OREANDA-NEWS. In 2014, BNP Paribas strengthened its actions to fight against deforestation with the adoption of the “Soft Commodities Compact”, a joint initiative of the Banking Environment Initiative (BEI) and the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF). BNP Paribas is therefore working actively with CGF companies to help achieve net zero deforestation in their supply chains by 2020. The CGF has prioritised four of its supply chains (palm oil, soy, beef and pulp and paper) to deliver this goal.

On October, 1st 2015, BNP Paribas became a member of the BEI, a group of international banks working to collectively direct capital towards socially and environmentally sustainable economic development.

Hence, BNP Paribas reinforces its collaboration with other financial institutions on various topics related to regulation, circular economy or innovating banking products and services.

Andrew Voysey, Director of Finance Sector Platforms at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership(1) declared:

“The BEI has been pleased to work with BNP Paribas for over a year as a non-member bank that adopted the BEI’s Soft Commodities Compact with the Consumer Goods Forum. Today’s news signals the value that BNP Paribas has seen in what the BEI is doing, whether driving industry-level standards that accelerate the emergence of new business norms, innovating banking products and services that address unmet needs in a sustainable economy; or helping policy-makers and regulators evolve a level playing field for sustainable business models. We look forward to working with BNP Paribas more broadly across the BEI’s program.”

Laurence Pessez, BNP Paribas Head of Corporate Social Responsibility said:

“BNP Paribas is convinced that financial institutions can play a predominant role in developing a sustainable economy. Setting up an ambitious strategy, we are committed to a set of policies which enable us to adapt to the changes taking place in our society while also ensuring high performance and maintaining the Group’s stability. We are glad to have the opportunity to share our views and experience with other top international financial institutions and academic institutes, as we did when we joined the BEI Soft Commodities Compact group in April 2014. Today, we are pleased to announce our membership to the BEI where we can share ideas and discuss various topics related to financing a sustainable economy, beyond tackling deforestation in agricultural supply chains".

(1) The BEI is convened by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), which provides the BEI’s Secretariat.