Case study Renault

SE Advisory Services creates biodiversity impact indicator for Renault

As one of Europe's leading car manufacturers, Renault has been committed to biodiversity protection since 2018. To advance this commitment, the group engaged SE Advisory Services experts to develop a biodiversity impact measurement indicator. This indicator needed to be both simple and scientifically robust to enable accurate monitoring of biodiversity impact across its global network of production sites.

Biodiversity Footprinting and Accounting

The challenge

As biodiversity becomes increasingly central to corporate environmental responsibility, following the 2019 IPBES report and Europe’s CSRD regulations, companies face a significant challenge. Currently, no standardised reference tool exists for assessing biodiversity impact at individual site level, with existing frameworks such as TNFD and SBTn offering complex methodologies with inherent limitations.

Recognising this challenge, Renault partnered with SE Advisory Services to develop a customised aggregated indicator to monitor the environmental impact of its production sites. The scope focused on Renault Group’s owned facilities, requiring a solution that could enable autonomous data updates by Renault teams across 30+ diverse sites with varying geographical and operational contexts.

To ensure adoption by site decision-makers, the methodology needed to be simple, whilst also clearly establishing the associated biodiversity impacts of specific site activities. Another key consideration was to accommodate the diverse geographical and operational contexts throughout Renault’s global production network.

Renault Group is at the forefront of a mobility revolution. Drawing on the complementary strengths of its four brands—Renault, Dacia, Alpine, and Mobilize—the Group offers sustainable and innovative mobility solutions to its customers. Operating in 114 countries, Renault Group sold 2.265 million vehicles in 2024. It employs more than 98,000 people and their purpose is to ensure that mobility brings us closer together. Renault Group has chosen to place an environmental approach at the heart of its strategy and purpose. This commitment is reflected in concrete actions: reducing emissions, preserving resources, and protecting biodiversity.

Thanks to our collaboration with SE Advisory Services, we now have a scientifically sound global indicator that allows us to assess the pressure exerted by our sites and measure the progress made. This aggregate indicator is also a key tool for highlighting all the efforts made to reduce the environmental footprint of Renault Group sites.”

Elodie Dauchez-Duchemin, Head of Environmental Management, Renault

The solution

Analysis of existing frameworks, tools and strategies 

SE Advisory Services conducted a comprehensive analysis of methodologies and benchmarked best-in-class strategies across automotive, construction, consumer goods, and energy sectors. This phase identified recurring KPIs that could be adapted for Renault Group while understanding the strengths and limitations of each approach.

Establishment of the indicator methodology

In collaboration with Renault teams, SE Advisory Services developed an indicator architecture where the five IPBES erosion causes would be represented through scored data points and combined into an aggregated indicator. Using life cycle analysis methods, the team selected relevant data and weightings while establishing reference scenarios and percentage reduction targets.

Creation of the indicator and testing

SE Advisory Services developed a user-friendly tool with multiple visualisation options and tested it on pilot sites to verify sensitivity and consistency. Recognising that certain actions like awareness and restoration are difficult to quantify, the team established additional qualitative elements categorised by biodiversity potential, creating an innovative framework for companies with significant biodiversity impacts.

 

The result

  • Creation of an innovative benchmark on biodiversity strategy and indicators across 10 co-selected companies
  • Analysis and critical review of various biodiversity-related tools and frameworks
  • Aggregation of data from monitored sites, ecological diagnostics, and existing impact studies to define different scenarios
  • Identification and prioritisation of material impacts in relation to the five IPBES pressures based on scientific sources
  • Co-creation of indicator architecture (weightings, scale, and evolution mode) and a list of site-level actions aimed at reducing future impacts on biodiversity
  • Setting a global target for reducing pressures on biodiversity, broken down into different sites and over different time horizons

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