Protecting the climate and biodiversity
How can we reduce the impacts of the Group’s activities on the climate and biodiversity, and adapt within the context of global warming? Fnac Darty has strengthened its governance and climate risk management system, and has set targets for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
This integrated management for climate issues was welcomed by the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), with the Group maintaining its A- rating in 2023. Thanks to a rating above the average for European companies (B-) and the specialized retail market (C), Fnac Darty has been ranked in the “Leadership” category for the second year in a row.
Some key figures
at the end of 2023
Climate strategy and objectives
The specialized retail market is not considered a sector with a major climate change challenge. However, strategic monitoring and numerous forward-looking studies, particularly concerning the evolution of consumer behavior, have changed the Group’s strategy.
The Group works on three main emission categories to mitigate and adapt to climate change: energy, transport and products sold.
The energy and transport categories correspond to 100% of Scope 1 and 2 emissions for Fnac Darty’s carbon footprint, while those linked to products sold (manufacturing and usage) correspond to 92% of Scope 3 emissions.
Fnac Darty has aligned itself with the most ambitious Paris Agreement target (+1.5°C by 2100) to reduce its direct (Scope 1 and Scope 2) and indirect (Scope 3) emissions. Objectives were defined and validated by the Science Based Targets initiative in 2022:
- reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 vs. 2019;
- reduce emissions related to product use by 22% per product sold (1) by 2030 vs. 2019.
Suppliers representing 80% of CO2 emissions from product manufacturing will have set science-aligned targets by 2026.
In order to steer these objectives and monitor the associated action plans, Fnac Darty created a quarterly Climate Committee in 2019, sponsored at the highest level by three members of the Executive Committee: the Group’s General Secretary, the Director of Services and Operations, and the Commercial Director.
Reducing the energy impact of the sites
In light of energy challenges, Fnac Darty strengthened its action in 2022 and rolled out an energy efficiency plan to drastically reduce its energy consumption. This plan includes significant investments to roll out LED lighting and consumption control equipment across all of its stores, as well as new temperature setpoints.
The ambitious commitment to reduce electricity consumption by at least 15% by 2024 (compared to 2022) was already reached in 2023, one year ahead of schedule. In 2023, the Group reduced its electricity consumption by 17%, especially thanks to the installation of energy-efficient and better managed facilities throughout the Fnac and Darty integrated store network (€12 million invested in 2023). This ambition is an integral part of the 50% CO2 emission reduction target (Scope 3) by 2025. The scope defined concerns transport (direct and indirect emissions) and site energy. In 2023, Fnac Darty recorded a 26% drop in CO2 emissions compared to 2019.
Committing to the development of renewable energy in France
Fnac Darty has chosen to use traceable guarantee of origin certificates, particularly through direct Power Purchase Agreements with renewable energy producers. The Group has signed a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement for the production of a solar park in the Centre-Val de Loire region. The production of this plant began on April 1, 2023, and it is dedicated to the Group.
This long-term contract will not only enable Fnac Darty to green up its energy mix, but will also make the French energy mix greener.
At the end of 2023, 51% of the electricity consumed by the Group came from renewable sources.
Limiting the impact of our goods transport
Every day, thousands of products pass between the Group’s warehouses, its 1000 stores and its millions of customers. To limit the impact of this road transport on air quality and global warming, the Group is focusing its efforts on several levers:
- Optimizing transport plans and the network of warehouses to limit the distances traveled by products;
- Optimizing truck loading;
- Giving preference to lower-emission vehicles (BioNGV, biofuels, electric);
- Developing multimodal transport, in particular, the first rail-road links.
As part of the regular renewal of its fleet, after-sales service management has given preference to vehicles emitting less greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Some fifty electric vehicles and nearly 200 vehicles running on bioethanol were deployed in 2023, representing about 25% of the after-sales service fleet.
In 2021, the France Transport Department joined the FRET 21 initiative, founded by ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency) and AUTF (French Transport Association and Union). Fnac Darty has made a commitment to reduce its CO2 emissions in the transport sector by 10% over three years: https://fret21.eu/entreprise/fnac-darty/
As a signatory of the Charter of Commitments for the reduction of the environmental impact of online commerce, Fnac Darty is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its shipping by working on optimizing flows and reducing packaging, but also by raising the awareness of its customers so that they are informed about the impact of their delivery.
Limiting the impact from our indirect emissions
As part of a continuous improvement approach, the Group is working to improve the way it measures indirect emissions (Scope 3). For Fnac Darty, this concerns: products sold, commuting between home and work, customer travel, as well as digital technology. Regarding this last emission item, a Green IT approach has been launched by the IT department.
For two years, the Group has been measuring the impact of the new products it sells. This analysis takes into account the entire life cycle of the product, from its manufacture to its transport, including the use of the product and its end-of-life.
In order to highlight the positive impact of the Group’s actions to extend product life span, Fnac Darty also studies the “emissions avoided” by its repair activities and the sale of second-hand products.
*Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas (GHG), but not the only one. To simplify the measurement of GHG emissions, the other gases are expressed by applying a conversion factor (the global warming potential). The resulting unit is expressed as “CO2 equivalent”.
**The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) aims to encourage companies to adopt carbon strategies aligned with scientific knowledge, i.e. aiming for the same decarbonization level as set out in the Paris Agreement