Energy efficiency

In 2022, BNP Paribas identified the levers it would use to comply with the French government's energy sobriety plan, which aims to reduce energy consumption by 10% by 2024. Since then, a number of initiatives have been taken which have enabled us to exceed this target.

The Group acts mainly on 3 levers: the continuous improvement of energy performance, the implementation of work and investment plans, and the active participation of employees.

The employees have played a key role in the adoption of the necessary environmental measures, such as:

•  Working on site at the new temperatures required by the regulations: 19°C in winter and 26°C in summer, as confirmed by the Ministry of Energy Transition in June 2023;
• The elimination of hot water in washrooms;
• Closure of certain buildings with low occupancy during holiday periods.

Other eco-actions have also been implemented, such as more responsible use of computer screens (switching off standby mode), installing indoor presence detectors and switching off lights at night.

All these joint efforts have borne fruit. By 2023, the energy savings achieved in France had led to a 15% reduction in the energy consumption of the entire BNP Paribas real estate portfolio (bank branches, office buildings, data centres) compared to the same period the previous year.

Throughout the world, the Group helps its clients make the transition to sustainable development, in particular by supporting their efforts to reduce their energy consumption.

For BNP Paribas CIB, this means providing loans or issuing green bonds for its clients' projects aimed at limiting their energy consumption or improving the energy efficiency of their facilities, such as those of the US heating and air-conditioning network operator Vicinity Energy or the urban transport projects of the Bank of China.

BNP Paribas' ambition to these issues is also reflected in its investments in CleanTech and GreenTech start-ups. For example, BNP Paribas has invested in Metron, a CleanTech company specialising in energy efficiency and helping businesses optimise their consumption.

In the building sector, the Group's real estate subsidiary, BNP Paribas Real Estate, is committed to achieving levels of energy savings higher than current regulations. It also implements optimisation solutions to progressively reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions in the office buildings and commercial premises it builds, renovates and manages.

A specialist in mobility solutions, Arval currently manages the long-term leasing of more than 1.5 million vehicles and plans to manage a fleet of 700,000 electric vehicles by 2025. With numerous solutions that facilitate vehicle sharing, multi-modal travel and eco-driving, Arval offers its corporate customers and employees a wide range of initiatives that contribute to more energy-efficient mobility.

In many countries, older homes, which are often poorly insulated or equipped with inefficient heating systems, consume a lot of energy and add to the carbon footprint of their occupants. Conversely, more recent homes tend to be energy efficient, such as those built by BNP Paribas Real Estate, all of which are certified and labelled to guarantee compliance with standards and controlled energy consumption. 

As part of its retail banking activities, BNP Paribas plays an important role in helping its customers to maintain and renovate their homes by offering advice and tailor-made financing solutions.

In Belgium, BNP Paribas Fortis offers the Prêt Energie, a low-interest loan for energy renovations, while in Italy, BNL offers a range of solutions with partners specialising in renewable energy. These can take the form, for example, of reduced rates on boilers and heat pumps through Plénitude, a subsidiary of the energy company Eni, or a remote energy monitoring service with Puma Security, which allows electricity consumption to be monitored and controlled in real time via a mobile application.