Back to press releases
  • Sustainable finance
  • Press release

BNP Paribas Assurance introduces energy compensation measures

- Energy consumption by BNP Paribas Assurance headquarters and websites will be offset by production of equivalent volumes of renewable energies.
- The company's two websites awarded “Green Electricity Label”.
- This initiative is part of BNP Paribas Assurance's ongoing commitment to exemplary Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).


BNP Paribas Assurance has formed a partnership with French electricity company EDF to implement compensation measures for all energy consumption at the insurer's headquarters.

The straightforward mechanism is based on the purchase of offset certificates. This means that the volume of energy consumed by operations at BNP Paribas Assurance headquarters is compensated by production and injection to the power grid of electricity generated by renewable sources (hydraulic, solar, wind power, etc.).

At the same time, the functioning of the www.assurance.bnpparibas.com and www.cardif.com websites (server hosting, connections, visits, etc.), which represents significant carbon emissions, will also be covered by energy offsets.

The tangible effectiveness of this offset scheme has been validated by the award of the “Green Electricity” label to both sites. The label is awarded by Watt Value, a French firm specialized in certification of renewable energy sources.

These mechanisms follow the carbon audit carried out in 2008 by BNP Paribas Assurance and are aligned with the company's proactive environmental policy.

BNP Paribas Assurance carried out a comprehensive carbon audit in 2008 spanning all its activities in order to assess its aggregate environmental impact*. The audit showed that energy consumption was one of the main sources of carbon emissions.

Taking these findings into account, BNP Paribas Assurance committed to a 10-percent reduction in carbon emissions by the end of 2010. Among the measures selected to achieve is a contribution to the production of renewable energy.


*See press release dated December 3, 2008: “BNP Paribas Assurance to reduce CO2 emissions by 2010”.


About BNP Paribas Assurance
BNP Paribas Assurance (www.assurance.bnpparibas.com) is the Life and Property & Casualty insurance unit of BNP Paribas. It develops and markets products and services under two commercial brands. Products distributed through the BNP Paribas retail branch network in France are branded BNP Paribas. Those distributed by other channels in France and in international markets are branded Cardif.
BNP Paribas Assurance is the world leader in creditor insurance and the fourth-largest life insurance company in France. Its life and non-life insurance units have received an AA rating from Standard & Poor's.
BNP Paribas Assurance is actively committed to exemplary Corporate Social Responsibility. It has adopted a Socially Responsible Investment program, encourages diversity throughout the enterprise (earning the
"Gender Equality at Work" label in France) and supports local economic development in the markets where it operates.
BNP Paribas is equally committed to environmental responsibility and has deployed an action plan to achieve a 10-percent reduction in the company's carbon emissions.
It had gross written premiums of 20.7 billion euros in 2009. With a diversified geographic footprint, BNP Paribas Assurance has strong positions in Europe, Latin America and Asia. In 2009, BNP Paribas
Assurance generated 41% of its gross written premiums outside France.
It counts over 8,000 employees, 74% of them outside France.