BNP Paribas, a leader in sustainable finance

By developing several green initiatives and international partnerships, BNP Paribas has become a major player in sustainable finance. As underlined by Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, “we are fully conscious of the fact that, in this race against the clock, banking and finance need to join the frontline in building a low-carbon economy”.

The Group pursues its commitment to sustainable finance in several ways:

1. SRI portfolios offered by BNP Paribas—such as the arvest Green Bond launched in late 2017 and composed of at least 83.5% green bonds—enable customers to invest in companies active in specific social and environmental domains while also showing promising financial potential.
2. In 2016, BNP Paribas funded some 30 institutions via microfinance, totaling 250 million euros in loans, which indirectly benefitted more than 300,000 people.
3. BNP Paribas upped its support for social businesses by 38% from 2015 to 2016 (within the same perimeter), reaching 641 million euros (including 560 million in loan transactions). Overall in 2016, the Group’s support for social entrepreneurship (including microfinance) totaled over 890 million euros.
4. In 2016, total funding devoted to renewable energies climbed to
   
   9.3 billion euros
   , rising over two billion euros in one year. Our target for 2020: to exceed 15 billion euros.
5. In 2016, the Group figured among the top three global players in green bonds issued in euros. BNP Paribas served as the joint leader on operations for a total of
   
   2.4 billion euros
   , among which: two of three green bonds from Iberdrola (1.75 billion euros) designed to refinance onshore wind farms in Spain, the Forest Bond from IFC or Turkey’s first green bond.
6. In late 2017, BNP Paribas partnered with three major international events on climate change and the energy transition: Climate Finance Day, Tech for Planet and One Planet Summit.