Embedding Sustainable Development in our Corporate Culture

The success of a company’s commitment to sustainable development depends first and foremost on the men and women who make up the company taking ownership of the process. That’s why we invest in raising awareness, and in listening to and supporting our employees on a daily basis. We also support our employees’ own social initiatives.

We act to promote diversity and to support the fight against exclusion and discrimination.
To fulfil our commitments and to respect those that we accepted in signing:

•   the Diversity Charter (2004),
•   the "Charte de l’Apprentissage" (the French Apprenticeship Charter) (2005),
•   the Equal Opportunity Charter in the field of education (2006)
•   the convention signed with Agefiph (the Association to ensure the employment and integration of disabled persons) (2007)
•   an agreement to promote the employment and professional integration of persons with disabilities (2008)

In March 2010, we launched an online training module to raise awareness among our employees about CSR issues and the sustainable development policy.

In June 2010, a chat about climate change with Jean Jouzel, winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) helped to answer our employees’ questions.

In 2010, the Group’s buyers received training in responsible purchasing. Their objective is to integrate social and environmental criteria into tenders and to analyze the social responsibility of their suppliers.

The Specifics

BNP Paribas has been a partner of the French organisation called Nos Quartiers ont des Talents (Our Neighbourhoods Have Talent) since 2008. Today, more than 100 employees sponsor young graduates from disadvantaged neighbourhoods working towards their Masters’ or Doctoral degrees. These sponsors help the students in their search for employment, provide coaching and open their networks and address books to their young protégés. In total, 200 students have already benefited from BNP Paribas sponsorship and many have already found jobs.