Committed to a policy of corporate social responsibility (CSR) since 2006, BNP Paribas Assurance has had a ‘carbon balance sheet’ drawn up for all its activities in all 41 countries in which it operates, as part of a voluntary policy that has enabled it to quantify its greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with their origin and to establish an internal basis of comparison.

The study shows that BNP Paribas Assurance emits on average an equivalent of 6.4 tons of CO2 per year per employee. In comparison, a French citizen emits 9 tons per year, if both work-related and private activities are included. The main headings under which large emissions were found to occur at the company were energy, air travel, journeys to and from work, and depreciation (scrapping of equipment).
With this in mind, BNP Paribas Assurance has drawn up an ambitious plan of action aimed at reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 10% by 2010.

The planned measures will focus on 3 main areas:

- Energy, by switching to greener sources of energy,
- Business travel, by reducing the number of air journeys and by progressively replacing the vehicles in the company’s fleet with ‘clean’ vehicles,
- Depreciation, by reducing the rate at which IT equipment is scrapped and replaced.

In addition, each country is being asked to draw up a plan of action on the basis of its own carbon balance sheet.
This first carbon balance sheet will act as a benchmark that will help BNP Paribas Assurance to measure the impact of the measures it takes. The next full survey will be conducted in 2011.
*Developed by ADEME (Agence De l’Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l’Energie, or Environmental and Energy Control Agency), the carbon balance sheet is a method for putting a figure on and accounting for emissions of greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, etc) caused directly or indirectly by a business or administrative activity. CO2 is used as a unit of reference.