For La Poste group, biodiversity issues concern :
the property business, mainly in terms of the footprint of its real estate and the artificialisation of land ;
the transport business, particularly in the consumption of fuel and raw materials, and in the use of transport infrastructure, which causes the fragmentation of natural land; and
Banking/Insurance, particularly in the impact of retail banking loan files and investment portfolios.
The Group has set up a collegiate biodiversity governance system to protect the biodiversity of ecosystems. This makes it possible to manage, measure and mobilise postal workers, but also to rely on external partners and experts and to mobilise suppliers. It is expressed in a 2024-2025 roadmap that cuts across all the Group's activities
In order to set quantifiable objectives in terms of protecting living organisms, several Group entities have introduced an indicator, created by Caisse des Dépôts, (Global Biodiversity Score) to assess the Group's biodiversity footprint.
La Poste group is continuing and stepping up its efforts to measure its footprint in order to better understand it and optimise its action plan: capitalising on the work done to measure the Global Biodiversity Score, extending the measurement, continuing with the investment/financing portfolios, improving the quality of the data, creating local indicators, developing an action plan for the group's purchasing department, etc. Concrete principles have been put in place:
A quantitative assessment of the biodiversity footprint based on calculations of the company's financial data, business sector and pressure and purchasing data.
Extension of GBS measurement to Geopost for group coverage by the end of 2024.
Continuation of the GBS work undertaken by La Banque Postale on Investments and Financing.
On 25 January 2023, Philippe Wahl, Chairman and CEO of La Poste group, and Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, President of the French League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), signed a three-year partnership agreement to preserve biodiversity and combat the erosion of living organisms.
The Group has also joined WWF's initiative to combat the illegal transport of wildlife in the postal sector.
The Services-Courrier-Colis and Consumer and Digital branches have signed a partnership with CDC Biodiversité to take part in the Nature 2050 programme.
The Group's commitment to Nature 2050 is part of its "Climate + Territories" programme and involves support for forestry, agroforestry and sustainable agriculture projects. The low-carbon label carbon offset label launched by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity in 2019 part awarded as part of the Climate and Territories programme has the dual ambition of quantifying the CO2 stored and preserving biodiversity.
With more than 57,000 hectares of forest, CNP Assurances is the largest forest owner in France.
The Société Forestière (a 50%-owned subsidiary of CNP Assurances) ensures the sustainable management of these assets, respecting biodiversity and anticipating climate change.
La Banque Postale, for its part, has signed the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, a global initiative aimed at restoring and preserving biodiversity in investment and finance activities, to which CNP Assurances is also a signatory.
In 2021, La Poste Immobilier launched work to implement the biodiversity pillar of its sustainable property policy, unveiled in 2020. This is based on a number of concrete actions already underway, including 100 ecological diagnoses, 14 sites under the CDC Biodiversity Performance Contract, 300,000 m² of improved green spaces, 40 sites with pollinators (wild or domestic bees), 10 eco-pasture sites, mini-forests installed on postal sorting platforms, and a partnership with the Ligue de Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) to set up 24 labelled Refuges.
One of the keys to the success of these policies is to make everyone aware of the actions to be taken. Employees and suppliers take part, for example, in nature experiments that help to develop everyone's knowledge and expertise.
Climate + Territories" programme in France: a programme launched in 2015 with renowned partners (CNPF, ONF, CDC Biodiversité, Société Forestière, etc.).
Commitment to combating the illegal transport of wild and invasive species in partnership with the WWF, with training for La Poste staff working at Roissy airport.
Plan to combat light pollution on sites
Three-year action plan 2022-2025 for the Ultra-Marine territories: more than 4,500 postal workers involved
Cavities and traps" awareness-raising programme and assistance for small injured animals with animal first-aid training for postmen by the LPO.
Sponsorship for the LPO's "Nature En Ville" programme, and "LPO refuges" certification for several postal sites.
Philatelic programmes: promoting protected species
In this way, La Poste group is contributing to the mobilisation of citizens in mainland France and the French overseas territories, with participative science and biodiversity protection initiatives.
(1): Vital services that are provided by ecosystems for many species or groups of species, generally classified as a common good and/or public good.