The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, known as the CSRD Directive,[1] transposed into French law in December 2023,[2] has introduced new extra-financial transparency obligations for a large number of French companies (see our article Transposition of the CSRD Directive: new sustainability reporting obligations for French companies for more details).

As of 2025, and progressively until 2028,[3] many companies will be required to publish the results of their new obligations, including those relating to anti-corruption indicators, as part of their extra-financial reporting (I).

To help companies meet these compliance requirements, the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) published a presentation on October 16, 2024 containing a set of tips designed to help and encourage companies that do not already have an anti-corruption policy to adopt suitable measures[4] (II).

I. As of 2025, many French companies will have to report on their sustainability performance, including information on their anti-corruption policy

Ordinance no. 2023-1142 of December 6, 2023, transposing the CSRD Directive, requires companies falling within its scope to include sustainability information in a separate section of their management report, i.e. information that “provides an understanding of the impact of the company’s activities on sustainability issues, and how these issues influence the development of its business, results and situation”, which include environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues.[5]

The details of the sustainability information to be published are defined by Decree no. 2023-1394 of December 30, 2023, issued in application of Ordinance no. 2023-1142 of December 6, 2023[6] on the basis of harmonized European standards, the European Sustainability Reporting Standards or ESRS, to which it refers. These standards were defined by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 of July 31, 2023 supplementing Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards sustainability reporting standards, and will be supplemented by other standards, currently being drafted, for sector-specific and entity-specific indicators.[7]

As part of the standards already defined by Delegated Regulation (EU) no. 2023/2772, the ESRS G1 standard on corporate governance, and more specifically on business conduct, requires the reporting of various anti-corruption indicators. For instance, companies will now have to publish the mechanisms they have put in place to identify, report and investigate concerns about illegal behavior,[8] describe the internal functions most exposed to corruption risks,[9] provide information on cases of corruption or bribe payouts discovered and indicate the outcome given internally,[10] or describe the system for preventing and detecting cases of corruption and bribes, including information on the training provided for employees.[11]

Prior to the introduction of this measures, only companies with over 500 employees or belonging to a group with over 500 employees, generating a turnover above 100 million euros and established in France, were subject to the requirements of Article 17 of the Sapin II law, which requires the set-up of systems to prevent and combat corruption and influence peddling.[12]

However, from now on, many companies that were previously unaffected by these obligations will have to comply with the reporting requirements set out in the CSRD anti-corruption directive, whose scope of application is broader than that of the Sapin II law.[13] For that reason, AFA published advice within a presentation on October 16, 2024 to “help companies that do not pass [the thresholds of the Sapin II law] to fulfill their anti-corruption reporting obligations under the CSRD Directive by progressively implementing an adapted compliance process”.[14]

II. AFA has issued advice to companies subject to the new obligations of the CSRD Directive who do not already benefit from an anti-corruption policy

AFA, making the parallel between sustainability reporting under the CSRD Directive and anti-corruption measures under the Sapin II law,[15] recommends that companies set up an eight-measure anti-corruption program, to facilitate the reporting of the anti-corruption indicators to which they are subject as well as having wider internal and external benefits, such as a better defense in the event of legal proceedings,[16] facilitated funding or improved competitiveness.[17]

The eight measures recommended by AFA are :

• Risk mapping for corruption and influence peddling; [18]
• A code of conduct; [19]
• Awareness-raising and training sessions; [20]
• A third-party integrity assessment; [21]
• An anti-corruption whistle-blowing system; [22]
• Anti-corruption accounting controls; [23]
• Monitoring and evaluation of anti-corruption measures; [24]
• A disciplinary system that enables the governing body to impose appropriate sanctions in the event of behaviour that violates the code of conduct.[25]

Before detailing these eight measures, AFA emphasizes the need for commitment on the part of management, underlining that this is a prerequisite for the success of any anti-corruption measure. AFA therefore highlights the central role of the executive, who must initiate and promote anti-corruption measures, ensure that they are implemented and complied with within the company, and allocate the resources needed to apply preventive measures.[26]

For each of these eight measures, as well as for the necessary prerequisite concerning the commitment of the management body, AFA provides sheets that briefly explain the underlying concept, lists the useful references that already exist to complete its presentation and to which companies can refer, such as the AFA Recommendations or the Practical Anti-Corruption Guide for SMEs and small ETIs, and lists the ESRS indicators targeted by these measures.

In conclusion, this presentation by AFA provides a synthetic and user-friendly document for the companies that will soon be required to implement anti-corruption measures under the CSRD Directive, in a context where the societal obligations of companies are increasing and may prove to be complex.