Corporate Social Responsibility

WHAT WERE SFIL’S MOST NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2021 IN TERMS OF PROGRESS ON CSR ISSUES?
Philippe Mills –This year, once again, our Group made significant strides in terms of corporate social responsibility.
First of all, we provided additional support for the ecological transition of the local public sector, whose commitment to sustainable projects is increasingly evident, by granting €680 million in green loans to local government entities, and carried out €1.25 billion in thematic bond issues. Including these loans of €680 million, 17% of loans granted in 2021 were green, compared to 9% in 2020.
Secondly, we are proud to have reached the target we set ourselves three years ago to reduce our CO² emissions by 15%, and we have completed our first carbon offset operation. The year was also marked by the continued integration of climate issues into our risk policy, in particular with the first formal mapping of climate-related risks.
Finally, we continued to train and raise awareness among our employees about sustainable development issues, for example by launching a sustainable development and CSR e-learning module and by holding our first corporate volunteer activities day.
The successful implementation of all these commitments is reflected in our excellent ESG ratings, which are up once again this year.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE SFIL’S CSR COMMITMENT TODAY, AND WHAT ARE OUR GREATEST CHALLENGES TOMORROW?
François Laugier –We have fully integrated the principles of the Global Compact – as well as the nine priority Sustainable Development Goals – into all aspects of our Bank: strategy, corporate culture and business.
Our CSR commitment is a key aspect of our 2nd strategic plan – #Objectif2026. Our aim is to accelerate the transitions of the regions and of the French economy, while protecting our planet. Our first challenge for the local public sector financing business is to broaden the scope of our actions in response to the challenges of the climate transition. We will therefore extend our range of social loans to local authorities and incorporate the requirements of the European Taxonomy into our range of green loans.
With regard to the refinancing of major export credit contracts, our goal is to expand Sfil’s action in support of French manufacturers’ sustainable projects. The export credit business has a solid foundation enabling it to meet the challenges and objectives of the climate transition – in particular, by providing support for employment in France through exports, which is one of the Sustainable Development Goals prioritized by the Caisse des Dépôts Group.

ONE YEAR AFTER OUR SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION INTO THE CAISSE DES DÉPÔTS GROUP, WHAT CSR SYNERGIES ARE POSSIBLE?
Philippe Mills – Our corporate purpose, Financing a sustainable future, directly echoes that of the Caisse des Dépôts Group, of which we are a fully committed member: “The Caisse des Dépôts Group, a unique alliance of public and private economic players, is committed, at the heart of the regions, to accelerating the ecological transformation and to contributing to a better life for all.”
Since our integration, strong synergies have emerged. In addition to creating bridges that foster intra-Group career opportunities, we actively contribute to the numerous thematic working groups, alongside the other Group entities, with the aim of providing answers to the challenges of the ecological transition and harmonizing our social policies.
In partnership with the Banque des Territoires, we will also offer local authorities a range of fixed-rate long-term loans – exceeding 25 years – to finance projects with a predominantly green or social purpose.
Finally, we intend to anchor our long-term position, in particular, by developing specific ESG skills in the local public sector portfolio.

THE HEALTH CRISIS HAS ACCELERATED THE TRANSFORMATION OF OUR LIFESTYLES, THE WAY WE WORK, TRAVEL, ETC. WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS FOR SFIL?
François Laugier – For us, as a human-scaled public development bank, the various upheavals brought about by the health crisis have also created CSR opportunities. The crisis has profoundly transformed the ways we interact collectively, both internally and with our external stakeholders, as well as our individual practices, enabling us to better take into account sustainable development issues. In 2021, we implemented our first telework agreement, which offers employees a better work-life balance.
Our Demain@Sfil project has entered its action phase with exciting work on hybrid working methods, modifying the layout of our premises and managerial leadership to support our employees in this stage of internal transformation.
And as Philippe pointed out, in this very unusual context, we are proud to have successfully continued our sponsorship and awareness-raising initiatives in order to mobilize our teams around CSR challenges. In particular, we have increased our educational support for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds by becoming the leading patron of the Collège de France’s “Innovation Campus for High Schools” program, and held our first corporate volunteer activities day, the Sfil’Anthropie day.
Philippe Mills – We would like to thank our employees for their day-to-day and long-term commitment to serving the greatest number of people and our planet! We would also like to acknowledge the continued trust our local public sector borrowers, investors and partners place in us, in particular La Banque Postale and our majority shareholder, the Caisse des Dépôts Group, and their active collaboration in supporting the sustainable financing of our economy.

Corporate Social Responsibility is at the heart of our strategy

Sfil’s original mission of financing the local public sector naturally requires it to support the investments made by the local public sector, i.e. local governments and public health institutions, thereby promoting the development of a financial ecosystem favorable to the Sustainable Development Goals. Day after day, the financing that it provides to local public investment and competitiveness of French exports allows the completion of sustainable projects that benefit everyone. To achieve this, Sfil does not try to maximize its profitability, but rather focuses on offering high-quality services and maintaining a high level of satisfaction with stakeholders. To expand this dialogue and continuously improve the development of sustainable financing, efforts are constantly made to incorporate CSR criteria and all non-financial information.