CSR approach:
our commitments, our difference
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Groupe BPCE has made corporate social responsibility (CSR) an integral part of its business activities and decision-making processes. Its CSR approach underpins the long-term relationships it forges with all its different stakeholders.

We are building our action on the strength of our cooperative model

Thanks to our cooperative model, we enjoy a long-term vision of banking relationships, particularly close ties with local and regional communities, and an approach that gives priority to human relations. It embodies the very meaning of the commitment we make to our customers, cooperative shareholders, partners, and employees: to make a responsible contribution to the economic and social development of our regions.
For this reason, we have placed our CSR approach at the very heart of our objectives by making it an integral part of our 2018-2020 strategic plan: TEC 2020.

Groupe BPCE is one of the key institutions helping to finance the French economy, and it is our role to help support our customers in their ecological and energy transition. It is our responsibility to channel savings toward a sustainable economy. This is reflected in the goals of our CSR commitments as defined in our corporate strategy.

Laurent Mignon — Laurent Mignon, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO

We are pursuing a structured approach

Our CSR commitments are focused on three key areas:

More specifically, the management of our CSR approach is entrusted to a dedicated function. The activities of the Group CSR and Sustainable Development Department are based on CSR correspondents and experts appointed in each Group company. Every day, they focus on taking concrete measures, monitoring indicators, and achieving the goals that we have set ourselves for 2018-2020.

We work in liaison with the Fédération Nationale des Banques Populaires and the Fédération Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne responsible for coordinating CSR policy of their respective networks.

A more detailed presentation of the organization and governance of our CSR policy in Chapter 2 of our Registration Document .

We are creating the conditions for strong and sustainable trust

Through an open and transparent dialogue

Pursuing a dialogue with all the Group's stakeholders is central to our CSR approach. Our CSR initiatives aim to achieve a set of societal and environmental challenges and to satisfy our customers’ new expectations.

At the same time, we establish a close, day-to-day dialogue with all our stakeholders: individual and professional customers, cooperative shareholders, employees, institutional and financial partners, representative federations, professional unions, regional economic actors, ESG (environment, social and corporate governance) rating agencies, investors, etc.

Through strict and meticulous compliance with business ethics

We are committed to managing the legal, regulatory and ethical risks for the benefit of our customers, employees and partners. We therefore ensure strict compliance with the laws, regulations and good professional practices in all Group companies. This has led to the publication of a Group Code of Conduct and Ethics approved by the Steering and Supervisory Board in 2018. This code lays down rules of good conduct regarding the interests of our customers and cooperative shareholders, employer and employee responsibilities in addition to our corporate social responsibility. We also pursue a rigorous and transparent tax policy.
For further details about the Group’s actions related to Ethics & Compliance

Consistent with the most exacting international standards

The Global Compact: reporting at level GC of the United Nations’ Global Compact, which defines ten principles covering human rights, labor standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption measures.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 9 goals positively impacted by our efforts through our internal management, philanthropic actions and, more particularly, our financing activities (social, associations, renewable energies, agriculture, education, health, microfinance, etc.).
Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB). Groupe BPCE and Natixis have signed the Principles for Responsible Banking, undertaking to align their business strategy with the objectives expressed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. By signing the UNEP FI Principles for Responsible Banking, Groupe BPCE and Natixis join a worldwide coalition of 130 banks, representing more than USD47 trillion in assets, and commit themselves to playing a decisive role in contributing to a sustainable future.

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Read the Reporting and Self-Assessment

Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI): adherence since 2008, via Natixis, to the Principles for Responsible Investment which support institutional investors in incorporating environmental, social and corporate governance considerations into the investment decision-making process.
In 2020, the international network of investors recognized two of the Group's companies as leaders in the field of climate reporting: Natixis Assurances, in the institutional investor category, and Mirova, a Natixis subsidiary specializing in sustainable finance, in the asset manager category.

For more details

Equator Principles: signatory since 2010, via Natixis, to the Equator Principles, which aim to take social and environmental risks into account when financing projects. By adhering to the UNEP FI Principles for Responsible Banking (28 founding signatories), Natixis becomes one of the first financial institutions to formally align its strategy with the sustainable development objectives defined by the United Nations and the Paris Climate Agreement.
ISO 26000: wanting to give its commitments and actions an even more tangible dimension, Groupe BPCE has signed up to this widely accepted, robust international standard by rolling out ISO 26000 external evaluation procedures within its different entities. In this respect, it has set itself the goal of doubling the number of institutions assessed by 2020.

Attentive to the view of the rating agencies and investors

Aware of the major role played by the ESG rating agencies, we do our utmost to be able to respond to these agencies, answer their requests and engage in dialogue with them. The Group's managers have decided that particular attention should be paid by the Group CSR Department to monitoring these ratings (MSCI, Sustainalytics, ISS, and V.E) within the framework of the TEC 2020 strategic plan.

Our Group is also continuing its involvement in the green, social and sustainable bond market it has set itself the objective of making two green or social bond issues per year by 2020.

Our programs:

We aim to set an example in our actions

Reduction in our environmental footprint

In our own operations, we provide a concrete response to the fight against climate change. The drive to reduce our environmental footprint is one of the pillars of our TEC 2020 strategic plan.

TEC 2020 target: 10% reduction in our carbon emissions *

Our actions are focused on three areas:

Purchasing, in order to define the foundations of a sustainable low-carbon purchasing strategy by exploring potential areas of leverage and prioritizing the actions to be taken,
Sustainable employee mobility, to drive an ambitious change dynamic in the Group's mobility practices,
Responsible digital service (“green IT”), with the signing of the Responsible Digital Charter (french version) for an ethical and eco-responsible digital transition.

* Carbon track record (in tons eq. CO2) - Scope 1, 2 et 3 - excluding data centers.

A precise appraisal

In order to monitor the successful implementation of the initiatives undertaken in pursuit of specific objectives, we have set up a robust Group environmental reporting system and a tool dedicated to drawing up an annual carbon review for all the Group's different entities. This tool is used to create greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions assessments using a method compatible with that of ADEME environment and energy management agency, the ISO 14064 standard, and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

Taking account of the impact of our activities

We have implemented environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria in our sector credit policies as well as our exclusion policies within Natixis targeting sectors facing major environmental and human challenges such as: controversial weapons, coal industries, oil and gas exploration & production, defense and tobacco industry.

In addition, Natixis applies CSR policies for internal use in the most sensitive industrial sectors: nuclear industry, oil and gas industries, mining and metals, palm oil planting, production and processing.

In October 2021, Groupe BPCE published its first climate report in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Finance Disclosure (TCFD) detailing the actions it is taking to support the transition to a low-carbon economy and the necessary adaptation to the effects induced by climate change. Download it HERE

Find details of the organization and governance of our CSR policy in our Registration Document.