Commitment to our Community
As the bank for a changing world, we know change doesn’t just happen on a global level, but at a local level too. That’s why being part of the communities we live and work in is a key commitment for our UK operation and an important part of the role we play in the wider Group.
Across all our offices throughout the UK, our CSR teams look at the skills and resources within our organisation, and work with our neighbours to help them address the challenges they face.
Whatever we are doing, we make sure our impact is aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), the best plan we have to create a just and equitable future for everyone. It’s also how we in the UK fulfil the BNP Paribas company purpose and contribute to the Groups ambitious 1 Million Hours 2 Help volunteer programme.
Our community outreach programme
From Scotland to Swindon, and all BNP Paribas colleagues in-between, our focus is tailored to the needs of our local communities. This means we drive our impact towards:
- helping to preserve and protect our Environment
- helping to advance Social Mobility
- supporting children and young people through Educational programmes
- supporting our Local Communities
How do we do this? Well here are just a few of the things we do aligned to the UN SDG’s:
Through our volunteering efforts, staff fundraising and in-office collection drives, we support a range of charities that address poverty in its many forms; from book poverty in childhood and digital poverty in old age, to food, hygiene and period poverty in the communities around us.
One of our flagship partners supporting Quality Education is Teach First. Teach First’s mission is to help every child fulfil their potential, our three year partnership with Teach First and Gemserv “Leaders for a Changing World” invests in: Recruiting more teachers into the most disadvantaged schools in England, and providing Sustainability resources for teachers via TES (Times Education Supplement) that are free of charge and can be delivered by our employee volunteers.
We believe that social mobility is the best tool we have to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which is why we work with multiple charities and organisations dedicated to advancing social mobility in the UK. Making the Leap is one of our key partners, and every month we host their associates in our offices to help build their confidence and refine the essential soft skills needed to succeed.
Coinciding with the annual Conference of Parties (COP), every year we host nearly 100 young people at our London HQ to take part in a climate based Model UN. Learning essential employability skills like critical thinking, public speaking and team work, they debate the best course of action we can take to combat the climate emergency.
Only working together can we hope to achieve the SDG’s, which is why SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals are at the very heart of our impact. We’re long standing members of Business in the Community – the charity driving responsible business practice in the UK – and why we work with more than 50 external partners annually to make sure our impact is one that lasts.
Our impact
We’re super proud that our impact is growing year on year, with our people in the UK at the very heart of our engagement, supporting causes we, and they are passionate about.
Here’s just a few of the things we achieved in 2023:
18,029 volunteering hours
31% of our UK colleagues volunteered
4,700 young people reached through our programmes
As part of the BNP Paribas Group, we support the incredible work of the BNP Paribas Foundation, helping them deliver two grant giving programmes here in the UK.
The Foundation’s ‘Refugee Inclusion Programme’ means we are able to help support the vital work of the Helen Bamber Foundation, caring for survivors of human trafficking in the UK and the Cardinal Hume Centre, who help refugees in Westminster settle and integrate into our local community.
DreamUp is the Foundation’s educational programme, aimed at contributing to the social inclusion of children and young people through artistic expression. DreamUP enables us to support PAN Intercultural Arts and their ‘weapon of choice’ programme that helps lead young people away from violence.
Our commitments
We are not just the bank for a changing world, we are part of the change too, working with our communities to create a future that’s fair for everyone.