Universal registration document and annual financial report 2020

2020 Universal registration document and annual financial report - BNP PARIBAS 607

A COMMITTED BANK: INFORMATION CONCERNING THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, CIVIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY OF BNP PARIBAS

Our environmental responsibility: accelerating the ecological and energy transition

In France, Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, as Chairman of EpE, was one of the initiators of a forum calling for collective mobilisation to make economic recovery an accelerator of the ecological transition. This forum, signed by more than 90 executives of French and international companies, was published in the French newspaper, Le Monde.

On the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, Jean-Laurent Bonnafé gave an interview to the French newspaper La Tribune in which he states that the future for BNP Paribas must necessarily be post-energy transition .

In the United Kingdom, Anne-Marie Verstraeten, Country Head of BNP Paribas, co-signed a letter from company representatives to the Prime Minister asking for a clear vision on the government s climate- related recovery efforts.

Active participation in several methodological initiatives related to biodiversity

In addition to the work carried out with Caisse des Dépôts Biodiversité (see Voluntary commitments made within the Act4nature initiative in Commitment 10), BNP Paribas played a central role in several impact measurement initiatives in 2020 on biodiversity.

Antoine Sire, Head of Corporate Engagement at BNP Paribas and member of the Executive Committee, was appointed co-chair of the informal working group tasked with preparing the work of the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD). This initiative, led by the United Nations, WWF and the Global Canopy think tank, aims to define a reporting framework that enables financial institutions to better understand their risks, dependencies and impacts on nature.

In addition, BNP Paribas Asset Management co-led in 2020 the mobilisation of more than 30 investors representing more than EUR 7,000 billion of assets under management to support a public statement calling for the creation of biodiversity-related impact measures. More specifically, BNP Paribas Asset Management has selected, with other asset managers, after a joint call for tenders and a strict selection process, a service provider for the creation of a tool to measure the impact of their investments on biodiversity.

Other partnerships

BNP Paribas has also partnered with various stakeholders to raise awareness and promote solutions to climate and environmental challenges, including:

■ being an active member of Movin On, the leading global co-innovation ecosystem bringing together the major players in sustainable mobility. With Solar Impulse, Michelin and Engie, BNP Paribas has created a community of interest within Movin On dedicated to energy efficiency;

■ by implementing a partnership with the NGO Reforest Action. Whether in France, Belgium or Luxembourg, various BNP Paribas teams working with Reforest Action have contributed to 176 reforestation projects in 15 countries on four continents. In total, more than 2.5 million trees have been planted thanks to BNP Paribas support, helping to store 240,000 tonnes of CO2. This is based on sustainable finance offers implemented by various businesses (CIB, Private Banking, Retail Banking, etc.) including the planting of trees in the products and services offered to customers;

■ by joining the German Finance Industry Voluntary Climate Commitment;

■ by signing in Portugal, on the occasion of Lisbon being named as European Green Capital 2020 by the European Commission, the Business Mobility Pact and the Agreement to contribute directly to the objectives defined in the Lisbon Municipality Pact. As part of the internal Cooler Planet programme, a work thread dedicated to sustainable urban mobility has been created to reduce CO2 emissions related to mobility and improving the quality of life of employees;

■ by being the first financial institution to join the Cool Farm Alliance, a consortium of more than 60 companies working to develop sustainable agriculture. This alliance is intended in particular to create a set of indicators measuring the impact of agricultural production on greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity or water requirements for irrigation. An impact calculator will be made available to BNP Paribas Polska clients in early 2021 on the online portal www.agronomist.pl;

■ by actively participating in the work of the Task Force on Climate- related Financial Disclosures (of which Jane Ambachtsheer and Mark Lewis, of BNP Paribas Asset Management, are two of the 31 members) and of the working group on data and implementation of the Platform on Sustainable Finance of the European Union (of which Helena Viñes Fiestas, of BNP Paribas Asset Management, is rapporteur), in charge of working on European taxonomy.