In nature, everything is linked. No activity is environmentally neutral. Marc Lemaire (EcoRes, Groupe One) talks to us about regulation, the circular economy, 'spruce-style' companies and the laws of nature

The fates of humankind, the earth and the economy are closely linked. Nothing we do is without impact on our planet. "However, we have built our world upon the paradigm of separation, which has led to our current environmental situation: an abused planet, biodiversity under threat, excessive carbon emissions and toxic conventional agriculture" deplores Marc Lemaire, commercial engineer and agro-economist and social entrepreneur.

He refers to the limits of planetary resources within which humankind can successfully work and live: "This is a historic moment, but three have already passed, and we are heading for the cliff edge. We have never lost so many species, nor emitted so much CO₂ as we do now! Nevertheless, it is not too late to act, as long as we do so with the right attitude. Marc Lemaire: "We either remain indecisive, or we take responsibility for the state in which we leave the earth for our children, taking into account events such as forest fires in Portugal. Today's climate-related catastrophes are the product of our CO₂ emission rates in 1968!"

According to this logic of separation, it's as if we decided that it was OK for our activities to harm 'the other' with impunity, in this case the environment, resources, fauna, flora, and the earth that is our home. 

Collective, rapid change expected

For William De Vijlder, head economist at the BNP Paribas Group, it is clear that policy can reinstate unity and a connection to the market. The aim should be to encourage economic stakeholders to increase positive externalities through fiscal incentives such as subsidies, taxation or emissions trading, but also to impose standards and sanctions to reduce negative externalities.
Marc Lemaire, a pioneer of the green transition, would like things to move faster: "The Paris Agreement requires every stakeholder to make substantial efforts, but these are hard to monitor." That is only possible for big manufacturers, through agreements at sectoral level which require them to compensate for excess carbon emissions by purchasing green certificates intended to finance renewable energy development projects in the southern hemisphere."

Awareness is growing

Twenty years ago, were many of us truly aware of the consequences of our actions on the planet we will leave to our children? Many were still sceptical about the causes and extent of the damage. Today we have become more clear-sighted. This is an important breakthrough. The link to health is also becoming more and more significant. For example, endocrine disruptors (some can be found in bottles, plastics and inside cans) have been declared a health risk by the WHO. In addition, we have seen an increase in the number of patients suffering from asthma and cases of early puberty. Studies have been published on this topic for the past 15 to 20 years. Today, we have a better understanding of what is at stake.

What is expected of businesses?

These self-same opinionated citizens are also employees who are becoming ever more sensitive to the approach their companies are taking to the fight against climate change; an approach that should be long-term and to the benefit of all, from employees to shareholders and customers. Organisations are now expected to include CO₂ emissions, fine particles and social impact in their accounting and their financial balance sheet. A company's positive contribution to society is becoming a piece of data as significant as its figures and revenue.

Values such as those promoted by pioneers such as Exki have become a model for inspiration. However, according to Marc Lemaire, a law would ensure that the collective interest takes priority: "We need to take a sector-based approach. Coca Cola won't measure itself against an IT company on this issue, and a bank won't compare itself to Unilever. The leaders in each sector should be identified to determine the criteria they work to. Bionade is a lemonade that is manufactured in a fully organic manner, using 100% organic raw materials, and which contains no alcohol. Can their criteria be applied to the whole sector? If so, wouldn't it be a good idea to impose their best practices as the standard for all fizzy drink brands?" proposes Marc Lemaire.

Rubbish is transformed into a new product

Green transition shouldn't be a catch-all that encompasses CSR, a bit of green development and social responsibility. A growing number of company executives understand the importance of taking a sustainable approach, but the steps taken are still insufficient and unconnected. We now need to move onto the next stage and ensure a company's approach is structured around the core of its activities. The concept of a circular economy is gaining traction, and it's not just hype. Marc Lemaire: "We have successfully integrated the need to recycle. It's a nice step, but we are still on a linear path; an economic model that extracts minerals from the earth to meet its needs and then simply throws them away. We do the same with consumables."

We should therefore look to nature and draw inspiration from the laws dictated by common sense. Nothing is wasted in nature. Everything is recreated to be transformed. A living organism that dies will be recovered as nutrients to give life to something else. The cycles of life and death are closely entwined. Only humankind has created the idea of waste.

The circular economy, which is the opposite to a linear one, creates loops and strives to use industrial waste as part of another economic cycle. An example of this is the oil used for deep frying chips, which is no longer thrown away, but used for biodiesel production instead.

The separate management of biological and technical cycles is another basic principle of the circular economy. The inert components, such as the screws and bolts, can be extracted from a wooden chair and then separated from the living parts. The wood can be reintroduced to the biological circuit and live for another cycle. The aim is to give it as many lives as possible. The same can be envisaged for the bolts. Their life span can be extended by recovering them and multiplying their uses in order, in short, to produce less.

How can their lives and use spans be managed? By becoming the owner of the material and ensuring it is traceable as Unicore does. The company buys cobalt from the mines in Katanga and retains responsibility for it.
The service economy also has a role to play in this desire to share resources in a smart way. "I am not going to buy a car that my family and I only use occasionally, instead I am going to use a car rental service. Rental services are expanding into a growing number of sectors, but this has hardly been studied yet," adds Marc Lemaire.

What is the role of a bank?

A bank has an impact on everything, and its effects are mainly indirect as it supports all of its clients' activities. This confers upon it another responsibility. How does Marc Lemaire envisage the role of the bank in the future? "A financial operator has the capacity to make an enormous difference. Like a tree, a bank must be sustainable and a have a desire to live. But if it transcends this role and assumes responsibility as a guardian of the forest, it can promote biodiversity by favouring the birth of new species.

What if, in my forest, there were trees working to deplete the soil, which is degrading significantly? Marc Lemaire: "Imagine if, as a good manager, I decided to sort them by providing less financing to spruce-style companies that deplete the soil and by providing easier access to money for young shoots that want to grow. They are tomorrow's sustainable champions. This isn't something that can be achieved overnight, but in time it should optimise the structure of the bank's portfolio." In other words, banks also have a responsibility to choose how they distribute their energy, either to companies that power the sustainable economy or to spruces that harm the ecosystem.

Is technology the key to moving towards more sustainable business travel? Here’s what Philippe Kahn, Mobility Solutions Expert, thinks.

Now more than ever, businesses need to rethink mobility so that it forms part of the sustainable transition that needs to take place in our societies. Since 1 July 2023, the regulation meaning that company vehicles with combustion engines will no longer be longer tax-deductible by 2026 has started to have an impact. At the same time, Belgium’s Federal Mobility Budget and its recent developments are making this (r)evolution much more concrete and practical. And one thing is for sure: technology – and especially apps – have a key role to play. Philippe Kahn, Mobility Solutions Expert at Arval BNP Paribas Group, explains why.

1 July 2023: a key date

“In the few weeks that have passed since the pivotal date of 1 July 2023, we have already seen a change in the needs expressed by our corporate customers,” says Kahn. "Some of them had already taken practical steps towards sustainable transition. But nowadays, more and more of them also have to address the specific questions and concerns of their employees. How will I be able to use an electric car when I live in a city and have no charging stations available? Do I want to search for a reliable place to charge every day? And am I ready to fundamentally rethink how I get around? Providing a satisfactory answer to these questions is inevitably a priority for employers. As well as the end-to-end management of company electric vehicles – including the question of charging them – more and more companies are starting to rethink their overall mobility policy, analysing all existing alternatives, particularly multimodal solutions. And that’s great news, because it’s essential for their future. So I think the demand for such solutions is only going to grow. Technology, and apps in particular, are key tools for a smooth transition".

Anticipating change to serve companies better

Whereas this issue is only just emerging for many companies, it has been a priority for Arval BNP Paribas Fortis and Philippe Kahn for years. "For more than five years now, we have been anticipating the changes that are now taking place, ensuring that our vision of mobility and expertise go far beyond leasing. We now have an entire department that deals with these matters exclusively. This enables us to meet and even anticipate the needs of companies that have no experience of these issues, and who sometimes feel a little lost when it comes to this revolution in travel.”

A simpler, smoother experience thanks to technology

But why and how is technology playing an important role in this transition to more sustainable business travel? "It’s making the experience of new mobility easier and smoother for its users. And that's where the latest developments in the market are heading," says Kahn. "In fact, that's also what our new Mobility Arval App now offers our corporate customers. It makes it easier for employers to manage the mobility budget established by the federal authorities. This budget, its three pillars and recent developments are crucial factors when a company is rethinking its mobility. But at the same time, it involves some regulatory complexity. That’s why, five years ago, we started developing a whole range of technological tools to help companies deal with these matters. For example, we  make it simple for our customers to manage the combination of an electric car and bicycle within this mobility budget. In this spirit of innovation, and aiming to improve the user experience, our app integrates all facets of new business mobility, which are all accessible from a smartphone. Use of public transport, shared mobility, taxis, and even parking – even though this is not one of the pillars of the mobility budget – everything is in one place. The app also makes it easier to manage transactions: low-value mobility transactions, such as buying a bus ticket, are automatically captured and validated, so manual checks are no longer needed. Similarly, there is no longer any need to advance money to employees or reimburse them for anything, and no need for them to keep and present tickets or any other proof of purchase. In short, our app translates the entire mobility budget, which can be pretty complex, into a user-friendly tool where all the important components are taken into account: car, bicycle, scooter, multimodal solutions, public transport, shared mobility, etc."

Technology as a strategy accelerator

Arval Belgium’s innovations perfectly illustrate why technology is an important accelerator when implementing new mobility strategies. And it goes without saying that what exists today will evolve very quickly, leading to an ever-richer user experience. As Philippe Kahn says, "there are a lot of innovative tools out there already. But one of the challenges, linked to the complexity of the situation in Belgium, is to bring together all the players involved under the same umbrella, so that the result of this collaborative work can be found in a single 'magic' app. The solutions that exist today in Belgium are often local in scope. This is a limitation that doesn’t exist in the Netherlands, for example, thanks to their OV card.  Belgium’s urban planning realities are also a challenge:  outside the major urban centres, it’s less easy to set up mobility hubs in which all modes of travel are accessible."

One thing is certain: for companies, the transition to new forms of mobility is well underway. And the new Arval Belgium app is a valuable tool for those companies. “This technological innovation now makes it possible to mitigate the regulatory complexity for employers, and to make multimodal transport a very fluid experience for employees,” concludes Kahn.

Arval Belgium SA, Ikaroslaan 99, 1930 Zaventem – Registered with the Brussels trade register – Belgian VAT number 0436.781.102.  Company with an ancillary insurance brokage business, registered with the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) under number 047238 A. Subject to acceptance of your request.

Arval Belgium SA is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas Fortis S.A.

At the end of May, BNP Paribas Fortis and the University of Antwerp brought together a number of experts to discuss the many challenges involved in decarbonising the shipping sector. What are the key points to remember?

Established 12 years ago, the BNP Paribas Fortis Chair in Transport, Logistics and Ports - linked to the University of Antwerp - conducts in-depth research to find concrete and innovative ways of creating an increasingly resilient – and sustainable – maritime ecosystem.

Building on the success of its first two major events in 2017 and 2019, the Chair has decided to do it again this year. On 25 May 2023, a number of experts and stakeholders from the port and maritime transport sector gathered at the BNP Paribas Fortis premises in Antwerp to discuss the impact of decarbonisation on the maritime ecosystem.

Here are their main findings...

1 – We need to move up a gear

Shipping is currently the most carbon-efficient form of commercial transport in terms of CO₂ emissions per tonne and kilometre. But it can do better.

So far, industry players have favoured quick wins, such as modifying ship propellers and adjusting speeds. But on 25 May, the experts agreed that now is the time to experiment with new fuels and technologies, and move towards (near) zero emissions. The pace of change is accelerating, but there's no silver bullet yet. The costs (and risks) are huge.

2 – International regulation, please (and only one)!

The regulatory framework is complex and constantly evolving.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), which reports to the UN, is committed to reducing the carbon emissions from all ships by 40% by 2030 and by 70% by 2050 compared to 2008.

The European Union has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. By 2024, an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will apply to all ships of more than 5,000 gross tonnes sailing to or from EU ports.

In short: things are moving, and in the right direction. The problem, according to industry players, is that numerous regional and supra-regional programmes continue to coexist. This leads to administrative and financial overload.

On 25 May, all those involved agreed on two points: firstly, that a single international policy is essential, as this is a global sector; and secondly, that players who do not comply with the rules must be sanctioned.

3 – The transition to carbon neutrality will be costly 

The investments required to build new greener ships is estimated at $5 trillion by 2050. The cost of modernising the existing fleet is not yet known, but it will not be zero. In addition, the investment required to renew port infrastructures promises to be huge.

4 – Fuel and/or preferred technology: uncertainty reigns

What will be the fuel or technology of the future? Opinions are divided.

Many types of low-emission fuels are likely to coexist for some time. Electricity will only be used on coastal vessels, ferries and some tugs. Large ships will use liquefied natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), methanol, ammonia and possibly even biofuels.

Long-distance shipping will initially depend on heavy fuel oil, possibly with carbon capture and storage. Hydrogen has potential, but its density, storage and handling raise questions. Wind, solar and nuclear power are also in the mix.

But the real problem at the moment is that while the number of ships that can run on cleaner fuels is increasing, these fuels are not yet sufficiently available internationally. In other words, supply is much lower than demand.

5 – Banks play a key role

Banks have a key role to play in financing the energy transition. In 2019, eleven financial institutions – mostly European, including the BNP Paribas Group – launched the Poseidon Principles to support the transition to low-carbon shipping. This global framework makes it possible to measure and disclose the carbon intensity of bank loans in the maritime sector. There are now 24 signatories, including Japanese financial institutions. And that’s good news.

Want to know more?

Presentations, videos and photos from the 25 May event are available on this page.

A recently commissioned survey by BNP Paribas Fortis on mobility found that this remains a major challenge for the coming years. The bank is determined to play its part.

A survey among 2,000 people, and representative of the Belgian population, on mobility shows that the switch to electric driving is slowing. Almost 80% of those surveyed still drive a diesel or petrol vehicle, and more than a third of them have no intention of trading in their cars for a more environmentally friendly model any time soon. And yet almost 50% want to be driving electric by 2029. But before that switch, some hurdles first need to be cleared. According to two-thirds of respondents, the bank needs to take a proactive role in the transition to sustainable mobility.

• Only 10% of cars on the streets today are electric, hybrid or run on hydrogen. Users of these vehicles confirm they are very satisfied. Though most have their own charging station, public charging stations are a bottleneck.
• While fighting climate change remains the main argument for switching, changing mobility habits isn’t so easy. The switch to electric is slow, and more incentives are needed, such as new tax measures, and above all, a commitment from the government. Prices also need to come down. It is clear that the practical issues of driving and charging times mean people hesitate to make the switch.
• As a result, enthusiasm about new mobility initiatives is rather muted. Although, especially in big cities, an app that combines mobility options has good chances of success.
• Mobility and work are strongly linked. One in three people spend at least an hour a day travelling to/from work. It turns out that teleworking is a solution for only 50% of the people, and that the other half of the population don’t have the opportunity to work from home.
• More awareness needs to be created around new mobility. Not everyone is familiar with shared cars, bikes and charging stations yet.

Mobility partner

BNP Paribas Fortis is determined to contribute to more sustainable mobility and be a mobility partner for both professional and private customers. We are doing this by informing audiences of all the advantages of an environmentally friendly switch. And also by offering support through financing, insurance and leasing. Our goal is to provide a global response to tomorrow's mobility needs through innovative services.

More and more people are cycling to work. Mobility solutions expert Philippe Kahn explains how and why.

People are changing the way they travel to limit their environmental impact: behaviours are starting to shift, and the use of bicycles is rising, including and especially for travelling to and from work. We spoke to Philippe Kahn, Mobility Solutions Expert at Arval BNP Paribas Group, about these developments. 

Two out of three Belgians use soft mobility, mainly bicycles

According to Profacts’ “Mobility Tomorrow & Beyond” survey, two out of three Belgians have adopted soft mobility. "But the biggest change is the increasing use of bicycles for business travel and commuting. People are also using bicycles more on the school or nursery run, facilitated by the arrival of electric cargo bikes on the market," says Kahn.

A favourable regulatory framework

But what are the reasons for the increased use of bicycles for business travel?  “Let’s first take a look at how the regulatory framework has changed," says Kahn. "In Belgium, the creation of the federal mobility budget has made alternative ways of travelling attractive for all employees. The budget makes it possible to choose a comfortable company bicycle as part of a tax-friendly salary package. Moreover, this mobility budget can even be used to cover housing costs if you work from home more than half the time or if you live within 10 km of your place of work. So instead of having a company car, people can choose to have a combination of an electric bicycle and a contribution to their housing costs. Furthermore, two measures effective from 1 May 2023 should reinforce this trend: the bicycle allowance for commuting is increasing to €0.27 net per km travelled, and all Belgian employees will be entitled to this allowance. In practical terms, this means that those who choose to cycle for these journeys will be substantially rewarded.”

Investment in public infrastructure is paying off

Another important factor in the increased use of bicycles is the development of road infrastructure.

Philippe Kahn: "One factor that can convince people to cycle to work is the certainty of a safe journey. A few years ago, cycling to work in Brussels, for example, could be dangerous. But today, cycling infrastructure is making these journeys increasingly safe, in particular thanks to the cycle motorways on which only bicycles can travel. Infrastructure investments are now also happening in the rest of Belgium, not just Flanders and its major cities. In recent years, Brussels has undergone significant changes, and things are also starting to move in Wallonia.”

Half of all Belgians live within 15 km of their place of work

Distance from the workplace is also crucial in determining how attractive cycling is. "One in two Belgians lives within 15 km of their workplace, a distance that you can easily cycle," adds Kahn. "Along with the Improved infrastructure, this means that cycling to work is a realistic option for many Belgians. And the €0.27 per kilometre allowance will be an added incentive for them to make the change.”

78% of leased company bicycles are electric

To meet the needs of companies and their staff, Arval is now offering bicycle leasing. This full-service lease covers maintenance, breakdown assistance, insurance and repairs, as is traditionally the case for a car. Philippe Kahn points out some very significant trends in this area: "60% e-bikes and 18% speed pedelecs: in total, 78% of our leased company bikes are electric.

High-end bicycles costing several thousand euros, such as electric cargo bikes, are also highly successful, which is probably due to opportunity: the mobility budget or employer “cafeteria plan” benefits packages are making it possible for people to acquire these bikes. But it may also be a consequence of Belgium’s specific tax regulations: the more expensive the bicycle, the more significant the tax incentive. Another interesting observation is that when a  bicycle replaces a car, it’s usually the family’s second car. So we’re not yet seeing any radical replacement of cars by bicycles, but the emergence of the company bicycle is definitely reducing the total number of kilometres travelled by car.”

Digital applications: shifting up a gear

Lastly, Kahn points to another factor that could encourage more people to take up cycling to work. "I think that technology, and in particular digital applications, can make a big difference. We can expect strong growth in the market for apps dedicated to commuting by bike. The business model for on-the-go electric bike rental is already based on a smartphone app. So imagine the success of an application that gives you a safe and bicycle-friendly route for travelling to and from work, and the boost that this could give to this type of travel," concludes Kahn.