International banking and investment group Crédit Agricole announced the launch of its Societal Commitment Division, a new unit responsible for defining, promoting, leading and coordinating the group’s environmental and societal initiatives.

According to a statement announcing the launch, the new division will “encourage the fullest possible dissemination of a responsible and sustainable approach in all its activities and in its relations with its stakeholders.”

Crédit Agricole’s activities span corporate, investment and business banking, insurance, asset management, and other financial services through its brands that include Crédit Agricole CIB, Amundi, CPR Asset Management, and Crédit Agricole Assurances, among several others. The company also recently launched Crédit Agricole Transitions & Énergies, a new business line aimed at coordinating and advancing the company’s energy transition actions and offerings.

Responsibilities of the new division will include steering Crédit Agricole’s Societal Project, which promotes the integration of responsible practices into the company’s operations; adopting and monitoring environmentally friendly sectoral practices and policies, including emissions reduction, ecological footprint reduction, renewable energy promotion, sustainable resource management and environmental awareness; contributing to responsible risk management and ethical and legal compliance, and; promoting the financing of projects and businesses with positive societal and environmental impact.

The new division is headed by Éric Campos, who has also joined Crédit Agricole’s Executive Committee. Campos joined Crédit Agricole in 2001, and has most recently been serving as CEO of Crédit Agricole Transitions & Énergies and as Head of Corporate and Social Responsibility.

The company said:

“Following the creation of a CSR department in 2011, and a Corporate Social Responsibility department in 2019, the creation of the Societal Commitment Division marks a new stage in Crédit Agricole’s ambition to place environmental and social issues at the center of its strategic thinking and action.”