Environmental sustainability – how we are playing our part
Environmental sustainability is as important to Strutt & Parker and the wider BNP Paribas Group as it is to many of our clients.
We explore some of the projects and initiatives which we are implementing to address climate change and improve our resilience
Solar energy decarbonising BNP Paribas’ UK operations
A 120-acre solar farm in Herefordshire is helping BNP Paribas UK, the bank which is Strutt & Parker’s parent company, to decarbonise its operations in the UK.
BNP Paribas UK has been measuring its carbon footprint since 2012 and is working towards reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its UK operations by 60% by 2030.
Scope 1 is the term which describes direct emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the company and Scope 2 are indirect emissions, such as those relating to a bought-in energy supply.
The solar farm, developed by Conrad Energy, started generating energy in summer 2024 and is expected to produce 40,000MWh of renewable electricity each year, saving around 375,000 tonnes of carbon over its 40-year lifecycle.
BNP Paribas UK has signed a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) which provides it a supply of renewable electricity from a guaranteed and traceable source.
Emmanuelle Bury, UK Country Head, BNP Paribas, says: ‘We are already known as the bank helping to finance the energy transition, and our agreement with Conrad Energy demonstrates our commitment to living our values. It is a vital step on the path to net-zero banking.’
The solar farm is sited on land which is susceptible to flooding. To improve the biodiversity of the site any gaps in existing hedgerows have been filled, some rare black poplar trees have been planted and 40 hectares of native wildflower grassland has been sown.
Bat and bird boxes have been installed to support the wildlife population. Overall, the project is expected to deliver a biodiversity net gain of 132%, compared with the level of the site before the scheme.
How Strutt & Parker is playing its part in improving environmental sustainability
Strutt & Parker is part of BNP Paribas Real Estate which has a sustainability strategy addressing the risks and opportunities across the pillars of carbon, energy, nature, social value, and risk and resilience. Some of the key measures include:
- Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations are embedded in
our client and supplier on-boarding systems. We will only work with those clients and suppliers who have a similar sustainability ethos to ourselves.
- Established a Future Driven ESG & Sustainability Team of 85 people who
assist clients with a wide range of sustainability focused projects across our rural, commercial and residential property service lines.
- Staff are supported to develop their climate change and sustainability
understanding and knowledge through Climate Fresk training, ‘lunch and learn’ webinars, role-specific training and in-office sustainability workshops.
- As part of the BNP Paribas Group, we are committed to reducing Scope 1 and 2
greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2030. We have transferred to 100% renewable electricity in all sites where we directly procure energy and the gas boiler which heats our headquarters will be replaced by an air source heat pump by 2025.
- Our own office portfolio has been consolidated where appropriate, plus energy efficiency lighting and smart meters are being rolled out to all premises. It is policy to improve general energy efficiency with every upgrade of our office facilities we carry out.
- Diesel vehicles have been removed from the company car policy and we will
launch a salary sacrifice scheme to enable employees who own their own cars to transition to vehicles with lower emissions.
- From 2025, we will be reporting the amount of waste produced from all of
our offices and working to reduce it, most likely with a target of zero waste to landfill. The use of single-use plastics was banned in 2020.
- Employees are encouraged to take part in both local and national charitable
work and have one volunteering day a year to help enable them to do so.
- We have an active environmental forum. This is made up of champions from each of our offices who come together to discuss and drive forward energy-saving and other environmental initiatives and improvements.
- We actively lend our voice to calls for change, signing industry leader letters on topics such as planning, energy efficiency, nutrient neutrality and biodiversity net gain.
Bank leading the way on low-carbon finance
BNP Paribas has embedded the transition towards net zero into its lending strategy across its global banking and financial services business.
It is committed to accelerating the financing of low-carbon energy projects and shifting away from financing the production of fossil fuels.
The share of low-carbon energy in BNP Paribas’ financing for energy production was around 10% in 2012. But according to its 2024 Climate Report, by 30 September 2023, financing of low-carbon energies had reached €32 billion, which represents about 65% of the Group’s financing to energy production. The target is that this will reach 90% by 2030.
Some of the landmark renewables projects that the bank is supporting include the UK’s 3.6GW Dogger Bank offshore wind development in the North Sea, a 2.6GW package of solar and onshore wind projects in Spain and Portugal, and a 1.4GW offshore wind project in France.
This article first appeared in our latest issue of Land Business. For more download the Autumn/Winter 24 edition of Land Business.
