CAC 40 companies paid nearly four times more dividends to their shareholders in 2022 than in the ecological transition, points out Oxfam

Oxfam France is calling on the government to implement binding eco-responsibility for large companies.

Non-financial companies in the CAC 40 paid almost four times more dividends to their shareholders in 2022 than they invested in the ecological transition, points out Tuesday, May 27 in a report by the NGO Oxfam France. For the first time, the NGO was able to collect the various green investments from CAC 40 companies. The ecological transition does not yet seem to be a priority for a majority of them.

In 2022, the average level of green investment stood at 11%, below the European average of 15%, according to the NGO. “Yet, at the same time, the profits of the CAC 40 have exploded in a few years”, denounces Oxfam. This last point “a short-term model which mainly benefits shareholders and abandons investments geared towards the transition”.

Agri-food companies are particularly singled out by Oxfam France. Danone, Pernod-Ricard and Carrefour respectively paid 420, 41 and 22 times more dividends to their shareholders than they invested in the ecological transition. “Multinationals no longer have a choice: either they continue to excessively remunerate shareholders, who received 76% of their profits in 2022, or they choose to allocate their investments to the biggest issue of the century, the fight for survival of the planet”explains Alexandre Poidatz, head of private sector and climate advocacy for Oxfam France and author of the report.

Oxfam France proposes capping dividends paid to shareholders to redirect them towards green investments. According to the NGO, “2% of the dividends and share buybacks paid to CAC 40 shareholders would have been enough to cover their investment needs in ecological transformation.” The NGO emphasizes that French companies “show the way”, notably Crédit Mutuel and MAIF. Since 2023, the latter two have respectively devoted 10 to 15% of their profits to the ecological and social transition.

CAC 40 companies are very far from being aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreements, even if we see improvement in the transparency of the carbon footprint of CAC 40 companies. In 2020, only 10 companies provided an exhaustive report of their greenhouse gas emissions report, today 37 do so. “Stellantis, TotalEnergies and Airbus represent the top 3 non-financial French companies with the largest carbon footprint”underlines Oxfam France.

Despite the warnings of IPCC scientists and the 1.5°C trajectory recommended by the Paris Agreement, CAC40 companies “lead us towards warming at 2.7°C”alert Oxfam France. “Such a level of warming would expose 2.1 billion people to extreme temperatures”, according to the NGO. The bad performers are TotalEnergies, Safran, Airbus and ArcelorMittal, while on the contrary, Alstom and Legrand are the companies best aligned with the trajectory of the Paris Agreements. “The CAC 40, which has deliberately chosen to make millions of workers around the world precarious for 40 years, must not use the coming years to outsource its environmental and climate responsibility”warns Alexandre Poidatz.

Oxfam France is calling on the government to implement binding eco-responsibility for large companies. “It is time for the State to rebalance its place in the market, by conditioning public aid to businesses and access to public markets on investments in the transition and this climate strategy aligned with a 1.5°C global trajectory.”, concludes Alexandre Poidatz. Oxfam France also urges CAC 40 companies to follow the example of Crédit Mutuel and MAIF, which devote part of company profits to the ecological and social transition.