Stakeholders and relevant issues

Materiality matrix

In 2021, BNP Paribas Real Estate’s Sustainable Development/CSR Department conducted a materiality study with the support of MATERIALITY-Reporting to identify the most relevant issues for the company’s development and meet the expectations of its stakeholders. This study, which updates the one already conducted in 2016, is structured in 4 complementary steps, described below. It enabled us to draw the materiality matrix from which we built our CSR strategic plan: Inspire Real Estate 2025.

A graph displaying various types of companies, including startups, corporations, and small businesses.

The steps of the materiality study

Identification and criticality of our stakeholders

We have carried out important work in line with principle n°1 of the ISO 26000 standard. The methodology for involving stakeholders is based on the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standards. A document review, together with an international and sector benchmark, followed by a study of dialogue methods, enabled us to segment stakeholders into homogeneous groups and sub-groups.

Internal partners	Market regulators
Employees and social partners Supervisory Board Management Board Executive Committee Shareholder	Regulatory authorities Professional federations and associations Certification and accreditation bodies
Business Partners	Societal Influencers
Investors, corporate and BNP Paribas clients Users (occupants) Local authorities/developers Suppliers and service providers Distributors	Media Analysts and rating agencies Associations / NGOs and civil society

Identification of significant themes

To identify the significant themes, an analysis of the sector’s issues on a national and international scale was carried out based on the most recognized benchmarks. 150 significant themes were considered and this list was reduced to 22 important issues for the real estate sector.

Stakeholder consultation

More than 10,000 stakeholders in Europe were approached between December 2020 and January 2021. We asked them to prioritize each of the 22 issues in their interaction with BNP Paribas Real Estate. As a result of this consultation, we have produced our new materiality matrix which highlights the most important economic, environmental, social and civic issues for our internal and external stakeholders.

Dialogue with stakeholders

We are committed to developing and maintaining strong and transparent relationships with a wide range of stakeholders in connection with our various activities. We practice open, honest and two-way communication. We recognize the mutual benefits that flow from this sincere and transparent engagement for both our company and our stakeholders. We listen to their present and future needs.

BNP Paribas Real Estate deploys the Global People Survey (GPS), an annual internal survey aimed at determining the expectations of employees in the BNP Paribas Group as well as measuring their perception of the company. Since 2013, this survey has been an important indicator in the dialogue with internal stakeholders.

BNP Paribas Real Estate’s approach is as follows :

Formalize a regular and direct engagement plan with our stakeholder groups to ensure that we understand their expectations, issues and concerns.
Raise employee awareness of BNP Paribas Real Estate’s commitment to them.

Relations with our suppliers

Partnerships with our suppliers are based on balanced relationships. BNP Paribas Real Estate aims to develop balanced relationships with its suppliers, consistent with its environmental and social commitments. Three key principles guide our purchasing: fairness and transparency in the selection of suppliers, the search for the best cost-quality-risk ratio and the search for innovative solutions.

We take care to open our consultations to companies in the protected and adapted sector. Being a buyer at BNP Paribas means working with suppliers in accordance with five requirements, which all our employees are aware of :

compliance with laws, regulations and professional standards applicable to the entities
protection of the group’s reputation
fairness in the selection of suppliers
confidentiality in the exchange of information
independence from suppliers and control of conflicts of interest.

Our procedures and tools aim to ensure the traceability of decisions taken when selecting suppliers.

Pre-qualification: For any tender, we pre-qualify your company based on criteria of financial health and economic dependence. These criteria are not discriminatory but ensure the development of balanced relationships.
Invitation to tender: We inform you of the general rules of the tender before its launch, through the signing of a preliminary agreement.
Decision: We are looking for financially solid suppliers who can offer us competitive solutions and contribute to the ambitions of the BNP Paribas Group
Relationship monitoring: After contractualization, we constantly seek to balance the relationship and encourage the contribution of mutual expertise. If necessary, we define shared progress plans with you.
Payment : To improve the processing of your invoices, we provide you with a guide for metropolitan France, specifying the formats and contents to be respected.

We pay particular attention to the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policy of suppliers when analyzing offers. To find out more, discover the CSR Charter for BNP Paribas Suppliers.

Definition of the CSR strategic plan : Inspire Real Estate

The prioritization of issues and the numerous comments received have enabled us to determine our new vision and our 12 CSR commitments for 2025.

Performance indicators will allow us to measure the performance of our commitments and the progress made each year. The results of this materiality study are summarized in an infographic and shared with all the stakeholders consulted.