FONDS D’ÉPARGNE SALARIALE VERTS : VIGILANCE ROUGE

The report finds that 'responsible' employee savings funds offered by France's top account keepers are marginal and often contradictory to climate goals. It highlights that over 30% of responsible funds from Crédit Agricole and Société Générale invest in fossil fuel expansion, attributing this to partnerships with asset managers like Amundi. The study also accuses these institutions of greenwashing through misleading marketing, while noting that BNP Paribas E&RE and Natixis Interépargne offer more aligned options via managers like Mirova.

• Responsible employee savings funds are a marginal part of the overall offering from the five largest French account keepers, representing only 30% of the total funds proposed.
• A significant portion of 'responsible' funds still invest in fossil fuel expansion. On average, nearly 20% of these funds invest in companies developing new oil and gas fields or LNG export terminals. For Crédit Agricole and Société Générale, this figure exceeds 30%.
• When expanding the analysis to include all companies involved in gas power plants or oil and gas transport infrastructure, over 40% of 'responsible' funds are exposed.
• The credibility of account keepers is undermined by their partnerships with asset managers who support fossil fuel expansion. Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, and Crédit Mutuel ES rely exclusively on such managers. In contrast, Natixis Interépargne and BNP Paribas E&RE include managers like Mirova or BNP Paribas AM who have partially restricted fossil fuel support.
• Amundi is identified as the leading investor supporting fossil fuel expansion in France, with over $20 billion invested in companies developing new fossil projects as of May 2024. This creates a double standard for Crédit Agricole, which restricts bond issuance for such companies at the bank level but allows employee savings to be invested in them via Amundi.
• Account keepers use misleading environmental claims and greenwashing to create an illusion of responsibility. Examples include Crédit Agricole's use of imagery and phrases like "100% engaged," and Société Générale's presentation of Amundi Label funds as "socially responsible investment (ISR)" despite lacking the actual ISR label.

APA

Reclaim Finance (2025). FONDS D’ÉPARGNE SALARIALE VERTS : VIGILANCE ROUGE. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Fonds-depargne-salariale-verts-vigilance-rouge-rapport.pdf

Chicago

Reclaim Finance. FONDS D’ÉPARGNE SALARIALE VERTS : VIGILANCE ROUGE. 2025. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Fonds-depargne-salariale-verts-vigilance-rouge-rapport.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Reclaim Finance |title=FONDS D’ÉPARGNE SALARIALE VERTS : VIGILANCE ROUGE |date=April 2025 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Fonds-depargne-salariale-verts-vigilance-rouge-rapport.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reclaimfinance2025fonds, author = {{Reclaim Finance}}, title = {{FONDS D’ÉPARGNE SALARIALE VERTS : VIGILANCE ROUGE}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Fonds-depargne-salariale-verts-vigilance-rouge-rapport.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }