Promoting eco-attitudes and climate justice

We are living on credit against the Earth, and the ecological debt is increasing dramatically. Combating climate change is the responsibility of all of us – governments, companies and institutions, NGOs and citizens. At BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. we believe that big changes start with us. Therefore, we pay a lot of attention to educating our employees and their relatives about climate change.

Their knowledge and involvement translate into responsible everyday choices, initiating eco-improvements in the organization and its environment and dynamic development of „green” products and services. Guided by this conviction, in April 2019 we inaugurated the Bank of Green Changes program, an important part of which is an educational campaign aimed at employees and their loved ones.

The first edition of the educational campaign, under the slogan „Responsible use of resources”, enjoyed great interest among employees. During the 1st edition, 2,500 employees were involved in various educational activities – almost ¼ of the entire organization. Following its success, in April 2020, the Bank launched the 2nd edition of the campaign under the slogan „Responsible Consumption and Sustainable Lifestyle”, which covered a variety of topics including: the environmental impact of the pandemic, sustainable agriculture and food production, responsible shopping and eco-mobility. The Bank is already planning topics for the next edition of the campaign. In each edition, the Bank’s employees receive a dose of ecological knowledge – tips and ready-made solutions to help them live in harmony with the planet, learn about the causes and effects of climate change and ways to counteract them.

Employees can regularly check their knowledge through thematic quizzes. Eco-experts will receive environmentally friendly gadgets to help them implement the principles of zero waste. The Bank also encourages employees to undertake monthly eco-challenges and share their ideas and achievements. This way, we reinforce eco-attitudes among employees. As a part of the campaign, a special page has been created on the internal intranet – a repository of ecological knowledge for the employees of BNP Paribas Bank Polska SA. It contains practical guides, information on waste segregation, eco-themed coloring pages for kids, and – in cooperation with the organizers of the Karków Green Film Festival – a database of films about the impact of human activity on the environment, climate change and ways to counteract it. The program includes inspirational meetings and workshops as well as webinars. Knowledge was shared with the Bank’s employees by recognized experts, such as Franck Courchamp – creator of the documentary film „Insignificant” and Marcin Popkiewicz – nuclear physicist, climatologist, author of the book „Nauka o Klimacie” („The Climate Science”). The content partner of the educational campaign is UNEP/GRID-Warszawa.

BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A., as part of its climate actions, organises campaigns to support the promotion of eco-attitudes among employees and their loved ones. In 2018 and 2019, as part of the „Let’s Connect Our Cities” campaign, our employee volunteers in cooperation with the Łąka („Meadow”) Foundation planted flower meadows in Warsaw, Krakow and Ruda Śląska.

In September 2019, the Bank, in partnership with the Our Earth Foundation and under the patronage of the Director General of State Forests, organized the #TrashChallenge campaign.

In 2020, out of concern for the safety of employees during the pandemic, volunteer actions did not take place; however, the Bank and the BNP Paribas Foundation encouraged employees and their relatives to make an individual commitment to the environment.

Concern for the environment is something that BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. strives to promote among Clients, partners and all stakeholders. Following the eco-commitment of our employees, in 2019 we developed a campaign „Climate change costs money”. We try to infect our partners with concern for the environment, including „newonce” magazine and „newonce” radio, which in 2019 has developed a series of broadcasts and podcasts called KLIMAT („Climate”). They are available here.

As the Bank of Green Changes, we have been supporting sustainable agriculture for years and have taken many initiatives for climate protection and low-carbon economy development. In 2020, we implemented a campaign to promote rational nitrogen fertilization of soils, as part of which we provided farmers with a special calculator, free of charge. Fertilizers containing nitrogen are, of course, necessary for crop production and the law does not require farmers to completely abandon them, but nitrogen pollution of waters from this source is one of the most significant threats to the environment. Thanks to the intuitive calculator, the farmer can precisely calculate how much manure he can use to achieve the desired results and at the same time minimize the negative impact on the environment. The tool, available on our portal Agronomist.pl, can be used thanks to the staff of the Agricultural Advisory Centre in Brwinów.

The launch of the tool was accompanied by a media campaign aimed at raising awareness of the importance of sustainable fertilization. The Polish Association of Sustainable Agriculture „ASAP” was the content partner of the campaign, while PWR, publisher of such titles as „Tygodnik Poradnik Rolniczy” (“Weekly Agricultural Guide”) and „Top Agrar”, was its media partner. More information: https://www.bnpparibas.pl/Bankzielonychzmian/

In 2020, as part of the BNP Paribas Talks project, we produced a series of podcasts under the theme „Ecology”. Our guests included Maria Andrzejewska, Director of the UNEP/GRID-Warszawa Centre and Adriana Palka, a respected runner and personal trainer. During the conversation listeners could learn more about the idea of the „Green Ribbon #forPlanet” campaign. We also hosted Orina Krajewska, who spoke about healthy and ecological lifestyle during pandemic and Marek Kaminski, a traveler promoting eco-mobility. Our Bank experts also spoke as part of the series. Bartosz Urbaniak, Head of Agro Banking of BNP Paribas for Central Eastern Europe and Africa, talked about drought, while Rafał Makowski, Managing Director of Consumer Finance Sales in our Bank, discussed the boom on the solar market. Podcasts can be listened to on Spotify and at: https://talks-bnpparibas.pl/

As emphasized by the organizer of the campaign, the UNEP/GRID-Warsaw, the loss of biodiversity is not just the disappearance of one or another species from the face of the Earth. It is a risk of a whole range of undesirable side effects – from the spread of alien invasive species in a given area, through the weakening of the ability of forests and peatlands to absorb greenhouse gases, to the increasing risk of the spread of already known – and appearance of completely new – zoonotic diseases (e.g. COVID-19).

The situation we all find ourselves in now, reminds us that despite advanced development, we are still subject to the laws of nature and we should take immediate action to take the best possible care of our planet – the diversity of species and ecosystems. Only this way do we have a chance to contain the climate crisis.

As a partner of the „Green Ribbon #ForPlanet” campaign, we encouraged our employees, Customers and surroundings to take eco-friendly actions. The highlight of the campaign was the celebration of World Environment Day (June 5). By joining the campaign and the World Environment Day celebrations, we also contribute to global activities organized under the aegis of the United Nations Organization.

More information about the campaign: http://dlaplanety.pl/

We believe that by raising awareness and sharing best practices, we can protect our planet. Therefore, in 2020. BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. has become the main sponsor of the third edition of Krakow Green Film Festival. KGFF is an international festival of ecological films, which gathers the best productions from all over the world. The idea of the event is to educate and promote pro-ecological attitudes through films, discussions, panels and other accompanying events, which content value was taken care of by UN Global Compact Network Poland.

The screenings took place in six outdoor cinemas in the most charming corners of Krakow. Out of almost a thousand films from all over the world which were submitted to the festival, about 70 were qualified for the main competition. An alternative form of participation in the festival was a free streaming platform where all of the competing films were made available.

Videos from Kraków Green Film Festival are available at: https://vod.greenfestival.pl/

BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. as a responsible financial institution undertakes a number of actions to promote natural environment protection. The Bank’s experts actively participate in industry and sector events where they promote climate justice, e.g. in 2020 during the European Financial Congress our Bank hosted the debate „Air protection, water crisis, green energy – the role of the financial sector in the development of programs and tools to support sustainable transformation.

The Bank is a partner of UN Global Compact Network Poland. As part of the partnership, it has joined the „Climate Positive” programme (until 2020 the programme was called „SDG 11 – Sustainable cities”). Within the partnership, the Bank supports UN Global Compact actions that promote green attitudes. The Chairman of BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A., Przemek Gdański, is a member of the UNGC Programme Council. He also participates in the annual Yearbook publication presenting the Bank’s activities and urging consumers, companies and institutions to get involved in initiatives under the 13th Sustainable Development Goal – Climate Action.