transformation would bring us one big step closer to solving the urgent social and environmental problems humanity is facing.

Investment funds, financial institutions, listed companies, privates companies, NPOs, SMEs and giants of the industry have to prove themselves to their shareholders in order to attract the investor’s interest. Interestingly, nearly half of investors under 40 years old have invested at least once in social impact according to a 2018 study by Barclays. The moment is now and our independent impact rating agency is the first one to offer the right tool for this transition to happen in a transparent way that is as smooth as possible for all stakeholders involved.

Impact rating enables us to channel capital towards businesses going through an impact transformation and existing impact businesses themselves. The road ahead is the longest for companies like the ones making up the CAC 40. This is why the work has to begin now. And if it is well done, France could become the leader of the ecological and social transition.