… and Concrete Actions for Biodiversity Protection and Sustainability Trainings
French banks that are members of coalitions are also leveraging these groups to carry out collective actions. For example, BNP Paribas is a member of the coalition “Entreprises pour l’Environnement” (EpE), which spearheaded the international Act4Nature initiative. The initiative’s objective? To find solutions to preserve and restore biodiversity. Most French banks are also members of the Poseidon Principles, the leading international framework for climate alignment in shipping.
BNP Paribas allocated 6 billion euros in financing to companies helping to protect terrestrial and marine biodiversity by the end of 2025 (largely exceeding the initial target of 4 billion euros). For example, the Group arranged 130 million euros in blue bonds for development banks in Latin America; participated in a 500 million euro blue bond issuance to finance wastewater collection and treatment and seawater desalination solutions with less environmentally impactful technologies (SAUR); and contributed to the protection of the Ocean through an impact loan facility with the NGO Blue Alliance to finance the effective management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
Today, BNP Paribas bankers have the capacity to offer financing to their clients to contribute to the environmental transition. This social and environmental responsibility approach is integrated into the Group’s business. Moreover, the FBF study notes that beyond specialised professions, a growing proportion of French bank employees are fully aware of ESG issues thanks to dedicated training modules. By the end of 2025, nearly 500,000 French bank employees had received training on ESG subjects. Looking specifically at BNP Paribas, 160,000 employees have already taken part in at least one training on sustainable finance since the Group’s launch of its dedicated “Sustainability Academy” trainings in 2022. This includes nearly 71,000 employees trained in 2025 alone.