How do extra-financial rating agencies view our sustainability efforts? What proportion of our lending complies with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals? How many social entrepreneurs does the bank support? These are some of the questions addressed by our 2018 CSR activity report, which has just been published.
For BNP Paribas Fortis, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not a matter of good intentions, but of actual achievements. We do much more than simply sponsor community initiatives: we strive to reduce our negative impact but also increase our positive impact through our lending and investment activities.
A strategy aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
The 2018 activity report is a reminder that commitment to social and environmental causes is a strategic priority for BNP Paribas Fortis, which adopted the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2016. It provides a progress update on our efforts, using the 13 indicators adopted by the bank and Group. One of those indicators – the first of its kind in the banking industry and developed with the help of Vigeo-Eiris – measures the proportion of our lending going to businesses that have made a direct contribution to attaining the SDGs. In 2018, the figure was 14.95%.
The activity report also provides some examples and highlights that give readers a better understanding of our efforts to combat climate change and help companies transition to sustainable business models, to support social entrepreneurship and combat social exclusion via microcredit and sponsorship, to promote our responsible products and to foster social and environmental commitment among our people.