“This is not about communication. This is not about ideology. This is about business and strategy.” Hacina Py, chief sustainability officer at Societe Generale, cuts straight to the point. Her words capture why the French bank has emerged as Europe’s best for ESG: it treats environmental, social and governance considerations not as marketing tools, but as fundamental drivers of business transformation.
Societe Generale’s comprehensive approach spans client advisory, innovative financing, operational transformation and cultural change. The business-focused mindset has enabled the bank to maintain its ESG leadership even as sentiment around sustainability shifted in some corners of the world.
The bank’s ESG journey reflects strategic thinking across three distinct phases. First came impact management and establishing responsible banking frameworks. Then the bank pivoted to capturing new business opportunities linked to the transition, shifting its businesses from 2021.
Now comes phase three – accompanying clients in their climate and environmental risk assessment and management. “The big weight will come on risks,” explains Py, “because there is a risk of this disorderly transition – we are going to waste a few years that we cannot afford to waste.”
This shift focuses on helping clients build resilience against water shortages, supply chain vulnerabilities, climate hazards and the growing challenge of insurability. Adaptation, not just mitigation, drives the agenda.
A bank of engineers
Societe Generale has a track record of setting and meeting ambitious targets. The bank achieved its €300 billion ($351 billion) sustainable finance target for 2022-25 ahead of schedule and has now launched a refreshed €500 billion target for 2024-30. This new commitment allocates 80% to environmental projects and 20% to social initiatives, focusing on low-carbon energy, sustainable real estate, low-carbon mobility and environmental transition.
Through its pioneering spirit, engineering expertise and deep cultural embedding of green principles, the bank has established itself as a leader in sustainable banking
The bank has demonstrated leadership in decarbonisation, completing alignment work across 12 high-emission sectors under the Net-Zero Banking Alliance framework and setting specific targets for 10 sectors using the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero by 2050 scenario.
What sets Societe Generale apart is what Py calls being “a bank of engineers” that evolved from “an energy bank” to become “a bank of the energy transition”. This technical expertise underpins the bank’s approach to emerging technologies and markets.
Holistic business model transformation
Societe Generale’s ESG leadership is evident in its 2024 deal sheet across sectors. The bank acted as financial adviser for the £4 billion ($5.38 billion) Net Zero Teesside Power project in the UK, the world’s first project-financed carbon capture and storage initiative. In renewable energy, it financed the 1.5GW Baltica 2 Offshore Wind Farm in Poland with a €3 billion green loan, one of Europe’s largest offshore wind projects.
Beyond traditional product-based thinking, there is an appetite for frontier technologies, from floating solar to renewable energy plus battery storage or interconnectors. “You cannot just look at what you do and marginally innovate. You need to think differently, there is a rupture impacting the whole value chains,” says Py.
This philosophy reshapes client relationships. For shipping clients, teams now collaborate across shipyards, ship owners, energy providers and port infrastructure. In electromobility, the bank combines metals and mining expertise with infrastructure financing.
Advisory conversations evolve as teams now tell clients: “This is what we understand from the dynamics of the challenges you’re facing in your sector, and we would like to accompany you. We will take risk to support the emergence of new solutions and technologies, such as on green steel or innovative renewable energy projects.”
Advancing new frontiers
Deep technical engagement shows through participation in sector-specific alliances including Pegasus for aircraft and Poseidon for shipping.
Industry peers recognise the bank’s publications as best-in-class. Py illustrates the bank’s approach: “We put on the table what we know and are open to challenge. Knowledge sharing and collective action enrich us.”
Societe Generale is also at the cutting edge of emerging ESG themes. In 2024, the bank introduced a comprehensive biodiversity strategy aligned with the Global Biodiversity Framework, partnering with Quantis to pilot methodologies for assessing nature impacts of financed activities. The bank has also developed specific water standards for mining and agriculture financing, earning top-tier recognition from WWF for policy robustness.
The circular economy represents another frontier where it is developing innovative approaches. Working with French startup Circul’R, Societe Generale is identifying what is bankable and what is not across different circular economy applications, from financing refurbished products to introducing circularity principles across insurance claims and mobility services.
Cultural transformation
There is a deep cultural embedding fuelling action. “We had 41,000 people going through the Climate Fresk workshops,” recalls Py. “In addition, we launched a multi-level ESG training programme. By end-2024, the bank had trained 85,000 employees on the fundamental level – 80% of its workforce across 60 countries.”
This cultural transformation extends to operational excellence, with the bank reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions by 36% compared to 2019, progressing towards its 50% reduction target by 2030. Single-use plastics are gone from its French operations. The environmental commitment awards, an internal initiative, generated 378 employee applications in 2024 spread around topics such as CO2 reduction, water consumption and circularity.
Societe Generale knows that sustainability is more than financing – it requires fundamental business model transformation. Through its pioneering spirit, engineering expertise and deep cultural embedding of green principles, the bank has established itself as a leader in sustainable banking.
