RepoRt on - BNP Paribas

impaCt on
the natuRal
enviRonment
bnP Paribas implements a set of guidelines
on environmental responsibility, in
accordance with the united nations
global compact. it has done so since
january 2004, and it has reaffirmed its
identified
environmental issues
areas for
action
commitment every year since. these
guidelines contain ten focus points and
form part of the general business principles
followed by group employees.
3 areas for action 4 drivers 3 key success factors
❚ › energy saving
❚ › supplier selection
❚ › Waste management
initiatives to save energy
and monitor greenhouse
gas emissions – co 2
footprint
group companies are combating
climate change by limiting their
greenhouse gas emissions. in 2004,
bnP Paribas, helped by a team of consultants,
devised a method for estimating
the carbon dioxide emissions from
its operations. the calculations cover
emissions generated by the production,
transportation, and consumption
of energy sources. for liquid fossil fuels,
the methodology calculates emissions
related not only to combustion but also
to the extraction, shipping, and refinement
of fuels from conventional crude
❚ › prevention
❚ › compliance
❚ › Awareness-raising
among staff
❚ › internal control
› cost control
› Risk management
10 ways of managing environmental impacts
oil. the initial energy used by electricity
producers is also taken into account.
further information on measurement
methods and the related margins of
error are provided under item 7 of the nre
act-compliant environmental chapter.
bnP Paribas has steadily expanded the
scope of its data collection, which has
revealed that emissions vary significantly
between countries. an analysis of the
data shows that these differences are
mainly due to the following structural
factors:
— the presence within the country of
management from an international
business line, which accounts for
regular air travel by managers (for example
the fixed-income business line
in london);
— the presence of a data processing unit
that consolidates data processing for
entities within one territory or for neighbouring
countries;
› Responsible financing
and services
72 <strong>RepoRt</strong> on CoRpoRate SoCial and enviRonmental ReSponSibility
performance
performance
— the conversion ratio for Kwh consumed,
which depends on the combination
of energy sources used within
a given country. for example, the conversion
ratio used for the emissions rate
in france is favourable because a significant
proportion of the energy used
comes from nuclear sources.
a country’s energy infrastructure also
has a significant effect on emissions estimates;
for instance, the weighting factor
used to calculate co 2 emissions from
electricity use is about six times higher
for the uK and the us than for france.
since the types of businesses conducted
also vary widely by country, it seems
more relevant to monitor emissions on a
country-by-country basis. after the fortis
integration, the group’s worldwide co 2
footprint (covering 64% of global net
permanent paid staff) shows average
emissions of 2.34 tonnes of co 2 equivalent
per employee.