Supporting the transition

Contributing to sustainable finance

Having achieved its aim of contributing EUR 300 billion to sustainable finance over 2022-2025 ahead of schedule, Societe Generale has set a new target of contributing EUR 500 billion to sustainable finance between 2024 and 2030. This target includes ambitious criteria: 

• ~EUR 400 billion in financing, including some advisory, 
• ~EUR 100 billion in sustainable bonds for which only Societe Generale’s share is taken into account..

This target aims to increase focus on decarbonisation in the highest carbon intensive sectors for which the Bank has set objectives over the same time horizon. A large part of the financing will be devoted to transactions specific to low-carbon energy, sustainable real estate, low-carbon mobility and issues relating to industry and the environmental transition, to proactively support our clients in their own transitions.

Societe Generale has set up its own Sustainable Finance Taxonomy to define the economic activities considered to be sustainable from an environmental and/or social point of view. This taxonomy specifies the criteria – established based on relevant international standards and market practices, regularly reviewed to reflect regulatory, market and technological developments – applicable to banking and financing products provided by the Group (credit, debt and capital markets, guarantees and advisory services) in order to validate their sustainable nature.

Preparing the future 

To support tomorrow’s players and solutions, in September 2023 the Group launched an envelope of EUR 1 billion devoted to the environmental transition, including equity investments of EUR 700 million. This investment fund will support actors involved in the transition, green technologies, nature-based solutions and impact-driven projects, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

Societe Generale has acquired a majority stake in Reed Management to create REED, a leader in alternative investments in new energy transition players. This transaction is helping to establish Societe Generale as a key player in equity investments in emerging leaders of the energy transition. 

Societe Generale is also striving to transform and electrify the vehicle fleet within Ayvens, a world leader in multi-brand operational vehicle leasing solutions. To illustrate this positioning, Ayvens signed a financing agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) in March 2025 to make the transition to electric vehicles more accessible for businesses in Europe.

Developing innovative solutions and partnerships

Convinced that innovation is an essential lever for sustainable finance, the Group supports innovative companies, invests in businesses that could be tomorrow’s champions and forms partnerships enabling it to offer innovative solutions to its clients.

The Group is thus teaming up with key partners to support the environmental transition. 
Within this framework, Societe Generale and the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, have signed a collaboration agreement to accelerate sustainable finance in developing countries.

This agreement has led to various transactions and has notably enabled BRD, Societe Generale’s subsidiary in Romania, and IFC to finalise a major synthetic risk transfer (SRT) deal to stimulate the financing of local SMEs and projects related to sustainable development in Romania.

Read the press release: Societe Generale steps up its efforts supporting the environmental transition

In Africa, Societe Generale has launched the “Solar Pack” offer to support its Corporate and Institutional customers in the continent's energy transition. 

To find out more: Fostering the rise of photovoltaic and the energy transition in Africa

The Group has also developed an ecosystem with partners and start-ups to develop its businesses and better meet its clients’ requirements:

• in 2023, the Group acquired a stake in EIT InnoEnergy to help new industrial champions grow and to accelerate the energy transition. Societe Generale is thus supporting the development of the 200 start-ups currently in EIT InnoEnergy’s portfolio, including such names as GravitHy, Holosolis and FertigHy;
• Societe Generale has also invested in Polestar Capital Circular Debt Fund, the only private debt fund in Europe dedicated to the circular economy;
• in 2025, Societe Generale and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed an agreement with the potential to unlock investment of up to EUR 8 billion to support wind energy manufacturers in Europe.

Supporting all client segments

In France, the SG Network provides practical solutions and advice to support all its customers in the environmental transition, notably with, for its individual retail customers:

• measures to help customers reduce their energy bills and the carbon impact of their real-estate assets, with partner Hello Watt, from diagnosis to financing (zero interest eco-loan, sustainable development loan, expresso sustainable development loan), or with SOGEPROM, Societe Generale’s real-estate development subsidiary, for high-energy-performance and biodiversity-friendly buildings;
• solutions for financing and insuring hybrid and electric vehicles and eco-friendly loans for the purchase of electric bicycles or scooters;
• a range of funds for investing in companies that comply with environmental, social and governance criteria, part of which is SRI labelled;
• life insurance contracts incorporating ESG criteria in the financial management of the unit-linked component and offering SRI-labelled units.

SG also offers its business clients: 

• the opportunity to measure and improve their CSR approach thanks to its partner Carbo’s support and evaluation tools;
• the financing of their projects related to the environmental transition facilitated via the Garantie BPI Verte;
• with the Entrepreneurs Collection option, the possibility of donating 5 euro cents to the entrepreneurship support network of their choice (Moovjee or Initiative France) for each payment by bank card;
• microfinance support, in partnership with ADIE (a non-profit promoting the right to economic initiative). 

For companies, SG Network offers them the expertise of a local Head of CSR in each region as well as sustainable financing solutions:

• the Positive Impact Loan, for which the interest rate fluctuates as the company meets ESG indicator targets it has defined in discussions with the Bank;
• the Environmental and Social Loan to finance a sustainable investment project (low-carbon transport, social and solidarity economy, etc.), notably via the ‘Solar Pack’ to helps companies install solar panels. 

To support this client segment throughout its approach, the SG Network also distributes additional offers from partners such as EcoVadis, Schneider Electric and Afnor Compétences: assessment of CSR maturity, help with deploying a CSR approach, decarbonising buildings, etc.

Moreover, Societe Generale provides its clients with a structured ESG offer backed by technical and sectoral expertise. Its experts in Global Banking support companies and institutional clients in the implementation of solutions that are aligned with their environmental and social objectives via an in-depth understanding of the specific challenges facing each sector, market and geography. (For further information, see the Wholesale website.

Finally, Societe Generale supports its individual clients internationally, notably by assisting SMEs in their transition through financing solutions and offers developed with partners, fostering a positive local impact.