The government, large corporations, and SMEs are joining forces and committing to decarbonize our economy and our SMEs.

On July 13, 2023, in Bercy, Pacte PME launched its alliance for the decarbonization of the economy and SMEs, under the auspices of Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate for SMEs. This event brought together EDF, represented by its Group Procuremet Division, alongside six other major groups: Aéroports de Paris, Bouygues Construction, Engie, Sanofi, Schneider Electric, and Thales.

This commitment aims to support several thousand SMEs in their decarbonization efforts, with the goal of helping 3,400 SMEs by 2025.

Minister Olivia Grégoire highlighted this “ambitious goal” during her speech at the Ministry of Economy. 
The Pacte PME association, founded in 2010, brings together large companies, local authorities, mid-sized companies, and SMEs. EDF, a member since the beginning, is fully aligned with this initiative, which reinforces its responsible purchasing policy aimed at reducing the carbon impact of its purchases by 30% by 2030.

The minister also pointed out that SMEs account for a quarter of industrial emissions in France, and that their decarbonization could avoid up to 13 million tons of CO₂ per year.

The SMEs invited by EDF to participate in this initiative belong to the purchasing segments that emit the most CO₂. Ultimately, all interested SMEs will be able to join this initiative. EDF's Procurement Director expressed his conviction that decarbonization requires cooperation and the sharing of experiences, thereby encouraging a large number of SMEs to take up the challenge of carbon neutrality.

Pacte PME offers three support pathways:

  1. For SMEs that have not yet begun their decarbonization process, focused on establishing a carbon footprint.
  2.  For those that already have a carbon footprint, in order to define an action plan.
  3. For the 10% of companies that are most advanced, aimed at implementing operational solutions.
  4. The path to decarbonization for SMEs is now open, and the Group Procurement Department is fully committed to it.