10 commitments for a low-carbon trajectory

10 commitments for a low-carbon trajectory

Real estate in the broad sense, both in terms of construction and energy consumption, is responsible for around 30% of carbon emissions at European level, equivalent to the volume of emissions from the transport sector.

BNP Paribas Real Estate is able to intervene at all stages of the building’s life cycle, both in France and in several European countries, through its various activities, Residential and Tertiary Promotion, Investment Management, Property Management, Transaction, Expertise and Consulting.

Faced with this responsibility, expressed in a low-carbon policy for our entire company, we are committed to reducing carbon emissions in a concrete and effective way in all our businesses.

Our low-carbon policy

Our low-carbon policy is based on 10 commitments organized according to 5 principles, which take into account emissions related to our own action as well as emissions related to the buildings we build, manage and administer.

Reducing emissions from our own operations

This principle covers emissions from our own activities, including the carbon emissions associated with our operations, including offices and business trips, an area where significant progress has been made over the past five years.

• Reducing emissions from our operations - office and business travel

BNP Paribas Real Estate has committed to measuring and reducing carbon emissions from its operations since 2016. 

The annual carbon emissions balance shall take into account :

1. Scope 1: the direct emissions of this operation, induced by the energy consumption of our offices;
2. Scope 2: indirect emissions linked to the production and distribution of energy consumed (electricity, heat networks, cooling networks);
3. The part of scope 3 corresponding to the emissions related to professional travel

The continuous improvement work carried out by BNP Paribas Real Estate has led to a very significant reduction in these emissions, from 1.62 tCO2e/FTE* in 2016 to 1.20 tCO2e/FTE in 2020 (-26%) and to 1.07 tCO2e/FTE in 2023 (-34% vs. 2016).

* ton equivalent CO2/Full-time equivalent

Reduce emissions from products built, renovated, and managed by our trades

This principle addresses emissions from the buildings we build, renovate and manage. The reduction potential on these products and services is considerable, as it represents nearly 50 times the emissions linked to our activity.

• Knowing carbon emissions

First, BNP Paribas Real Estate assesses each building’s potential to improve carbon emissions, identifying its source and taking stock.

For new buildings, the carbon performance takes into account:
- the construction phase (carbon in the materials and equipment used);
- and the operation phase (carbon emitted from the building’s energy consumption).

For existing buildings, the carbon emissions of the consumption, both in the common areas and in the private areas, are assessed.

• Reduce energy consumption and associated emissions

In the New buildings, the new French RE2020 regulation provides for a reduction in energy consumption compared to the previous regulation and a maximum threshold of energy-related carbon emissions, as measured by the ICenergy index, expressed in kgCO2e/m².

In existing buildings, energy consumption for all purposes is the main source of carbon emissions. For France, the recent ‘eco-energy tertiary’ regulation (termed the ‘tertiary decree’) set a first objective of reducing energy consumption for all uses by 2030 for buildings developing more than 1 000 m² of tertiary activities.

• Reducing emissions from materials and equipment during construction and renovation

The reduction in emissions from materials and equipment used is all the more important because they occur from the first year (or years) of the life of the building during its construction or renovation: in residential buildings, they represent about 50% of the carbon weight of the building over a 50-year life (Life Cycle Analysis), and reach almost 75% in tertiary sectors.

Maximize use and reduce the risk of buildings becoming obsolete

This principle relates to measures to amplify the carbon performance of buildings.

• Enabling more diverse and intensive uses

It is appropriate to provide for technical and architectural characteristics that allow an intensive and diversified use of buildings and thus reduce their risks of obsolescence by increasing their lifetime.

• Extending the useful life of buildings and delaying their obsolescence

Whether residential or tertiary use buildings, the criteria for the choice of buildings for occupants and users evolve over time. Buildings are exposed to the risk of no longer being adapted to the uses of their time.

• Promoting low-carbon mobility in buildings

Movements related to the use of buildings can represent a very significant carbon burden, sometimes greater than that of the operation of buildings. For new real estate and renovations, we prefer operations near public transport.

For new and existing equipment, the installation of equipment that promotes or allows different mobility or uses that are less carbon-intensive may also be considered.

Accompany and facilitate emission reductions

This principle concerns measures to facilitate and accompany this low-carbon policy.

• Dialog, co-build and share best practices with our stakeholders

Raising the awareness of building owners and accompanying users to ensure proper exploitation also means making them aware of their own capacity to reduce their carbon footprint and maintain the performance and attractiveness of the building.

As a major player on the European market, BNP Paribas Real Estate also has the opportunity to involve its suppliers in their rise in low-carbon expertise and benefit in return from their know-how and innovative solutions.

• Train our employees and raise awareness of low carbon among our stakeholders

BNP Paribas Real Estate has a presence in the real estate sector, intervenes in the sustainable building sector and has a duty to act both internally and with its external partners.

Storing and offsetting our residual emissions

This principle relates to the initiation of compensatory actions. Reducing a building’s carbon emissions dramatically will not achieve the 2050 target of zero emissions. This can only be achieved by implementing carbon capture solutions that match the building’s residual emissions.

• Research and engage solutions for storage and offsetting of residual emissions

Achieving zero emissions by 2050 requires solutions to offset emissions during construction and operation, contributing to carbon capture, for example through the development of carbon-trapping forest parks.

It is therefore important to start developing such solutions and ensuring their effectiveness.

Reduce emissions from our internal carbon footprint and from square meters built, renovated, managed or administered

Reducing emissions from our own operations

• Continue our efforts to reduce emissions related to our business

We continue our efforts to reduce emissions related to our business, focusing in particular on :
- Reducing energy consumption in our offices and in our computer equipment;
- Our new mobility policy introduced in 2021 (decarbonization of the professional fleet, development of decarbonized alternative mobility).

Reduce emissions from products built, renovated, and managed by our trades

• Our actions to assess the carbon improvement potential of each building

For new and renovated buildings developed by our promotion teams
- Establish the carbon weight of the materials used and the expected energy consumption throughout the life cycle.

For Asset Management buildings
- BNP Paribas REIM has chosen to prioritize its low-carbon strategy over a panel of 450 buildings consisting of buildings belonging to the funds complying with Articles 8 and 9 with regard to the SFDR. regulation and all buildings in France falling under the “Tertiary Decree” (buildings of more than 1,000 m² of tertiary premises).

For Property Management
- Offer a service offering “carbon energy balance”.

• Our actions to reduce energy emissions and use low-carbon energy

For new buildings developed by our promotion teams
- Achieve higher levels of energy savings than the current regulations, or the time period.
- Monitor the energy carbon performance levels at the delivery of the operation in relation to the performance level announced at the site opening.
- Generalize the control of this energy and carbon performance on our new buildings by environmental certifications or labels.

For existing buildings under management and administration
- Implement Optimization solutions to reduce over time but energy consumption and emissions are significant carbon, in particular by gradually reducing the energy consumed and retaining the lowest carbon energy mixes.

For Asset Management buildings
- Propose an action plan to reduce energy consumption and quantified GHG emissions.

For Property Management
- Advise all our clients on the work to be undertaken in order to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
- To draw up an annual report on the services offered with a view to reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.
- Report annually on the carbon emission reductions achieved for each building treated.

• Our actions to reduce emissions from materials and equipment

In new as in renovation
- Make constructive choices of materials and equipment that are as low carbon as possible (low carbon, bio-based, re-used or over-cycled).
- Systematize the diagnosis of resources during heavy renovations and restructuring to identify deposits of materials and equipment to be reused.
- Retain existing buildings or parts of buildings where possible to limit carbon emissions from new materials.
- Continue to generalize the control of this carbon performance of materials and equipment of our buildings through environmental certifications and labels.

On the construction phase
- Test high-performance solutions in France to improve the required carbon performance by at least 20%.

Maximize use and reduce the risk of buildings becoming obsolete

• Promote intensity of use and potential for changing uses

- Permitting large and diverse occupancy of buildings (safety provisions, sanitary facilities, technical equipment);
- Through flexible, shared spaces open to the city, to residents, businesses or associations of the neighborhood: meeting room, auditorium, coworking space, concierge services, shared gardens, common living room, parking lots, etc.

• In the development of our new construction or renovation projects and for the buildings we manage

- Take into account foreseeable changes in the climate (summer thermal comfort and anticipation of possible physical risks);
- Take steps to adapt to opportunities from lower carbon energy sources and more efficient technologies;
- Provide for the possibility of varying uses (grouping, cutting of dwellings, or even complete conversion of offices into dwellings.

• Assess appropriate solutions for each operation

- Take into account the location, urban environment and public transport connections of each operation.

Accompany and facilitate emission reductions

• Our actions to reduce users' carbon footprint and involve suppliers in the upskilling

For occupants and users :
- Disseminate to tenants of the buildings we manage the guide of good practices “climate” in order to raise awareness of ecogestures.
- Generalize the deployment of a clause appended to the lease or contract specifying the conditions for dialog and data feedback between owner/tenant/providers in order to know and sustain the energy and carbon reduction path.

For our other stakeholders :
- Continue our engagement with our suppliers.
- Develop construction companies by including in contracts and markets the use of products with a clear description of their environmental footprint (FDES/EPD).
- To evolve our purchasing ranges by focusing on the products of suppliers/manufacturers committed to low-carbon and sustainable approaches.

• Our training and awareness actions on low carbon

- Participate actively in the actions of public authorities and bodies such as the Sustainable Building Plan and ADEME and in the initiatives of the profession and associations, both in France and in other European countries.
- Develop our in-house expertise by deploying low-carbon training and awareness actions, in particular by identifying the internal technical ambassadors for each trade that itself has the responsibility of developing its community of referents, by proposing internal conferences or by training our employees.
-  Communicate on the low carbon actions carried out and eventually integrate CSR criteria into the project reporting and commitment criteria.

Storing and offsetting our residual emissions

• Our actions to offset our residual emissions

- Continue to implement solutions to offset our internal operations through reliable and controlled capture solutions, such as reforestation or sustainable forest management offerings that contribute to carbon capture and storage;
- To offer our customers and users these solutions.

Performance indicators