Insee Première · September 2025 · n° 2071

Anti-pollution expenditures in industry in 2023 Investments to reduce environmental impact increased by more than 10% for the second consecutive year

In 2023, 54% of industrial establishments with 20 or more employees made investments or carried out studies to reduce the environmental impact of their activities. They spent 3.1 billion euros on these initiatives.

Investments accounted for the bulk of this expenditure, at 2.7 billion euros, and continued to grow (+16% compared to 2022, after +11% between 2021 and 2022).

In 2023, 25% of these investments were allocated to energy savings (+15% year‑on‑year) and 21% to the development of renewable energy production (+25%). The latter still mainly focused on biomass, but investments in solar energy production increased very sharply (+88% year‑on‑year).

Two-thirds of establishments with 250 or more employees had a specialist entirely dedicated to environmental protection activities. Lastly, one in five establishments incurring anti‑pollution expenditure received public aid.