A flight in an electric plane to celebrate five years of Solar Impulse

André, who developed this technology as part of his H55 project, is very happy to be able to show the potential of clean aviation.

Now it’s just the two of us, but in the next two or three years you’ll see that a plane like this will be able to carry around 10 people. A decade from now, we’ll see the first shuttle planes carrying passengers between European cities, with limited impact in terms of noise and CO₂ emissions.

André Borschberg

An incredible round-the-world trip in a solar plane

On 26 July 2016, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg managed to travel more than 40,000 km around the globe, over 16 months, aboard a solar-powered aircraft without using any fuel.

Solar Impulse 2 flew at an average speed of around 80 km/h using batteries that store the solar energy captured by some 17,000 photovoltaic cells on its wings. They crossed the world with the aim of demonstrating the huge potential of clean technology and renewable energy.

The Solar Impulse Foundation to reconcile economy and environment

Following the success of this historic flight, Bertrand Piccard created the Solar Impulse Foundation in 2017 with a view to identifying, selecting and promoting 1,000 clean and profitable technologies. The target of 1,000 solutions was reached on 13 April 2021. And the adventure continues…

Our conviction that clean technologies can create a sustainable system that boosts the economy while protecting the environment is not a pipe dream.

BNP Paribas in Switzerland – partner to the Solar Impulse Foundation since 2017

The expertise of BNP Paribas in Switzerland for Solar Impulse certification

​The Solar Impulse Efficient Solution label has been created to bridge the gap between economy and environment. It is awarded to clean technologies having a highly positive environmental impact along with a sound business model.

Since 2017, BNP Paribas in Switzerland has been applying its risk management skills through volunteering placements for employees.

To mark Swiss « overshoot day » – the date on which our resource consumption exceeds the Earth’s capacity to regenerate those resources – we are taking stock of the environmental initiatives undertaken by BNP Paribas in Switzerland and our staff.

The BNP Paribas Group is committed to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and strives to make the world a better place. As part of this commitment, BNP Paribas in Switzerland acts locally to assist with the protection of the environment, and biodiversity especially.

Supporting the environment protection

Although the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically reduced travel internationally and locally, not enough is being done for the environment in light of the sustainable development goals. This is why it is important to continue to work to protect the environment, from both a business perspective and in terms of our commitments.

At BNP Paribas Group, we commit to taking strong positions both in our professional activities and in the bank’s offering. For example, the Group has committed to withdrawing completely from financing coal and to putting in place a strategy to assist the energy transition.

Our teams in Switzerland have also undertaken to redesign our product offering. Our Jet & Yacht Finance teams have expanded their range through the Tick&Donate concept (enabling clients to support an organisation that is committed to protecting the oceans for example) but also by offering to support projects dedicated to reducing carbon emissions. Our teams also support our clients in switching to responsible investments and issuing Green Bonds.

It is also our aim to reduce our environmental footprint as an employer. In fact, the BNP Paribas Group has actually been carbon neutral since 2017. Between 2012 and 2019, BNP Paribas in Switzerland cut CO₂ emissions by 49% through various initiatives such as encouraging our staff to choose eco-friendly travel options, reducing the number of business trips by 63% and lowering our energy consumption by 25%.

The scope of our commitment also involves philanthropic efforts and mobilising our employees around the causes that we believe in. The BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation has been supporting the Swiss Polar Institute through the Polar Access Fund to encourage and offer financial support to young people conducting research into climate change.
Similarly, as the energy transition is a key factor in responding to the challenges set by COP21, we have been supporting the Solar Impulse foundation since 2017 to assist with research into sustainable and profitable solutions.

Our employees are also committed

Beyond offering a range of products and services that make a positive impact, our primary objective is to motivate our staff to support the values that we uphold.

In 2019, BNP Paribas Group launched the 1 Million Hours 2 Help programme, the aim of which was to promote volunteering among our staff in the areas we support, namely the environment, young people, entrepreneurs and local challenges.

Despite the upheaval of 2020, with lockdown restrictions and social distancing measures being introduced, our employees came together to support those in need and to work to protect the environment, notably by building beehives for bee conservation and participating in efforts to clean Lake Geneva.

For 2021, two weeks of volunteering have already been organised, with more than 130 participants involved in 22 different projects.

With the help of our staff, we thus continue to be environmentally proactive in order to help push back the date on which the world or, on this day, Switzerland, consumes more than the Earth can provide in one year.

Saturday 5 December is International Volunteer Day. Launched by the UN in 1985, this event is an opportunity to thank all volunteers who work with charities for a fairer and more united world, and thus contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

2020: a difficult year but with an outpouring of solidarity

With the COVID-19 health crisis, 2020 was a turbulent year that disrupted all of our daily lives, both professionally and in terms of work/life balance.

Despite this complex situation that one might expect would hinder affirmative action, the BNP Paribas Group kept its #1MillionHours2Help programme running all year long, aiming to reach 1 million hours of volunteering during working hours.

In Switzerland, 35 volunteering events were held in Geneva, Zurich and Lugano between January and December 2020, mobilising a large number of the bank’s staff.

Record mobilisation for corporate volunteering

The various solidarity programmes have rallied more than 500 volunteers from the bank’s workforce, more than double last year’s number.

This week is the last key moment of the year for many Group territories, and the total amount of volunteering in Switzerland is likely to exceed 1,500 hours, an increase of more than 75% on 2019!

From 12 to 16 October 2020, a series of events at the bank highlighted various diversity and inclusion issues, and provoked discussion of some inspiring stories.

Gender, age, sexual orientation, physical appearance, origin and religion as well as education and social/personal background are all characteristics that make each of us unique, but can also lead to discrimination. This is why it is essential to address these matters and discuss them openly.

The bank’s Diversity and Inclusion Week provided nearly 230 members of staff with an opportunity to meet up and discuss the issues at stake.

Workshops to encourage inclusive behaviour

Two training programmes on sexism/harassment and employee parenthood were offered to equip staff for a better life together, at the bank and at home.

This year the bank changed its “new parents” support policy, in particular by extending birth leave (maternity, adoption and second parent) to all family types. Encouraging a healthy work/life balance is also central to our commitments as a responsible employer.

Inspiring inclusive leadership

Caroline Courtin, Group Head of Diversity & Inclusion, reminded our staff of the core role that managers play in ensuring diversity and inclusion. Through discussions with and stories from some of the bank’s other managers in Switzerland, including Lionel Berthier, Head of Human Resources in Switzerland, BNP Paribas presented the various forms of support available to help managers understand this responsibility.

“[To be an inclusive manager] is really about us embodying inclusivity and being a role model through our behaviours and actions. […] Creating a respectful workplace creates and fosters productivity, makes people feel comfortable, feel free to speak and to bring new ideas and it all translate value to client, and ultimately to the bank.” Garrick Smith, Head of BNP Securities Services.

Three internal networks open to all staff have been set up at BNP Paribas in Switzerland to foster meaningful dialogue and help promote diversity within the company.

Supporting women in their personal and professional development

Founded in 2015, MixCity is an association that supports women in their personal and professional development. It strives to challenge attitudes to the issues women face in the workplace that can sometimes hold them back in their careers.

Members of the association, which is active around the world at Group level, now account for almost 10% of staff in Switzerland, 130 of whom are ordinary members and four of whom sit on the organising committee.

As a platform for listening and reflection, MixCity organises events and workshops that anyone can attend. A recent workshop on the mental load, for example, invited participants to explore ways to achieve a healthy work-life balance. A mentoring programme has also been set up to support female refugees looking for work in partnership with a charity.

The association is keen to join up with other Swiss companies offering similar initiatives.

The association is active within the bank and externally. If you would like to explore these themes at your company, contact them.

It runs three different programmes: We Get Inspired through talks and interviews, We Share our experiences in small groups and lastly We Network, which organises networking events.

Over 20 events have been organised so far. Some involved learning from one another, whereas others featured scientists, artists and academics who expanded the horizons of everyone in attendance.

Since the BNP Paribas premises partially reopened, staff have taken part in a number of solidarity initiatives, both in person and online, to assist vulnerable communities in the region and organisations that have been forced to review their activities in light of COVID-19. Thanks to our partner Alaya, whether by computer, in the field or in the form of donations, charitable initiatives have by no means gone away over the summer.

Remote brainstorming sessions to support charities

In order to provide charities with support while maintaining social distancing, remote brainstorming sessions were held in July. The principle is as follows: a charity requests assistance regarding an issue it is facing and bank staff pool their knowledge to find solutions. For example, the organisation Right to Play received advice on its fundraising strategy and the group Echappés De La Coulisse (EDLC) took advantage of the opportunity to rethink the eco strategy for its cultural festival.

Building tiny houses for those in need

The charity Toit pour Tous offers temporary housing to people with no fixed abode in difficult circumstances. The non-profit aims to promote social rehabilitation through access to housing, based on a cooperative model of mutual aid and sustainable development.

A dozen or so members of staff from BNP Paribas Suisse worked on refurbishing tiny houses in the charity’s eco-village in Sézegnin. As well as doing DIY, cleaning and repair work, participants were able to chat to residents and learn more about the social and environmental challenges facing eco-villages in Switzerland.

The community initiatives of staff at BNP Paribas Suisse reflect the bank’s broader corporate commitment.
At the beginning of the year, BNP Paribas launched its volunteering hours initiative to make an even greater positive impact by getting all employees involved. The health crisis has made us more acutely aware than ever of our social responsibility and of the need to provide financial and physical support to local organisations that assist those in need.

After an initial partnership cycle between the Swiss Polar Institute and the BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation to support young researchers from across the country between 2016 and 2018, the two entities have decided to renew their commitment for three more years.

The Polar Access Fund: a unique tool to support polar expeditions led by young researchers

Based at EPFL, the Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) is a consortium of Swiss universities – the EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), ETH Zurich, the University of Bern and the University of Lausanne – and Editions Paulsen, created in 2016. The aim is to make Switzerland one of the key, unifying players in the field of extreme environments and polar research.

Following a successful first collaboration in 2016 in the context of the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition, the SPI and the BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation have decided to jointly create a support fund to enable young researchers from a range of disciplines to embark on their first polar expedition: the Polar Access Fund. All of the beneficiaries will be PhD students or young post-docs at a Swiss university studying an issue linked to climate change.

In addition to driving research forward, the PAF is the first tool in Switzerland to support this demographic of young researchers in their first expedition in the field. The beneficiaries have a lot to gain from this initiative. As well as receiving financial support, recipients will learn to plan an expedition, while simultaneously managing a budget and the logistical issues that arise from it, with support from SPI experts every step of the way.

Going to the ends of the earth to study the effects of climate change

To date, PAF has enabled 18 researchers and 8 Swiss research institutes to carry out expeditions in the field. The fact that 45% of beneficiaries were women was a resounding success for the project, since women are often underrepresented in natural sciences. Research fields include biology, paleoclimatology, atmospheric sciences, glaciology and many more. All of these disciplines complement one another and, as such, perfectly illustrate the complexity of climate change research.

To complete their research, all beneficiaries are alike in needing to visit the polar regions. However, this term covers a wide array of locations on the planet. While the Arctic and Greenland are often given as examples, there has been a lack of exploration in Antarctica because of the extreme weather seen there for large parts of the year. Lastly, while this is not common knowledge among the general public, the scientific community considers high-altitude regions such as the Himalayas and the Andes as the “Third Pole” – a vertical pole with endless glaciers. To prepare for what are sometimes extreme conditions, PAF researchers must follow a training regime before setting out.

A multi-disciplinary network propelled by the new generation

A genuine community has sprung up around this fund. As new beneficiaries are added each year (between 5 and 10), PAF researchers make up a multi-disciplinary network of individuals with a passionate interest in climate change. This network goes far beyond the borders of Switzerland. Without doubt, these young researchers demonstrate the growing global interest in the polar regions, which help to explain climate change.

” We are delighted that we are able to continue our collaboration with the BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation on the Polar Access Fund. The programme, which was launched in 2018, was one of the first initiatives of the recently founded Swiss Polar Institute and it is particularly close to our hearts.  Since then, it has demonstrated the growing interest shown by a new generation of Swiss researchers in polar regions and high-altitude environments – regions that play a key role in regulating the global climate. The decision to invest in young researchers just starting out on their career has proven to be a winning play. ”

Danièle Rod, Director of Swiss Polar Institute

For many years BNP Paribas has been helping to improve the position of women in the economy and in society, fostering equal rights and opportunities across genders. This year, the Group’s efforts include support for WOMAN, a film by Anastasia Mikova and Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

Promoting inclusion and equality

BNP Paribas has been committed to the fight for equal rights between men and women for many years. This entails both implementing new measures and improving existing practices, in order to ensure a culture of inclusion and respect for differences. It also means supporting initiatives that campaign for this issue.

To aid progress in what is both a social and societal challenge and meet the UN sustainable development goal to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, the Group embraces social commitment in its decision-making. For example, it develops its own ambitious diversity programmes, but also provides backing to creative works that promote the visibility of this cause.

WOMAN by Anastasia Mikova and Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Today, the BNP Paribas Group champions WOMAN, a film directed by Anastasia Mikova and Yann Arthus-Bertrand, as main partner. A homage to women all over the world, it premiered at the 76^th Venice Film Festival in September 2019, winning the Sfera 1932 Award. It will be released in cinemas in French-speaking Switzerland on 11 March 2020.

Proceeds from the film will be donated to WOMAN(s), an association whose mission is to train women and girls from around the world in media professions.

Seeing the world from a woman’s perspective

WOMAN was born of a desire to see things through women’s eyes and to cast a light on the place they occupy in today’s world – and the world of the future. The film takes its audience to meet nearly 2,000 women from across the globe, bringing to the screen the stories of women of all ages and origins, shaped by culture, faith and family history.

Besides seeking to condemn some of the injustices that women face throughout their lives, this film looks in admiration at their determination to overcome obstacles and stereotypes, dealing with such varied themes as motherhood, education, marriage and financial independence.

BNP Paribas in Switzerland is proud to be supporting CYBATHLON in its campaign to drive forward research and development of assistive technologies to help people with physical disabilities and to further promote inclusion.

As an official partner of CYBATHLON 2020, BNP Paribas in Switzerland shares the values of the organisation and recognises its involvement in fostering innovation and commitment for social equality.