Background information

The purpose of this national interprofessional agreement (ANI) on the theme of ecological transition and social dialogue is to "facilitate the continued mobilisation of companies and professional sectors through social dialogue", rather than creating new obligations for companies. Its preamble states that "existing legal tools provide a framework for organising social dialogue that takes account of environmental issues". The agreement is divided into five chapters:

• identifying the levers for change in the context of informed social dialogue on the ecological transition
• enabling social dialogue to address environmental issues at company level
• integrating environmental issues into collective bargaining
• dealing with environmental issues in local and sectoral social dialogue forums
• dealing with issues relating to jobs and skills in the implementation of the ecological transition: what opportunities?

Content of measure

In addition to reminders of the legislation in force, referred to as "legal benchmarks", there are 'practical benchmarks for nurturing and deepening social dialogue' in the form of recommendations addressed to those involved in social dialogue.

The recommendations addressed to the social partners at branch and company level are numerous, including:

• the inclusion of a regular item on environmental policy on the agenda of the social and economic committee (CSE) in companies with more than 50 employees
• the extension of the CSE's prerogatives to environmental issues, by means of a majority agreement, in companies with fewer than 50 employees, so that it can be informed and consulted on these issues
• the inclusion of an environmental section in the engagement letter of the chartered accountant used by the CSE for certain consultations
• the creation of additional committees within the CSE dedicated to environmental issues, with their own budgets

The agreement specifies the Climate Act of 22 August 2021, which stipulates that the CSE has new powers in environmental matters. Its consultations must therefore take account of the "environmental consequences" of decisions and measures taken by the company. The agreement provides employers with a basis for determining the list of relevant information to be passed on to the committee and included in the documentary database intended for staff representatives (the BDESE - economic, social and environmental database).

A joint monitoring committee will be set up to "take stock of developments in practices, analyse the implementation and impact of social dialogue relating to the ecological transition on the operation of the company and assess the scope of the agreement".

Use of measure

No data available as it is a new measure.

Contents

• Health and safety
• Other topics
• Training and employability
• Work organisation

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment Workers in non-standard forms of employment	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Social partners jointly Trade unions Company / Companies	Companies

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

Social partners peak-level organisations have negotiated the agreement on their own (not asked by the government). All representative social partners on national level have took part to the negotiation, but some trade unions refused to sign it, as CFE-CGC, CGT and CGT-FO (see Views).

Views and reactions

Some trade unions refused to sign the agreement mainly as it provides no compulsory measures.

Sources

• 11 April 2023: Accord national interprofessionnel du 11 avril 2023 relatif à la transition écologique et au dialogue social (web.lexisnexis.fr)