Vera Nobre Leitão assumes the Communications department and succeeds Luciana Peres who is appointed Head of Corporate Responsibility and Diversity & Inclusion at BNP Paribas Portugal, areas that integrate the newly created structure of Company Engagement in Portugal.
Lisbon, 26 january, 2021 – Following the newly created department of Company Engagement in Portugal and the consequent internal restructuring, Vera Nobre Leitão is appointed as the new Head of Communications of BNP Paribas Portugal. With the leadership of Luciana Peres, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Diversity and Inclusion area becomes autonomous, as a demonstration of the Bank’s position in matters of sustainability.
“The future will definitely offer new challenges to our activity and require a clear focus on agility and a strong implementation capacity, with sustainability being our driving force. Communication is crucial to share the vision and the values of BNP Paribas, as well as its commitments towards the Society, contributing to a positive impact across all dimensions”, says Vera Nobre Leitão.
The new Head of Communications has a large experience in the field of communication, having led the communications and marketing departments of the law firm DLA Piper, Católica Global School of Law and the law firm Cuatrecasas in Portugal. She has a degree in Languages and Literature from Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa, a Master’s Degree from Université Denis Diderot, having also completed an executive management program at INDEG-ISCTE and in marketing at Harvard Business School.
“Committed with a better Future”
Following the Bank’s ambition and to meet the commitments made by BNP Paribas in Portugal, notably through the signature of the Corporate Mobility Pact and the Carta Portuguesa para a Diversidade, CSR becomes an autonomous department, led by Luciana Peres. She will also take on the role of Head of Diversity and Inclusion, integrating the Human Resources ecosystem in this capacity. “We are facing a critical time at which serious and impactful action towards combating Climate change and social inequalities is everyone’s responsibility. I am confident of the collective contribution that BNP Paribas’ people in Portugal can give for a more sustainable society.”
After 18 years within BNP Paribas Personal Finance, where she held different roles as a Director in the areas of Operations, Marketing & Communications and B2C Business Line, Luciana Peres joined the Territory Support Functions and CIB in 2016 as Head of Communications and CSR. Luciana is a member of the CIB Portugal Executive Committee.
Company Engagement
Both Communications and CSR integrate the Company Engagement structure within BNP Paribas in Portugal, following the organization adopted by the Bank internationally and being one of the first countries to adopt it locally.
Led by Nicolas Barbier, who is also BNP Paribas Portugal Chief of Staff, Company Engagement´s mission is to contribute to the Bank´s positive impact in the society, by fostering collaboration between local and global teams, while engaging with employees, clients and all relevant stakeholders, towards a sustainable business model.
About BNP Paribas Portugal
Present in Portugal since 1985, BNP Paribas has about 6,000 employees, in the various Group entities established in our country, providing the full range of solutions for customers, in the exercise of their activities. It is also present in Portugal through competence centers that provide added value services to various countries where the BNP Paribas Group is present. www.www.bnpparibas.pt
Luciana Peres, Head of CSR and Diversity & Inclusion at BNP Paribas in Portugal, and Carla Jorge da Costa, Head of Recruitment and Talent Sourcing in Portugal, have shared with the Portuguese TV show Imagens de Marca the main principles and the most relevant projects in place.
To watch the video, click on the image below (please notice that Internet Explorer is not recommended):
Rising after Covid-19: the role of the blue economy as a step towards a sustainable business outlook
Investors and financial institutions, responsible for funding the economy, must find the solutions and create the products to support their clients to renew the businesses’ activities (that were disrupted by corona virus pandemic) and accelerate the transition to a new sustainable economy of the future (new growth and jobs). From an Ocean conservation perspective, that encompasses a sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources – as stated in the UN’s SDG # 14 – “Life below water”.
Oceans occupy an important place on our planet, if it was a nation it would rank as the 7th largest economy in the world. It generates, directly and indirectly, more than $ 2.5 trillion of GDP and provides more than 35 million of direct jobs. The Ocean economy encompasses nowadays mainly the ocean-based industries, such as Tourism, Energy, Shipping and Fishing, but and increasingly, the natural assets and the ecosystems services that the Ocean provides, with plenty of new opportunities led by technology and innovation. Indeed the Ocean remains widely unexplored – even more than the moon.
While the potential of the Ocean to address some of the existing challenges of our world – climate change, generation of energy, food security, and medical care – is massive, on another side, it has its own challenges to face – over-exploitation, pollution, biodiversity loss and huge gas emissions – in order to be able to develop a Blue Economy. To succeed on that, all the existing Ocean-related businesses need to go through deep transformation on the way they are being performed.
On which concerns the Maritime transportation industry (80% of Planet’s cargo), for instance, a joint effort spearheaded by global shipping banks, in collaboration with key industry stakeholders and with the support of experts, were at the origin of the definition of The Poseidon Principles – a global framework for responsible ship finance. It integrates climate considerations into banking portfolios and credit decisions to promote international shipping’s decarbonisation. The purpose of the Principles is to meet the ambition of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050, in comparison with 2008. They will provide the tools to measure and manage the CO2 intensities of shipping financing portfolios based on a common methodology for all signatory banks, of which BNP Paribas makes part.
If we think about Tourism, mass market tourism has been massively developed across the planet through large hotels and Ocean resorts, as well as massive cruise ships carrying thousands of passengers, without any consideration on climate change, biodiversity loss or local community inclusion. At the same time that preserving its economical contribution to the countries’ GDP and employment; it is urgent that Maritime and Coastal tourism evolves towards an Eco-sustainable Blue Tourism.
Portugal has the 3rd largest exclusive economic zone in European Union and surprisingly the blue economy only accounts for around 5% of the national GDP. There is a huge potential to develop the blue economy namely in ocean energy (floating offshore wind, waves and tides) and aquaculture (fish and seaweed). In order to boost the long-term development of Blue Economy in the country, new public and private initiatives are emerging, such as: Fórum Oceano. The Portuguese official blue economy cluster, which already gathers more than 100 members covering different sectors of activity of Blue Economy and complementary areas, which cannot be led apart (i.e. the banking industry). We are looking forward to participating in large international projects and to accelerating investment in the sustainable blue economy. On the same page, new startup incubators for Ocean are being created, to boost entrepreneurship and foster a sustainable blue economy in the Atlantic area. A good example of it is the new European consortium named Atlantic Smart Ports Blue Acceleration Network – which gathers the main European Ports, Accelerators, Maritime Clusters and other relevant public and private stakeholders.
The Blue Economy related to all the Ocean-based economical activities has the particularity to integrate systematically sustainability in its business model: climate change, biodiversity and social inclusion, as well as generating profitable growth.
As clear sign of the contribution by the banking industry, 185 banks agreed on the definition and application of The Principles for Responsible Banking – which provides the framework for a sustainable banking system. By joining this movement for change, leading the way towards a better future, in which the banking community demonstrates how it makes a positive contribution to people and the planet, as expected by society. Moreover, in particular to Ocean conservation and the Blue Economy.
Blue Economy has been postponed by the entire economic and environmental community in what concerns a real action plan, but it must be assumed as a priority, in its role as game changer for the entire planet.
From the space, it appears that its colour is still mainly the blue: Blue Planet!
Read the original Pierre Rousseau opinion article on Observador here.