BNP PARIBAS modern slavery statement summary (2022)

Organisation address
16 boulevard des Italiens,
75009 Paris,
France

We asked the organisation a series of questions about its modern slavery statement. Its answers are published on this page as a statement summary.

This statement provides information for 5 of 6 recommended areas

What is a modern slavery statement?
UK law requires certain organisations to publish an annual modern slavery statement on their website, setting out the steps they are taking to address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. Read more in the government guidance on publishing modern slavery statements.
Link to full statement
Go to full modern slavery statement on organisation’s website

PDF version of the statement (optional)

There is no PDF version of this statement.

PDF statements were first introduced to the registry for the 2023 statement year.

About this statement summary

All answers relate to the financial year covered by the statement. The organisation is responsible for all the information it provided. Some of our questions are optional, so organisations may not have answered all of them. The statement summary does not replace the full modern slavery statement – below we provide a link to the full statement on the organisation’s website.

Contents

Organisations covered by the statement

BNP PARIBAS modern slavery statement for 2022 is a group statement covering 7 organisations. See the full list of organisations covered by this statement

Statement period and sign-off details

The statement covers the following period:
1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021

The statement was signed off by:
Jean Lemierre (Chairman of the Board)

It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
22 February 2022

Recommended areas covered by the statement

Government guidance encourages organisations to cover a range of areas in their modern slavery statements, setting out the steps they’re taking to address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. Read about the recommended areas in the statutory guidance.

We asked the organisation to tell us which areas its statement covers.

Areas recommended by government guidance Organisation’s response
The organisation’s structure, business and supply chains Covered
Policies Covered
Risk assessment Covered
Due diligence (steps to address risk) Covered
Training about modern slavery Covered
Goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of the organisation's actions and progress over time Not covered
BNP Paribas' CSR Strategy includes a dashboard of KPIs (see 2021 URD, p. 582 for instance), but none of them is devoted specifically to this topic at the moment.

The organisation’s sectors and turnover

Sectors

The organisation operates in the following sectors:

  • Consumer services, including accommodation, hospitality, tourism and leisure
  • Financial, insurance and real estate activities

Turnover

Its turnover in the financial accounting year of this statement was:

Over £500 million

If the organisation is a public body, this amount is based on the organisation’s budget for the year of the statement.
What does 'turnover' refer to in group statements?
If this is a group statement, this includes the total turnover for all the organisations covered by the statement.

Number of years producing statements

The organisation has been producing modern slavery statements for the following number of years:
More than 5 years
How does this work for group statements?
If the statement is for a group of organisations, this answer applies to the organisation with the longest history of producing statements.

Policies (optional)

We asked the organisation whether its policies include the following provisions in relation to its domestic and international supply chains, as well as its own operations.
Policy provisions we asked about Organisation’s response
Freedom of workers to terminate employment Included
Freedom of movement Included
Freedom of association Included
Prohibits any threat of violence, harassment and intimidation Included
Prohibits the use of worker-paid recruitment fees Not included
Prohibits compulsory overtime Included
Prohibits child labour Included
Prohibits discrimination Included
Prohibits confiscation of workers' original identification documents Not included
Provides access to remedy, compensation and justice for victims of modern slavery Not included
Other
Please refer to BNP Paribas Code of Conduct and Summary of BNP Paribas’s Internal Whistleblowing framework (employees), Sustainable Sourcing Charter (suppliers) and financing and investment policies (clients) for additional details.

Training (optional)

We asked the organisation whether it provided training on modern slavery, and who it was for.
What counts as training?
We explained that by ‘training’ we meant anything designed to increase knowledge and skills around identifying, addressing or preventing modern slavery risks. This could range from formal training courses to broader awareness-raising activities such as workshops or webinars.
We asked who the training was for Organisation’s response
Your whole organisation No
Your front line staff Yes
Human resources No
Executive-level staff No
Procurement staff Yes
Your suppliers No
The wider community No
Other
BNP Paribas employees performing human rights sensitive activities (CSR, procurement, relationship managers, Risk officers) are subjected to mandatory training on business and human rights. This training is freely available to all the Group's employees.

Monitoring working conditions (optional)

Engaging with others

We asked the organisation to tell us who it engaged with to help monitor working conditions across its operations and supply chains.
We asked who the organisation engaged with Organisation’s response
Your suppliers No
Trade unions or worker representative groups No
Civil society organisations No
Professional auditors Yes
Workers within your organisation Yes
Workers within your supply chain No
Central or local government No
Law enforcement, such as police, GLAA and other local labour market inspectorates No
Businesses in your industry or sector No

Social audits

We asked the organisation to tell us about any social audits it used to look for signs of modern slavery.
What are social audits?
A social audit is a review of an organisation’s working practices from the point of view of social responsibility, and should include an evaluation of working conditions in the organisation’s operations and supply chains. By their nature, audits of supplier workplaces represent a snapshot in time.
Social audits we asked about Organisation’s response
Audit conducted by your staff No
Third party audit arranged by your organisation Yes
Audit conducted by your supplier’s staff No
Third party audit arranged by your supplier No
Announced audit No
Unannounced audit No

Grievance mechanisms

We asked the organisation how workers in its operations or supply chains could raise concerns or make complaints.
We asked if workers could raise concerns this way Organisation’s response
Using anonymous whistleblowing services, such as a helpline or mobile phone app Yes
Through trade unions or other worker representative groups No

Other ways of monitoring working conditions

We asked the organisation whether it had any other ways of monitoring working conditions across its operations and supply chains:
Organisation’s response
The organisation did not answer this question.

Modern slavery risks (optional)

Warning Identifying modern slavery risks is a vital step towards eradicating it. The government encourages organisations to be as open and transparent as possible, to improve understanding, collaboration and best practice around tackling this worldwide problem.
We asked the organisation to describe up to 3 priority risks it focused on during the period of the statement, including details of the affected workers, the activity involved, and the location.

Priority risks for this organisation (1 of 3)

Workforce’s inherent risks (our employees)
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your own operations.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response: No details provided
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Argentina
  • Austria
  • Australia
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Bahrain
  • Brazil
  • Botswana
  • Canada
  • Switzerland
  • Ivory Coast
  • Chile
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Czechia
  • Germany
  • Denmark
  • Algeria
  • Spain
  • Finland
  • France
  • United Kingdom
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Indonesia
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • Kuwait
  • Luxembourg
  • Morocco
  • Monaco
  • Mexico
  • Malaysia
  • Namibia
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • New Zealand
  • Peru
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Qatar
  • Romania
  • Serbia
  • Russia
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Sweden
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • Senegal
  • Thailand
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine
  • United States
  • Vietnam
  • South Africa
  • Guernsey
  • Hong Kong
  • Jersey
  • Cayman Islands
  • Taiwan
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: BNP Paribas provides a working environment in which all employees are treated fairly and equally. As such, the Group applies the most stringent professional standards, promotes diversity and inclusion by rejecting all forms of discrimination. The Group has a policy of combating inappropriate behavior by integrating the “Respect for Colleagues” section of the Code of conduct into the Group’s actions and decisions. An annual review of high-risk countries in terms of HR is also performed.

Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)

Suppliers’ inherent risks
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Tier 2 suppliers
    Provide products and services to your organisation via your Tier 1 suppliers.
  • Tier 3 suppliers and below
    Provide products and services to your organisation via your Tier 2 suppliers or the next higher level in the chain.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response: No details provided
In which country Organisation’s response: No details provided
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: The ESG risk management for suppliers and subcontractors hinges on: -an ESG risk mapping tool encompassing 13 themes, including modern slavery and child labor, -a Sustainable Sourcing Charter, -contractual clauses requiring compliance with ILO conventions, -ESG questionnaires, -training of Procurement function employees, -a pilot programme of onsite audits.

Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)

Clients' inherent risks (Banking and Financial activities)
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Organisation selected ‘Other’ and wrote:
Our clients are part of our value chain, but not our supply chains or considered to be part of our own operations (internal activities).
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Children
  • Local communities
In which country Organisation’s response: No details provided
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: BNP Paribas ESG risk management system is based on: -the respect of the Equator Principles for major industrial and infrastructure projects, -integration of ESG criteria in the Know Your Customer process and in lending and rating policies, -the use of management and monitoring tools, -training of financing business lines and control functions, -an operational control plan, -ESG assessment initiated in 2021, a risk assessment tool analyzing clients on 5 areas that include workers’ rights.

Indicators of forced labour (optional)

We asked the organisation whether its statement refers to finding any International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour.
What are ILO indicators of forced labour?
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has produced a list of the most common signs of forced labour. They’re based on the definition of forced labour as ‘all work or service which is extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.’ More details and guidance are available on the ILO website, and in their publication ILO indicators of forced labour
Organisation’s response
The organisation told us its statement does not refer to finding any International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour.

Demonstrating progress (optional)

We asked the organisation how its statement demonstrates progress over time in addressing modern slavery risks. They provided the following answer:
Acknowledging the challenges of assessing and addressing modern slavery and human trafficking issues, BNP Paribas remains committed to the review and enhancement of its own processes and policies, in order to continually improve their range and effectiveness. Please refer to the 'ASSESSING EFFECTIVENESS' section of our MSA Statement for additional information on all three categories (workforce, suppliers, clients) covered in our approach.