The Statement has been prepared by applying the Company’s Guidelines as referred to above.
Responsibility of the Statutory Auditor appointed as independent third party
Based on our work, our responsibility is to express a limited assurance conclusion on:
- the compliance of the Statement with the requirements of Article R.225-105 of the French Commercial Code;
- the fairness of the information provided pursuant to paragraph 3 of Article R.225-105 I and to Article R.225-105 II of the French Commercial Code, i.e. the outcomes of policies, including key performance indicators, and measures relating to the main risks, hereinafter the “Information”.
As it is our responsibility to issue an independent conclusion on the information prepared by Management, we are not authorised to participate in the preparation of the Information, as this could compromise our independence.
It is not our responsibility to provide a conclusion on:
- the Company’s compliance with other applicable legal and regulatory provisions (particularly with regard to the information set out in Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation, the duty of vigilance, and the fight against corruption and tax evasion);
- the fairness of information provided under Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation;
- the compliance of products and services with the applicable regulations.
Applicable regulatory provisions and professional guidance
We performed the work described below in accordance with our verification programme, which complies with Article A.225-1 et seq. of the French Commercial Code; with the professional guidance issued by the French Institute of Statutory Auditors (Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes, CNCC) ; and with ISAE 3000 (Revised), “Assurance Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information”.
Independence and quality control
Our independence is defined by Article L.822-11-3 of the French Commercial Code and by the French Code of Ethics for Statutory Auditors (Code de déontologie). In addition, we have implemented a quality control system including documented policies and procedures aimed at ensuring compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, ethical requirements and the professional guidance issued by the French Institute of Statutory Auditors relating to this engagement.
Means and resources
Our work engaged the skills of 10 people between October 2023 and February 2024 and took a total of about 20 weeks.
To assist us in conducting our work, we referred to our corporate social responsibility and sustainable development experts. We conducted around 15 interviews with people responsible for preparing the Statement.
Our work made use of information and communication technology to enable us to conduct procedures and interviews remotely without impacting audit quality.
Nature and scope of procedures
We planned and performed our work taking account of the risk of material misstatement of the Information. We consider that the procedures conducted in exercising our professional judgement enable us to express a limited assurance conclusion:
- We familiarised ourselves with the activities of all entities in the consolidation scope and the description of the principal risks.
- We assessed the suitability of the Guidelines with respect to their relevance, completeness, reliability, neutrality and clarity, taking into account, where appropriate, best practices within the sector.
- We verified that the Statement covers each category of information stipulated in Article L.225-102-1 III of the French Commercial Code governing social and environmental affairs, respect for human rights, and the fight against corruption and tax evasion.
- We verified that the Statement provides the information required under Article R.225-105 II of the French Commercial Code where relevant with respect to the principal risks, and includes, where applicable, an explanation for the absence of the information required under the second paragraph of Article L.225-102-1 III of the French Commercial Code.
- We verified that the Statement presents the business model and a description of the principal risks associated with the activities of all the consolidated entities, including, where relevant and proportionate, the risks associated with their business relationships, their products or services, as well as their policies, measures and the outcomes thereof, including key performance indicators for the principal risks.
- We referred to documentary sources and conducted interviews to:
- assess the process used to identify and confirm the principal risks as well as the consistency of the outcomes, including the key performance indicators used, with respect to the principal risks and the policies presented; and
- corroborate the qualitative information (measures and outcomes) that we considered to be the most important(*). For certain risks or information, such as the health and safety approach and employability, our work was carried out on the consolidating entity, while for other risks, our work was carried out on the consolidating entity and on a selection of entities.
- We verified that the Statement covers the consolidated scope, i.e. all entities within the consolidation scope in accordance with Article L.233-16 of the French Commercial Code, with the limits specified in the Statement.
- We obtained an understanding of internal control and risk management procedures implemented by the Company and assessed the data collection process aimed at ensuring the completeness and fairness of the Information.
- For the key performance indicators and other quantitative outcomes that we considered to be the most important(**), we implemented:
- analytical procedures that consisted in verifying the correct consolidation of collected data as well as the consistency of changes thereto;
- substantive tests, on a sample basis and using other selection methods, that consisted in verifying the proper application of definitions and procedures and reconciling data with supporting documents. These procedures were conducted for a selection of contributing entities(***) and covered between 38% and 100% of the consolidated data selected for these tests.
- We assessed the overall consistency of the Statement in relation to our knowledge of the entire Company.
