CIB at a glance

Sustainable finance has been at the heart of BNP Paribas strategic focus for well over a decade. Year after year the bank has built on this first mover advantage. In 2024 BNP Paribas continued to set the pace for the sector having announced another acceleration of its already market leading commitments.

BNP Paribas’ engagement in mobilising sustainable finance to support its clients in driving sustainability forward has resulted in landmark deals across all regions and sectors in 2023, strengthening its leadership in Green Bonds¹ and Sustainability-Linked Bonds² and Loans³.

The Bank is also an active thought leader in sustainable finance.

1. BNP Paribas ranked 1^st in Dealogic’s Global Green Bond by Bookrunner FY2023; 2. BNP Paribas ranked 1^st in Dealogic’s Global Sustainability Linked Bond Volume by Bookrunner FY 2023; 3. BNP Paribas ranked 1^st in Dealogic’s EMEA Sustainability Linked loan Volume by Bookrunner FY2023.

• BNP Paribas has accelerated the shift to low-carbon energy.
• Building on the bank’s existing world leading transition commitments, BNP Paribas ramped up this shift towards a low carbon economy, with an increased ambition to scale low-carbon energy producing financing, and  additional targets on emissions intense sectors. At 30 September 2023, BNP Paribas’ credit exposure to low-carbon energy production stood at EUR 32 billion (including EUR 28.8 billion for renewable energy), up EUR 3.8 billion in one year. This represents 65% of energy production-related credit exposure, and an increase of 10 points in one year. In addition, the 2023 commitment to achieve 80% low-carbon financing for the Group’s energy production by 2030 was brought forward by two years, to 2028. The target for 2030 is now 90%.
• The Group is also aligning its portfolios with trajectories compatible with collective carbon neutrality by 2050. In 2024, the Group set portfolio alignment targets for three additional sectors: Aviation, Shipping, and Commercial Real Estate, while also disclosing its approach to the Residential Real Estate and Agriculture sectors. Know more about this alignment in BNP Paribas 2023 Climate Report.

ESG risk management

To identify the companies with the highest environmental risks, in addition to sector financing and investment policies, BNP Paribas manages an activity monitoring and exclusion list. BNP Paribas is also implementing a vigilance plan to identify and prevent the risks of serious violations to human rights and fundamental freedoms, harm to human health and safety, and harm to the environment.

The Group is strengthening an ESG culture, with a particular emphasis on the ESG Assessment roll-out for almost all of the Group’s 3,000 largest corporate clients, and on increasing ESG knowledge in the Group thanks to the Sustainability Academy, which enabled more than 100,000 employees to take training courses on these topics in 2023.

Financing of innovative solutions and research

BNP Paribas has been supporting innovation in the areas of ecological transition by committing a total of EUR 250 million of equity since 2016 to support start-ups. At the end of 2023, through its Ecological Transition Capital investment line, BNP Paribas had already invested EUR 87.2 million in 12 innovative companies, including CarbonWorks in France (CO2 capture and recovery using microalgae) and Protix in the Netherlands (insect factory for animal feed), and in eight funds, including Shift4Good, Clay Capital and Seaya Andromeda.

Biodiversity

BNP Paribas has extended its policies to protect sensitive ecosystems through its oil and gas policy, and has, therefore, undertaken not to finance any oil and gas projects in the Arctic and the Amazon. It also launched a multi-year partnership at the end of 2023 with the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, marking a new chapter in BNP Paribas’ approach to protecting and restoring biodiversity. Bringing together more than 150 scientists, this institution is one of the main biodiversity knowledge and research centres in the world.