The Obstacle
Societe Generale, one of Europe’s leading banks, operates in an environment shaped by rising energy demand, geopolitical uncertainty, and accelerating climate risk.
Sustainability in financial services has traditionally focused on compliance and reporting. But as the energy transition reshaped industries, that approach was no longer sufficient.
The bank faced a structural challenge: how to finance growth and energy security while remaining aligned with long-term transition commitments—and do so in a way that reflected both transition and physical risks.
Our Approach
Under Chief Sustainability Officer Hacina Py, Societe Generale undertook a multiyear transformation to embed sustainability into core business and risk decisions.
Working alongside BCG, the bank integrated ESG capabilities across risk, finance, and business lines, and aligned credit portfolios across emissions-intensive sectors. This included defining net zero pathways and embedding them into capital allocation and risk frameworks.
Societe Generale also repositioned its portfolio, reducing exposure to certain high-risk activities while expanding financing in renewable energy, low-carbon infrastructure, and emerging technologies across various cross sectorial value chains. Through its affiliate, Quantis, BCG supported the development of methodologies to assess nature-related impacts.
The bank’s strengthened sector expertise enabled it to advise and finance complex projects such as the Net Zero Teesside carbon capture initiative and the Baltica 2 offshore wind farm.
The Result
Societe Generale achieved its €300 billion sustainable finance target (2022–2025) ahead of schedule and set a new target of contributing €500 billion between 2024 and 2030.
It has established decarbonization targets across key sectors and embedded sustainability into core functions. In 2025, Euromoney named Societe Generale the World’s Best Bank for ESG.
The transformation has strengthened the bank’s ability to support clients through the transition.
More broadly, Societe Generale has strengthened its ability to navigate evolving market and regulatory expectations, while supporting clients through increasingly complex transition and resilience challenges.
