With some €320 billion invested across all sectors, CNP Assurances is a major player in financing the real economy. As an insurer and responsible investor, the Group is fully committed to combating climate change and protecting biodiversity.
As it publishes its 2024 responsible investment report and consistent with the climate and biodiversity policy guiding the French government’s public-sector financing, CNP Assurances has announced new exclusions and is now refraining from any new investment:
- In companies generating more than 20% of their revenue from the manufacture or sale of pesticides (herbicides, fungicides and insecticides);
- In companies that exploit or trade in certain agricultural commodities (cocoa, coffee, soya, beef, leather, rubber, palm oil, wood and paper pulp) that have not implemented a recognised deforestation prevention policy.
For several years, CNP Assurances has been working to combat global warming:
- Excluding any new investment in companies developing new fossil energy projects (fossil coal, oil or gas)
- Setting the objective of achieving a carbon neutral investment portfolio by 2050
- Setting a goal of reducing the carbon footprint of its investment portfolio by 53% between 2019 and 2029[1], in line with the 1.5°C scenarios recommended by the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA)
- Setting the goal of financing the ecological transition by reaching €30bn in green investments under management by the end of 2025[2]
CNP Assurances is accelerating its withdrawal from thermal coal each year through an exclusion and dialogue policy: The Group is committed to achieving zero direct exposure to thermal coal in its investment portfolio by 2030 in EU and OECD countries, and by 2040 in the rest of the world
CNP Assurances takes a comprehensive responsible-investment approach in accordance with the nature of each asset class.
This report highlights a number of key figures to illustrate CNP Assurances' commitment to combating climate change, protecting biodiversity and training employees about these issues.
Responsible investment governance has been implemented to enable the Board, senior management, the relevant committees and investment teams to incorporate ESG issues into decision-making and business processes. Consequently, in 2023, the CNP Assurances Board of Directors created a specialised CSR committee chaired by an independent director.
“Combating deforestation requires concerted action at all levels of society. Investors have a crucial role and CNP Assurances will play its full part. It is a multi-dimensional crisis at the crossroads of our key commitments, namely the fight against climate change and protection of biodiversity. We are making this a priority” says Marie-Aude Thépaut, CEO of CNP Assurances.
CNP Assurances’ 2024 report on responsible investment is available in French HERE
[1] Directly-held equities, corporate bonds and infrastructure (Scopes 1 and 2). Scope: CNP Assurances France and its French subsidiaries.
[2]Green bonds issued by governments or corporates, forests with sustainable management certification, buildings with energy or environmental certification, Article 9 funds under the SFDR with an environmental sustainable investment objective, and infrastructure and unlisted companies whose main activity is linked to the environment. These green investments do not necessarily meet the technical criteria of the delegated acts of the Taxonomy regulation. Scope: CNP Assurances France and its French subsidiaries.