VSent fifty-eight billion euros is the amount represented by employee savings in France, to which a “week”, from March 27 to 31. Enough to cover, over several years, the needs for additional investments in France to embark on the path of carbon neutrality, estimated between 14 billion and 30 billion euros per year by the Institute of the economy for the climate. It is urgent to mobilize these savings to finance the sectors of the future, starting with the deployment of renewable energies and the massification of energy renovation.
Employees and business leaders are often ill-equipped and unaware of the sometimes deleterious impact that their savings have on the climate. When they are aware of this, they do not always have access to detailed information on the funds offered and have few alternatives. They find themselves, despite themselves, supporting, through their employee savings fund, companies developing coal-fired power plants or oil and gas fields, contrary to the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC ) and the International Energy Agency.
Employee savings have been the driving force behind the development of responsible finance for more than twenty years, in particular with the obligation to offer at least one solidarity fund that feeds the social and solidarity economy sector. We are convinced that, through joint action, employees and managers can continue to make employee savings the spearhead of transparent and responsible finance.
Transparency and pedagogy
We, managers, employees, unions and NGOs [organisations non gouvernementales]want to have access to employee savings in the service of the climate and we call on asset managers to enable savers to align their money with their values. “SRI” [investissement socialement responsable]“solidarity fund”, “green fund”… There are many names that bring hope to our employee savings funds.
If we are to believe the French Association of Financial Management, 50% of employee savings (excluding employee shareholding) would today be “responsible”. However, behind this word hide very different realities. Thus, 71% of employee savings funds, analyzed by [l’application mobile] RIFTinvest in companies that develop new oil and gas projects.
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