Managing the organization’s environmental impact

Our priorities are:

Companies belonging to the BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. Group focus in their activity on the respect for natural environment and implement their own policies and good practices regarding minimisation of the consumption of natural resources. They are bound by the BNP Paribas Group Code of Conduct which includes, among others, general guidelines on environmental protection. Monitoring of environmental indicators is performed at the BNP Paribas Group level.

Most of the companies of the BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. Capital Group that conduct operational activities are sub-tenants of space in the Bank’s headquarters:

• BNP Paribas Leasing Services Sp. z o.o. in January 2021 moved from the Bank’s headquarters at ul. Suwak 3 in Warsaw to the headquarters at ul. Grzybowska 78 (Prime building).
• BNP Paribas Group Service Center S.A. in January 2021 moved from the Bank’s headquarters at ul. Suwak 3 in Warsaw to the headquarters at ul. Grzybowska 78 (Prime building).
• BNP Paribas Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych at the headquarters at ul. Twarda 18 in Warsaw (Spektrum Tower).
• In January 2021, BNP Paribas Solutions Sp. z o.o. moved from the Bank’s headquarters at ul. Grzybowska 78 in Warsaw (Prime building) to the headquarters at ul. Kasprzaka 2 (Petrus building).
• BNP Paribas Financial Services Sp. z o.o. at the Bank’s headquarters at ul. Grzybowska 78 in Warsaw (Prime building).

They implement good practices regarding minimisation of resource consumption in force at BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. based at ul. Kasprzaka 2, Warsaw.

Campus Leszno Sp. z o.o. company operating under the marketing name: “Pałac pod Kampinosem” („the Palace near Kampinos Forest”) is located in Leszno at 1 Fabryczna street.

To counteract its negative environmental impact, the Company continued its plastic exit process, which began in 2019. At the Company’s facility, drinks and juices are served in reusable vessels: pitchers, carafes and glass diffusers. The Company has completely abandoned the purchase of water in plastic bottles and replaced it with dispensers – all Company employees as well as guests of the facility have unlimited access to filtered drinking water. The Company has also reduced the use of plastic in ordered promotional and advertising materials and office supplies. The facility segregates waste, and employees and guests are educated on the responsible use of resources. The company also collects used batteries and toners, which are being handed over to recycling companies. The Company, due to its service and catering activities, out of concern for the safety of Customers during the pandemic, has decided to temporarily use disposable accessories only to the extent necessary to conduct business.

BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. is successively eliminating the use of plastic in its operations since 2019. The possibility of ordering disposable accessories and drinks in plastic bottles has been withdrawn from eCommerce platforms. Head offices, business centers and branches have been equipped with water dispensers, carafes and glasses. Minimization of plastic consumption can also be felt in canteens in the Bank’s headquarters: plastic cutlery and packaging have been replaced with ecological and compostable ones. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the promotion of coming for meals with one’s own containers was temporarily stopped for the safety of employees and Clients.

The waste composting program continued in the canteen at the Bank’s headquarters in Warsaw in the new Petrus building at 2 Kasprzaka Street. The compost produced fertilizes the surrounding lawns. In addition, employees can take it home to nourish their plants. The organization plans to expand the composting program in 2021 at other headquarters.

We make every effort to ensure that the products available in the wending machines at the Bank’s headquarters are packaged in environmentally friendly packaging, such as glass bottles.

In 2020, we will improve the process of archiving documents in the Bank. We have implemented new policies regarding the use of plastic document sleeves.

We separate waste at our facilities into fractions in accordance with the law and the regulations of local municipalities.

The Bank promotes and produces sustainable marketing gadgets: reusable lunchboxes, bottles and eco-bags. Outdated promotional materials are given a second life or donated to community organizations. Marketing materials such as roll-ups are recycled into useful accessories such as bags and backpacks.

We are also committed to using eco-friendly alternatives to plastic sheeting for our branch windows, which is free of PVC and other environmentally harmful chemicals. The ecological film we use is collected from our branches and processed into granulate that can be reused in the production of all polypropylene materials, such as water pipes and tanks, medical accessories (e.g. syringes), carpets and linings, all kinds of housings and cable insulation, car parts (e.g. bumpers) and toys.

For several years, furniture and equipment left over from facility closings or renovations has been donated to community organizations, schools and hospitals. In 2020, the furniture and equipment remaining after the Bank moved to a new location was made available for employees to buy. Each employee could, for a symbolic one złoty (1PLN), buy the furniture which gained a second life and furnished their home offices. Additionally, the remaining pieces of equipment were donated to community organizations, including the Habitat for Humanity Foundation, which runs a charity store „ReStore” at 12 Łojewska Street in Warsaw’s Bródno district. It is a non-profit store with furniture and interior decoration and finishing materials received in the form of donations and available at very attractive prices. Profits generated from sales are allocated to the Habitat for Humanity Poland Foundation to meet its statutory goals. The ReStore is a unique project promoting charitable, ecological and creative attitudes, bringing generations together and integrating the local community.

In 2019, thanks to the implementation of the new E-delegacje tool, we have completely eliminated paper and printed delegation requests. The process was digitised and new functionalities streamlined the work and displaced paper forms. In 2020, we developed paperless initiatives by, among other things, implementing other Bank applications to facilitate paperless work.

• 260.3 t – purchase of paper for printing equipment at BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. in 2020*
• 14% – reduction in paper purchases during the reporting period for 2020 as compared to 2019.

*Data covers the reporting period from 01.10.2019 to 30.09.2020 to ensure consistency in the scope of data reporting locally and within the BNP Paribas Group.

In 2020, BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. in cooperation with the auditing firm KPMG conducted an analysis of the environmental impact of paperless initiatives.

According to the Report, paperless initiatives saved approximately 880,000 sheets of paper (1,800 reams) in 2020. These actions translate into avoiding the emission of 3.6 tons of carbon dioxide. This corresponds to the volume of almost 1 hot air balloon or 22 trucks.

Since the launch of the paperless initiative for digitalization of Customer documentation, i.e. since 2018, a total of nearly 1.4 million sheets of paper has been saved at BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A., which translates into approximately 2.8 thousand reams of A4 paper. It was estimated that paper savings in 2018-2020 at this level avoided generating as much as 5.7t of CO₂ and consuming 155m³ of water. It would take almost 11 months for 1ha of forest of „mature” deciduous trees to absorb this amount of CO₂.

In our offices, we implement solutions which reduce water usage. The used plumbing devices are equipped with mechanisms reducing water consumption by several times, e.g. aerators and motion sensors. Used equipment gives possibility to use ecological dish-washing programs.

• In 2020. BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. Group used 59,754m³ of water.
• BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. used 57,642 m³ of water.

• A significant decrease in water consumption was observed in 2020. (by 21,468 m³ of water at the BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. Group level) as compared to the previous reporting period. This is due to the transition of employees to the remote work mode caused by the pandemic.

In 2020, there was a change (shift) in the reporting period of water consumption data. BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. has adopted reporting deadlines in line with those used by the global BNP Paribas Group. Water consumption data cover the period from 1 November 2019 to 31 October 2020.

As part of our environmental responsibility, we reduce emissions of harmful substances into the environment. For this purpose, for several years we have been introducing hybrid cars to our fleet. We also own electric cars, which are at the disposal of our employees while moving around Warsaw.

In 2020, we have nearly doubled the number of hybrid cars owned. After the finalization of the plan implemented in 2020, they account for more than 70% of Class B cars used by the Bank’s retail branches. The state of the fleet as of 31.12.2020 is 1,450 cars. Currently, our fleet includes 2 fully electric cars and 174 hybrid cars. In the light of the prospect of integrating electric cars or plug-in hybrids into the fleet, and also for our Clients, in 2020 we have equipped our Warsaw headquarters (Prime and Petrus buildings) with six electric chargers enabling simultaneous charging of 16 cars. There are plans to install additional stations in the headquarters in Cracow and Ruda Śląska

In 2020, we implemented a new business travel policy. Its goal is to encourage employees to reduce business travel, resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Employees are encouraged to:

• use online meeting options instead of organizing business trips
• choice of green means of transport, e.g. railways,
• sharing of company cars,
• non-printing of tickets.

We support low-carbon measures because they not only have measurable environmental effects, but also provide new impulse for economic development and are an important part of our mission.

Due to the rapid pace of global warming, the European Union has set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2030, as compared to 1990, and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Therefore, new regulations are being introduced in the EU, the purpose of which is to persuade enterprises to measure and report to stakeholders (regulators, supervisors, Customers and social environment) about the climate impact and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2018, the European Parliament issued a report proposing amendments to the draft of Sustainable Investments Regulation. The report proposes to add information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in three scopes, the so-called scope 1, 2, 3 emissions, to the previously adopted scope of information (defined by the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26. June 2013 on annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings).

The results should be presented in relation to the climate objectives of the European Union.

The organization’s carbon footprint includes the total sum of greenhouse gas emissions caused directly or indirectly by the organization

Activities carried out by BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. in the field of reducing emissions from its operating activities:

• purchase of energy from renewable sources and purchase of certificates of guarantee of origin,
• minimizing energy consumption,

• successive replacement of the cars in the Bank’s fleet with hybrid or electric ones,
• restricting business travel.

Thanks to the decisions made in 2020, another banking „Apiary under the stars” will be opened in spring 2021 in Kraków, while the apiaries in Warsaw and Ruda Śląska will be enlarged. Additionally, an apiinhalation hut will be built in Ruda Śląska to serve the employees and the local community.

To strengthen its bee advocacy efforts, in 2020 the Bank began working with Fundacja Pszczoła (“the Bee Foundation”), the priorities of which include promoting beekeeping knowledge and protecting wild pollinators.

Moreover, we support the Beekeeper of the Year contest, aimed at popularizing knowledge about beekeeping and its importance for biodiversity. Thanks to this initiative, we can disseminate good practices in the field of environmental protection and ecological education.

As the Bank of Green Changes, BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. undertakes numerous climate actions, often combining the product offering with the popularisation of environmental attitudes and initiatives. The year 2020 was exceptionally „green”. Thanks to the commitment of its Customers and partners, the Bank planted in total over 60 thousand trees – from native species to aerobic trees with exceptional oxygen production capabilities. BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. encouraged its Customers to create the „Great Oxygen Gardens” together. For each open account or cash loan granted, the Bank undertook to plant an Oxytree tree which absorbs almost 10 times more CO₂ than the most popular domestic deciduous tree species. The pandemic has prevented for all 50,000 trees pledged by the Bank to be planted this year, but the first plantings have already been established. As of June 2020, 21 thousand oxygen trees are growing in controlled plantations in Sarbia and Radomieck in Lubusz Voivodeship. Further sites for next year’s plantations are also already prepared.

In the middle of the twentieth century, forests covered slightly more than one fifth of Poland’s area, and today – just under one third. Although forest areas in our country are expanding, there is a need to restore areas that, for example, suffered from storms. In 2017, after violent storms, tens of thousands of hectares of forests were destroyed, including over 2,200 hectares of forest in the Runowo Forest Inspectorate in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. got involved in this initiative as part of its participation in the Carbon Dioxide Unit auction. The funds for the purchased Carbon Dioxide Units allowed to restore about 5 ha of forest near Bydgoszcz (Drzewianowo Forestry). In November and December 2020, approx. 25 thousand mainly deciduous trees were planted there, e.g. oaks, beeches, lindens, sycamores and others.

Additionally, BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. took part in Reforest Action campaign. Its objective was to plant one tree for each EUR 1,000 invested within socially responsible investments. It was related to the issue of structured certificates: Environmentally Friendly Companies, Environmentally Friendly Companies II, Climate Investment, Climate Investment II. Thanks to the Bank’s Clients, in October more than 14,000 trees of various species were planted in Lipusz, Pomeranian Voivodeship, where forests were destroyed by a storm in 2017. More information on this page.

In 2020, through the BNP Paribas Foundation, we donated PLN 20 thousand to help save the Biebrza National Park, which has been consumed by fires for years. Thousands of hectares of habitats of endangered species have already been burnt. For BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A., concern for the natural environment is a key commitment and the foundation of responsible business. Involvement in counteracting the natural disaster and supporting the burning Biebrza National Park, for BNP Paribas, is a natural reaction. The Bank encourages everyone who is not indifferent to the fate of our planet to get involved. More information on this page.