BNP Paribas Assurance joins BNP Paribas Diversity Label certification scope

Rueil-Malmaison, BNP Paribas has held the Diversity Label awarded by French certification agency AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation) since 2009. During an intermediate audit in June 2010 to prepare for renewal of the label, the BNP Paribas group decided to include several subsidiaries in the evaluation process, including BNP Paribas Assurance.

Following the audit, BNP Paribas Assurance was praised for its practices and engagement in favor of diversity. The Insurance business has now been formally included in the Group certification scope for the Diversity Label.

The Diversity Label drives progress by sustaining a process of continuous improvement, encouraging BNP Paribas to pursue its efforts to combat all forms of discrimination and promote diversity.

The inclusion of BNP Paribas Assurance in the Diversity Label audit scope recognizes the company’s commitment to exemplary human resources practices and a proactive Corporate Social Responsibility policy that was formally initiated in 2006.

“The inclusion of BNP Paribas Assurance in the scope of this certification is a tangible expression of our commitment and our deep respect for the principle of diversity. It recognizes the success of our comprehensive approach and will inspire ongoing momentum by establishing a framework for continuous progress,” said Marie-Christine Barjolin, BNP Paribas Assurance Director of Human Resources.

Diversity Label recognizes concrete initiatives and the company’s commitment to promoting diversity

BNP Paribas Assurance considers diversity as a central priority for the enterprise. In addition to proactive initiatives to better promote diversity and equal opportunity and to combat all forms of discrimination, BNP Paribas Assurance has developed training and recruitment programs to encourage diversity. This policy is led by a Diversity Committee, created in January 2009.

Specific actions to support a “Diversity Project”* and to promote both age diversity and a multicultural workforce** have also been deployed. In June 2008, BNP Paribas Assurance received the Equality Label, also awarded by the AFNOR certification body, recognizing the company’s action plans to promote gender equality.

*Staff awareness, recruitment, facilitating access to insurance for customers with certain disabilities, including paraplegics or asthma sufferers.
**Signature of an action plan to support senior employees, development of partnerships to promote gender equality and other initiatives.


About BNP Paribas Assurance
BNP Paribas Assurance (www.assurance.bnpparibas.com) is the Life and Property & Casualty insurance unit of BNP Paribas. It develops and markets products and services under two commercial brands. Products distributed through the BNP Paribas retail branch network in France are branded BNP Paribas. Those distributed by other channels in France and in international markets are branded Cardif.
BNP Paribas Assurance is the world leader in creditor insurance and the fourth-largest life insurance company in France. Its life and non-life insurance units have received an AA rating from Standard & Poor’s. It had gross written premiums of 20.7 billion euros in 2009. With a diversified geographic footprint, BNP Paribas Assurance has strong positions in Europe, Latin America and Asia. In 2009, BNP Paribas Assurance generated 41% of its gross written premiums outside France. It counts over 8,000 employees, 74% of them outside France.

BNP Paribas Assurance is actively committed to exemplary Corporate Social Responsibility. It has adopted a Socially Responsible Investment program, encourages diversity throughout the enterprise (earning the “Gender Equality at Work” label in France) and supports local economic development in the markets where it operates.
BNP Paribas Assurance is equally committed to environmental responsibility and has deployed an action plan to achieve a 10-percent reduction in the company’s carbon emissions.