Credit Agricole (CA) has pledged to finance one in three renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in France by 2020.

CA will fund the projects through its green finance unit Unifergie, part of CA Leasing & Factoring.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

The group also committed €100bn (£88.9bn) in green financing across the globe, a step up from the €60bn it pledged at the COP 21 climate conference in Paris in 2015.

CA will also update its risk assessment process to factor the environmental footprint of projects financed for large clients. It is also going to expunge the most environmentally-unfriendly activities – like oil sands projects and Arctic oil extraction – from its sector policies.

The company said: “With its deep-rooted history as a ‘green’ bank, Credit Agricole has a crucial role to play in facilitating the energy and carbon transitions. It takes a realistic but thorough approach to helping its clients transform over time by providing appropriate innovative solutions.”

Philippe Brassac, chief executive officer of CA, added: “We are accompanying progress: our role is to accelerate the energy transition and to support, through our expertise, our customers in changing their business models. In order to be efficient, our commitments must be precise and technical.”

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

CA’s move follows similar commitments by British banks HSBC and Barclays. HSBC recently pledged $100bn (€84bn; £74bn) for sustainable financing by 2025, while Barclays last week unveiled a new range of “green” facilities, including asset finance, for businesses requiring more than £3m to finance sustainable projects.