How can companies reconcile sustainable management of natural and human resources?

They then addressed the issue of rare metals, emphasizing in particular their environmental impact. “These are metals whose extraction is highly polluting and consumes enormous amounts of water,” recalled Camille Richard, Head of Impact at Alter Equity. While recycling is essential for the proper management of these resources, it remains very limited: “Today, less than 17% of electronic waste is recycled worldwide,” she specified, highlighting that much of it ends up in open dumpsites, “primarily in Africa,” with severe environmental consequences.

For Camille Richard, one of the main obstacles to better resource recovery is the widespread lack of eco-design among electronic device manufacturers. Simply put, manufacturers do not design their products to allow for efficient recovery of the metals they contain, while sometimes promoting misleading marketing claims about the durability of their products.

Regardless of the sector, recycling should be considered only as a last resort, reminded Yann Fradin, Project Director at the Espaces Association and Vice-President of Emmaüs: “The priority is to design durable products from the outset that are easy to repair and reuse.” To illustrate his point, he cited the textile industry, where overconsumption has intensified in recent years: in less than ten years, the number of garments sold per person in France has increased by 75%, “even though reflections on sustainable design and reuse remain very limited.”

In this context, “public authorities have a huge role to play,” emphasized Camille Richard, citing the example of the universal charger mandated by the European Union to reduce electronic equipment waste. “This is a tangible result of legislative action. Yet today, one can question: why are second-hand devices subject to the same levels of taxation as new products?” she wondered. Better regulation could help reduce pressure on natural resources—whether rare earths, precious metals, water, or other critical resources—and therefore significantly reduce the associated pollution.

Changing Models

“It is essential to shift from a volume-based economic model to an economy of sobriety, promoting better management of natural resources and waste,” continued Fanny Demulier, Director of Purpose and Stakeholders at Veolia. To achieve this, she stressed the need to involve the entire ecosystem—“from companies to consumers, including regulators”—to collectively rethink resource use. “Regulation plays a key role because without a binding framework, few actors voluntarily commit to sobriety,” she added.

Yann Fradin drew attention to the need to reconsider profitability expectations, “which are often too demanding of private companies.” “These excessive demands can lead to deteriorating social conditions and poor resource management,” he explained, advocating “a profound change in the production model by aligning with the natural functioning of ecological cycles.”

“The shift we must undertake is complex,” acknowledged Fanny Demulier, noting that Veolia has adopted a more holistic approach to performance for several years now—“a plural performance that integrates, beyond financial indicators alone, environmental, social, and societal aspects.” Successfully making this transition also requires involving all decision-making levels, from shareholders to operational managers. “It is essential to demonstrate that this plural vision drives sustainable long-term performance,” she specified. Despite its complexity, integrating ESG issues can be a driver of innovation, transformation, and, above all, engagement.

Participants also stressed the need for companies to clearly prioritize their actions by precisely identifying their most significant impacts and dependencies. This prioritization would enable the implementation of concrete and effective initiatives and thus reduce the risks of greenwashing. “Companies must focus on their core issues. For example, Veolia has established a regular dialogue with a committee of external experts precisely to challenge our ESG policies and verify their relevance,” illustrated Fanny Demulier. Formalizing a corporate purpose can also help companies structure these efforts and go further.

Transparency Challenges

Despite recent regulatory developments, investors still often find it difficult to concretely assess how sustainable resource management issues are integrated at the core of business models, pointed out Aurélie de Barochez, Head of Consulting at Moonshot: “The main difficulty when opening a report is to precisely determine how natural resource issues are genuinely incorporated into strategy.” However, she praised an inspiring initiative: a Danish company that, in its first CSRD report, systematically details all incoming and outgoing resources necessary for its activities. “This enables concrete measurement of the real resource consumption evolution year after year,” she emphasized.

At Ecofi, integrating natural resource issues is a key criterion in company selection. “Our ESG analysis methodology overweight the most material issues depending on the sector, and we exclude companies that have not developed sufficient policies on these strategic issues,” explained Cesare Vitali, Head of ESG Research and SRI Development at Ecofi.

Social Issues and Value Chains

The discussion then broadened to sustainable management of human resources, starting with the notion of a “just transition.” This concept refers to “the necessary coordination between ecological transition and social issues,” recalled Cesare Vitali. Practically, a successful energy transition requires considering aspects such as “job creation, respect for human rights, gender equality, and more broadly all social issues.”

Speakers emphasized the need to monitor social issues throughout value chains, particularly regarding human resource management and fundamental rights. “Since 2017, the French duty of vigilance law requires large companies to implement a plan covering notably the social conduct of their suppliers,” reminded Cesare Vitali, noting “a growing awareness among companies regarding their partners’ conduct.” “Previously, companies were mainly concerned with reputational risks, but with this law, they are also exposed to legal risks,” he added.

Depending on the geographical zones where companies operate, Ecofi applies additional criteria, especially when companies or their suppliers are based in countries with higher risks concerning labor law or human rights. In the absence of sufficient public information, a dialogue is initiated to ensure these issues are properly addressed. “This is a very important issue for us,” continued Alix Roy, ESG analyst at Ecofi. “We regularly encourage companies, through our dialogues, to improve traceability in their value chain.” According to her, two main problems persist: “either companies have poor knowledge of their own value chain, in which case we push them to make efforts on traceability; or they lack transparency and limit themselves to publishing the list of direct suppliers only.”

The asset manager also encourages companies to engage with local governments to strengthen human and labor rights regulations in certain regions. “This is part of responsible companies’ duties: they should not simply establish operations to benefit from very low costs but also contribute to improving local regulations,” insisted Cesare Vitali, who regrets the relaxations introduced by the “Omnibus” legislative package, which reduces requirements of certain directives such as CS3D, the European equivalent of the duty of vigilance law. “While the original directive version required an in-depth assessment of the entire supply chain, the amended version limits this obligation to direct suppliers only (level 1),” he specified.

Human Resources and Value Sharing

For companies, good human resource management also involves internal policies, particularly regarding education and training. “There is sometimes a lack of awareness and understanding among employees on these issues, which can lead to poor decisions or insufficient consideration of these challenges at the highest levels,” highlighted Fanny Demulier. Veolia notably launched two years ago Terra Academia, a school for “ecological transformation,” relying on institutional and local partnerships. “It is essential to carry out this reflection at the territorial level, to anticipate, in particular, the needs of the local industrial fabric,” she added. In the same spirit, Yann Fradin also stressed the importance of relying on local actors and associations: “This is where change really happens, so we must provide tools to these structures.” He emphasized the need for “more connection, understanding, and anticipation,” especially regarding training.

In this context of stakeholder involvement, the question of value sharing was also addressed. “Today, 90% of our revenue is reinvested locally, whether through employment, subcontracting, inclusion, training, or innovation,” explained Fanny Demulier. According to her, this local dynamic allows companies to have a more tangible impact: “It pushes us to work differently, adapting our projects to the territory, local skills, and necessary expertise, but also reflecting on how we train our teams.”

Finally, companies will also need to adapt to the expectations of new generations, notably concerning meaning and working conditions. “The relationship to time and hierarchy is completely different,” highlighted Camille Richard. Yet today, “organizations are not always ready to manage these new expectations and must find solutions to adapt.”