2020 Universal registration document and annual financial report - BNP PARIBAS602
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a Committed Bank: information ConCerninG the eConomiC, soCial, CiviC and environmental resPonsiBility of BnP PariBas Our environmental responsibility: accelerating the ecological and energy transition
Adaptation to climate risks and preservation of biodiversity: alliance to strengthen the resilience of small producers benefiting from microcredits
In addition, BNP Paribas helped highlight biodiversity-related issues within the MEbA project (Microfinance Ecosystem-based Adaptation(1)) of the United Nations Environment. Through numerous training sessions, the Group participated in the deployment of the project to microfinance institutions and financial service providers wishing to integrate climate and environmental risks into their credit decision-making process.
Although the ecosystem services necessary for agriculture depend to a large extent on biodiversity, which is itself subject to significant human pressure, biodiversity is not taken into account in the assessment of credit risk, which weakens farmers and financial service providers. Created to highlight the importance of risks related to climate change and biodiversity, the MEbA digital platform provides methodologies adapted to the assessment of loans to farmers. It systematically proposes indicators of climate sensitivity, adaptability and biodiversity, and confirms the green dimension of loans.
(1) https://unepmeba.org/biodiversity-platform/
COMMITMENT 11: REDUCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF OUR OWN OPERATIONS
GREEN COMPANY FOR EMPLOYEES (GC4E): EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT WORLDWIDE The Green Company For Employees Programme encourages and supports the reduction of all of BNP Paribas direct impacts on the environment, by according a central role to the participation of all employees. In this context, the Group has defined three priorities: the fight against single- use plastic, the promotion of soft mobility and the sustainable use of digital technology.
To limit the use of plastic, the Bank decided to remove all single-use petroleum-based plastic items from work and catering environments.
To promote soft mobility, BNP Paribas continued to deploy electric vehicle charging equipment on its sites and to green its service vehicle fleets. In addition, several car-sharing and bicycle-sharing schemes have emerged in France, as in Poland and Italy. Lastly, employee offers were created to encourage them to make the transition to soft mobility (discounts on purchase/leasing, financing, specific bonus).
In 2020, several working groups worked to translate the Group s new ambition for digital sustainability into a concrete roadmap. This approach has been built around three main approaches:
■ measuring and optimising the Group s digital footprint on the environment;
■ implementing a Green IT Sourcing policy;
■ raising all employees awareness of digital sustainability technology.
BNP Paribas ambition for digital sustainability technology is to work across the entire digital life cycle, in a systemic approach, seeking to have a ripple effect on all external and internal stakeholders. A first awareness-raising campaign for all employees was launched at the end of 2020 using a self-assessment tool. In addition, the Group s strategic IT suppliers were informed of BNP Paribas new ambition and called upon to actively participate in it, in a letter signed jointly by the Group s Chief Sourcing Officer and the Group s Chief Operating Officer IT.
ONGOING EFFORTS TO SAVE ENERGY AND IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN OUR OPERATIONS In 2020 the Group continued its efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of its own operations by pursuing targeted actions to reduce the consumption of energy, paper and water, and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and its waste volumes while improving their recycling as much as possible.
The results obtained in 2020 were strongly marked by the effects of the global health crisis (see next paragraph). 2020 is also an important milestone in the pursuit of objectives related to environmental performance indicators. Set up in 2015 with the year 2012 as a reference, these indicators set targets for 2020. Whether it involves quantitative objectives such as reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, paper consumption or qualitative objectives such as improving waste information, all targets have been achieved except for the share of sustainable paper.
Detailed environmental reporting
The objectives and the actions associated are detailed in an environmental report consisting of nearly fifty indicators covering the 20 countries where the Group has the largest sites in terms of workforce and therefore environmental impact. These represent 90% of full-time equivalent (FTE) personnel managed by the Group as of 31 December 2020. The results are extrapolated across the entire Group and are used to calculate the environmental data reported in this section. In 2020, 62 entities received quantified data from Group CSR Function on their consumption and targets compared with those of the Group as a whole, following data collected during the previous environmental campaign. This valuable monitoring tool enables each entity to make improvements so as to achieve the objectives of the environmental performance indicators.