CEOs opinion piece

This joint opinion piece by business leaders of large companies was initiated by the Executive Committee of the Entreprises pour l’Environnement (EPE) association, chaired by Estelle Brachlianoff (VEOLIA), and comprising Benoit Bazin (SAINT-GOBAIN), Thierry Blandinières (INVIVO), Jean-Laurent Bonnafé (BNP PARIBAS), Thomas Buberl (AXA), Catherine MacGregor (ENGIE), Éric Pasquier (SOPRA STERIA) and Patrick Pouyanné (TOTALENERGIES).

The summer of 2026 saw a spate of increasingly frequent and severe droughts, heat waves, and wildfires hitting our fellow citizens, businesses, and regions. In addition, there are growing protests over the high cost of living, and the prevailing sentiment is that of inadequate protection against today’s upheavals. The same expectation is being voiced everywhere: solutions must match the challenges we face. We therefore have a collective responsibility to reconcile what are all too often opposing positions: responding to today’s emergencies while preparing for the future.

As business leaders of companies based in France’s regions, we reaffirm our shared conviction that the ecological transition is essential to our collective prosperity, competitiveness, sovereignty, and social cohesion. Year after year, our businesses have taken action, transforming production methods and investing in decarbonisation, innovation, and training. With the French presidential election just a few months away, we underscore the importance of continuity and consistency in the environmental and economic policies already in place.

Cost of inaction
Some people claim this transition is unnecessary, a luxury France can ill afford amid social, economic, and budgetary difficulties. We believe the reverse is true. Investing in prevention and protecting populations from climate change safeguards people and stimulates economic activity. Failure to act means falling behind countries such as China, which provide massive funding for research, technologies, and industries related to the ecological transition.

Sustainable innovation for all
Vehicle electrification, infrastructure re-engineering, building retrofits, plant modernisation, urban greening, and natural hazard prediction modelling are efficient innovations that reduce energy bills, improve living comfort and increase purchasing power. With support from our employees and subcontractors, we innovate to make these solutions increasingly affordable, thus improving the daily lives of French people.

An issue of sovereignty and purchasing power
Our businesses actively contribute to national sovereignty. Reducing fossil fuel dependence through low-carbon energy and energy efficiency, recycling materials, including rare metals, conserving water resources, promoting resilient agriculture, and developing AI sufficiency and sovereignty are all ways to build a more self-reliant France in the face of geopolitical shocks that are driving up household bills.

French companies’ leadership in pioneering the ecological transition is a major asset, and the 2027 policy direction must sustain this momentum. Collective mobilisation is essential and requires businesses to incorporate environmental considerations into decisions and investments, financial institutions to channel capital into activities compatible with planetary boundaries, and public authorities to establish an ambitious national and European framework that is fair and consistent with measures already undertaken. Sustainable development, social justice, and economic prosperity are integral to the same project. Let us act now for our future and that of future generations!