La banque d'un monde qui change 2004 - BNP Paribas

ComplianceThe Corporate Facilities Management Departmentis responsible for ensuring that buildings aremanaged in accordance with the technicalregulations applicable in France. Towards that end,it issues technical guidelines for use by facilitiesmanagers.Outside France, real estate guidelines are draftedby the Global Procurement Group (GPG) basedon the most stringent regulations of all countrieswhere BNP Paribas operates. Constructionand renovation projects are validated basedon these guidelines and the buildings of newlyacquired companies are audited by GPG.In accordance with legal requirements, Arius,BNP Paribas subsidiary specialised in IT equipmentleasing solutions, has developeda strict policy for managing the end of itsproducts’ life cycles. When equipment recoveredat the end of a contract is examined and tested,there are three possibilities. If it is in workablecondition, it is sold on the second-hand market.If it is not, the equipment is either disposed ofby an approved vendor or taken apart to yieldspare parts that will be used by maintenancecompanies. To prepare for the upcomingtranslation into French legislation of the EUdirective on waste of electrical and electronicequipment (WEEE), Arius chose a partnerthat has been approved by regulatory authorities,is ISO 14001 certified and is a memberof Recycling Network Europe (Rene).Arval, the Group subsidiary specialised in leasingand managing vehicle fleets, has implemented,as part of its sustainable development strategy,measures to promote the use of recent vehiclesthat generate lower emissions and are fittedwith fuel-saving systems such as cruise control.As a result, the vehicles in the fleets it leasesare less than three years old. The companyhas also issued practical guides to raisethe awareness of drivers concerning simplepractices that can help protect the environment.BNP Paribas also provides funding for wind turbineprojects on all continents and sets up financingarrangements to build the necessary infrastructurefor geothermal energy to be usable.Contracts signed in 2004 for the funding of windturbine farms in Europe and Asia representeda total amount of EUR 850 million.Supplier selectionSupplier selection is a central featureof the Group’s environmental policy.The procurement function systematicallypromotes clauses related to social andenvironmental responsibility in its contractswith suppliers. It also devotes particular attentionto the environmental rating of key suppliersthat are assessed by non-financial rating agencies.Conservation of energy and raw materialsDespite the sharp upturn in the Group’s businessin 2004, the increase in electricity consumptionremained under control at 8.7%, and part of thisexpansion was due to an enlarged scopeof measurement.Several electronic document management projectslaunched in 2004 will lead to very substantialsavings of paper. The two largest of these,on external and internal documentation for RetailBanking in France, will make it possible to savesome 150 million pages per year beginning in 2005.