Our commitments to tackling climate change

The Caisse des Dépôts Group is committed to ecological transformation and is utilising all its means of action, impact and influence to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to climate change adaptation.

Our climate policy is based on two pillars and six principles

MITIGATION PILLAR

  • Principle 1 Providing large-scale financing for sectors undergoing ecological transformation
  • Principle 2 Decarbonising “grey" sectors
  • Principle 3 Gradually eliminating high-emissions activities (Responsible Finance Charter)
  • Principle 4 Strengthening the Group’s climate governance
    • Climate risk measurement
    • Climate transition plan

ADAPTATION PILLAR

  • Principle 1 Reducing the growing risks associated with the impact of climate change on the Group's activities
  • Principle 2 Creating new services and financial solutions to help our customers adapt to climate change

PRINCIPLE 1

Incorporate climate change into our governance and all our action levers

The climate policy is the Caisse des Dépôts Group's roadmap and it also applies to the Caisse des Dépôts Public Institution and its subsidiaries, as well as to Bpifrance and the La Poste group. The Group’s climate commitments are reflected in its investment decisions.

More specifically, the Group Investment Approvals Committee systematically analyses the climate impact of financing and investment projects, as well as the climate-related risks that may impact the business models of the companies in question.

PRINCIPLE 2

Assess and manage climate risks

Climate risks could have a financial impact on us as an institution. The Group has therefore drawn up a roadmap and set up a dedicated team to integrate climate risks into its risk management processes.

Tools for rating physical and transitional risks are currently being rolled out throughout Caisse des Dépôts in order to provide support for financing decisions and to better manage exposure to climate risks.

This approach also helps the Group to identify the stakeholders and sectors that require the most support as they adapt or pursue their low-carbon transition journey.

As enshrined in our corporate purpose, the ecological transformation is the Caisse des Dépôts Group's guiding force.

PRINCIPLE 3

Make our activities compatible with low-carbon growth

Across all of its activities, the Group is gradually setting decarbonisation targets aligned with 1.5°C scenarios:

  • Non-financial activities: at least 95% of emissions covered by reduction targets are aligned with scenarios well below 2°C, and 1.5°C where possible.
  • Financial activities: we monitor the proportion of our assets covered by such targets.

As a founding member of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance alongside other institutional investors, Caisse des Dépôts has committed to transitioning its portfolio to net-zero emissions by 2050. The Group has also set itself the target of reducing the carbon intensity of its corporate securities portfolios by 55% by 2030 (compared with 2020).

Strengthen shareholder dialogue on climate issues

Climate and energy issues play a key part in shareholder dialogue, as the Group seeks to encourage companies to improve their transparency and environmental performance. In particular, the Group expects listed companies to make a public pledge to contribute to carbon neutrality by 2050 and to implement a decarbonisation strategy and interim, quantitative and science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets across all three scopes.

Caisse des Dépôts rejects resolutions, "say-on-climate" or otherwise, at shareholders’ meetings that do not comply with its climate policy.

PRINCIPLE 4

Restrict fossil fuels

Thermal coal:

  • Exclusion of companies which generate more than 5% of their revenue through thermal coal. Companies with a less than 5% exposure to thermal coal but which have not announced a plan to withdraw from thermal coal in line with Caisse des Dépôts’ timeline are also excluded.
  • The Group's remaining exposure to coal is very low and it is committed to achieving zero exposure in its financial portfolios in OECD countries by 2030, and in the rest of the world by 2040.
  • Exclusion of all direct financing for any activity related to thermal coal, such as new energy production capacity, power station upgrades and transport infrastructure dedicated to thermal coal.

Unconventional hydrocarbons: zero exposure by 2050 with ongoing review of this target date with a view to bringing it forward.

Companies which generate more than 10% of their revenue from unconventional hydrocarbons are excluded from the Group's investment and financing portfolios, except in cases where financing is intended to support a low-carbon project.

Oil and gas expansion: a necessary limitation.

The Group is committed to avoiding any increase in its total exposure to companies developing new oil production or exploration projects (excluding green and sustainability bonds and the financing of projects not related to new oil projects).

It excludes all new oil and gas development (upstream) projects and any transport infrastructure associated with such new projects from its portfolio.

Group Climate Policy - Oil & Gas.pdf PDF - 428 KB

Our ambition

Make our investment, financing and operating activities compatible with carbon-neutral development by 2050, and ensure that they are resilient to climate change.

PRINCIPLE 5

 Contribute to national climate objectives

Finance public policy implementation

In France, Caisse des Dépôts’ activities fall under the framework of France’s National Low-Carbon Strategy. As a result, the Group is gradually incorporating just transition issues into its shareholder dialogue, and investment and operational management decisions incorporate social, societal and regional challenges.

In 2023, the Group set itself a more ambitious target of committing €100 billion to ecological transformation over the next five years (between 2024 and 2028), and also continued to develop its green and sustainability bond policies.

Contribute to France's energy future

Through its investments in and financing of renewable energy projects and its position as the leading shareholder in France's major energy networks such as RTE and GRTgaz, the Group is committed to supporting the transformation of France's energy system.

Foster climate innovation

As part of their Climate Plan, Bpifrance and Banque des Territoires (€4.2 billion and €3 billion committed from 2020 to 2024, respectively) are financing innovation in greentech and sustainable, resilient networks in order to find technological solutions for the ecological and energy transition.

Support the transition of France’s regions and businesses

As part of their Climate Plan, Bpifrance and Banque des Territoires will commit a total of €40 billion from 2020 to 2024 to help France's regions and industrial companies decarbonise their activities and adapt to climate change. Working closely with Sfil, La Banque Postale provides green loans to local authorities and businesses in order to finance projects with a high environmental impact. 

CDC Group Climate Policy_2.pdf PDF - 1.73 MB

Support the transition of the transport and real estate sectors

The Group has stepped up its engagement with shareholders in the transport sector and is supporting its decarbonisation. For example, La Poste, Transdev and Compagnie des Alpes, the Group's transport and logistics operators, provide fleets of low-emission vehicles. 

Group Climate Policy for Transport.pdf PDF - 1013 KB

As for its real estate activities, the Group is committed to reducing emissions throughout the life cycle of buildings and to tackling a range of social issues, such as decent housing for all, social diversity and tenant health. 

Group Climate Policy for Real Estate [in French only] PDF - 1.01 MB

PRINCIPLE 6

Make the Group's activities and France's regions more resilient to climate change

The aim of the Group's adaptation policy is twofold.

Adapting the Group’s activities to climate change by:

  • Incorporating adaptation into new activities, where possible from the project design stage
  • Increasing the climate change resilience of existing portfolio activities
  • Integrating adaptation in steering and management processes
  • Implementing quality adaptation processes by applying shared adaptation principles

... and helping France’s regions do the same.

Adaptation to climate policy Caisse des Dépôts'Group 2024 PDF - 502 KB

IN CONCRETE TERMS

Banque des Territoires offers a wide range of engineering, financing, service and deposit offerings to enable local authorities to develop and implement systemic adaptation strategies to meet the wider challenges in their regions.