Our commitment to biodiversity

Contributing to the preservation of biodiversity is fully in line with our efforts to promote the environmental transition, one of the four strategic priorities of our CSR commitments.

The sustainable development of our world’s living natural resources and the preservation of its biodiversity are fundamental in ensuring the continued functioning of the ecosystems on which economic activity and human life depend. These ecosystems supply our nutrition and our clean water, contribute to the control of disease and the regulation of our climate, as well as the pollination of our crops and the formation of our soils. Yet the increasingly rapid reduction of our planet’s biodiversity is endangering these vital roles. 

As a responsible economic actor, Societe Generale is engaged in a collective approach, with proactive commitments structured around the support our clients in their actions, and awareness raising among our internal and external stakeholders on issues related to preserving and restoring biodiversity.

Working for biodiversity

The Group actively participates in coalitions and working groups aimed at developing common standards and methodologies.

As a signatory of the Act4Nature alliance, Societe Generale has made 18 new concrete commitments in favour of biodiversity.

Societe Generale also participates in two other leading international groups in the field of biodiversity: 

• The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), an international initiative working on developing a risk management and reporting framework relating to nature allowing organisations (including financial institutions) to identify and evaluate these risks and act accordingly;
• The Science-Based Targets Network (SBTN) is a global network that aims to equip companies with science-based tools to manage their impacts and their dependencies regarding nature over the whole of their value chain. 

The Group seeks to comply with the highest environmental and social standards relating to its range of banking and financial products and services. In this light, we have developed a robust environmental and social risk management framework structured around sectoral policies. These integrate specific criteria aimed at preserving biodiversity as part of the Bank’s commercial relations with our customers and the financing and investments that we realise. 

Supporting our clients 

Societe Generale also has the ability to take concrete action in favour of biodiversity through dedicated banking solutions. 

The Group’s Corporate and Investment Banking arm offers solutions to meet the needs of the carbon and biodiversity strategies of major corporations and the financing solutions for projects with a positive impact on nature, notably through Nature Capital Solutions. 

Furthermore, Sogeprom, the Group's property development subsidiary, is developing real estate programmes that strengthen the use of bio-sourced materials and wood, as well as certified green spaces. 

Lastly, Societe Generale builds on an ecosystem of start-ups in which the Bank invests to further adapt its offering by integrating innovative solutions. For example, the start-up EcoTree has been developing an offer since 2016 which enables companies and individuals to invest in the preservation and renewal of forests, ecosystems and biodiversity.