Corporate social and environmental responsibility
Thanks to its CSR policy, the Banque de France has incorporated sustainable development into both its strategy and its day-to-day operations.
The Banque de France was one of the first French public institutions to define a CSR strategy, thanks initially to the strong overlap between CSR concerns and its mandate as a central bank (education of the public, sound financing of the economy, etc.). Its new CSR 2021-24 strategy has four main pillars:
We have been striving to reduce our environmental footprint since 2008 and have now extended this commitment with three new objectives:
We have set ourselves ambitious reduction targets for our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 2024 and 2030, continuing the efforts made since 2014. The next milestone is 2024, when we aim to have cut our GHG emissions by at least 15% compared with 2019, over a reporting scope that, at this stage, includes energy use, business travel, staff commuting to work, waste and fugitive emissions mainly linked to leaks of refrigerant gases from air conditioning systems.
Our net zero commitment is part of an overall climate strategy that is consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement and uses all possible levers for action. We are notably defining a low carbon trajectory with a medium-term milestone of 2030, and are developing new tools to monitor and control our GHG emissions at a granular level.
We are contributing to the national energy sobriety plan and have defined a clear roadmap with concrete targets for our energy use. We are raising staff awareness of energy sobriety through training, workshops and other tools. To encourage digital sobriety, staff now have access to a personal digital profile where they can monitor and limit their use of our messaging systems. We are also working to reduce the environmental footprint of our IT systems and adopting sustainable practices in our application development.
Reduction in GHG emissions in 2021 compared with 2019 over the defined reporting scope
Reduction in GHG emissions in 2022 compared with 2019 over the defined reporting scope
Total Banque de France GHG emissions in 2022, in tCO₂e (ADEME methodology)
By the end of 2022, more than 50% of Banque de France staff had taken the online training course on climate challenges. 800 had taken part in one of the Climate Fresk workshops organised by the 38 Banque de France staff trained to hold these sessions. Our target for 2024 is for over 75% of staff to have received training on climate challenges.
In 2021, all staff were provided with a personal digital profile. In 2022, two new indicators were added: the number of pages printed and the number of emails sent between 7 p.m. and 7.30 a.m. (outside normal working hours).
Number of staff trained on climate challenges in 2022
Number of staff who used their personal digital profile in 2022
Our commitments:
We aim to ensure that by 2024 at least 35% of female staff hold positions of responsibility (deputy director or above at the head office or in the branch network), and are continuing our efforts to reduce the gender pay gap. In terms of governance, our target is for at least 40% of our Executive Board members to be female by 2024, four years ahead of the legal deadline. We are also committed to keeping the share of disabled staff in our workforce at a minimum of 6%.
The skills needed to carry out our different activities are changing. As a result, we have negotiated a career management agreement with social partners, and signed a company-wide training and skills development agreement that goes beyond the legal framework in place.
Regarding the working environment, we have signed agreements to foster remote working and create a better work-life balance. We also encourage participative approaches, especially for projects to reduce our environmental footprint. Staff are invited to take part in these initiatives through in-house challenges and intrapreneurship (laboratory gardens, digital sobriety, re-use of shredded banknotes, marketplace for swapping and giving away items).
Share of women holding a management position at the Banque de France at the end of 2022, up from 23% in 2017 and exceeding the target set for 2024 in the amendment to the company-wide agreement
The Banque de France’s gender equality index score in 2022. The average for French companies with over 50 staff was 86/100
Over three-quarters of Banque de France staff signed a remote working agreement in September 2021
Share of people with disabilities in the Banque de France’s workforce in 2022
The Banque de France uses corporate sponsorship as a tool to serve the public interest. Its main sponsorship focuses are:
We strive to preserve and enrich the Bank’s historical heritage (buildings of historical interest, collections, etc.) and make it accessible to the general public (European Heritage Days, exhibitions, organisation of concerts). We also aim to promote our cultural heritage and its links with the Banque de France’s history, key figures in its past and France’s economic and monetary history.
Our corporate sponsorship in this field focuses on the social integration of vulnerable segments of the population and the socio-economic development of local territories, in partnership with local, general interest associations, economic partners and actors from the social and solidarity economy.
We support projects linked to preserving the environment and biodiversity, and guiding the energy transition.
Our corporate sponsorship can take different forms, at both national and regional level:
Share of staff who took part in a solidarity project in 2022. We aim to achieve an annual rate of staff participation in solidarity initiatives of over 10%, with an increase of 15% between 2020 and 2024
Number of projects supported since 2021, representing a total sponsorship budget of €13.9 million at end-2022. Our aim is to support at least 350 projects with a total budget of €25 million over 2021-24
We aim to lead by example in our investments and procurement, and involve all staff and directorates in our approach. Our objectives are to:
We are continuing to reinforce our responsible investment policy for our own funds and pension liabilities portfolios, which are the sole responsibility of the Banque de France.
We are continuing to apply our responsible procurement policy with the aim of encouraging suppliers to commit to reducing their carbon footprint. 250 of our suppliers have signed our Responsible Procurement Charter. At the end of 2022, 35% of our procurement procedures incorporated environmental and societal considerations in the form of criteria or clauses.
We have adopted an innovative approach based on the incorporation of extra-financial criteria into our in-house investment choices (IT projects, real estate and industrial investments). Our goal is to ensure that staff fully understand the impacts of their choices.
The approach has numerous benefits:
Extra-financial analysis has thus been incorporated into the governance of our operational investments, in addition to the financial analysis approach.
We also endeavour to make sure that all IT projects take into account digital sobriety and eco-design considerations.
Alignment achieved on portfolios dedicated to equity and pension commitments, assets for which the Bank has full responsibility
New alignment objective following the achievement of the initial objective
Updated on 29 February 2024