Societe Generale has launched a green IT programme designed to cut the bank's CO2 emissions through the introduction of new technology.
As part of the programme, the bank has published an in-house procedure guide covering the life cycle of office equipment, explaining the conditions for processing its Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) concerning PCs, servers and phones.
The bank has already signed a WEEE collection and reconditioning contract with various organisations coordinated by ACVO and says it plans to encourage overseas subsidiaries to follow the approach.
In addition, a "Smart Building" study is set to be launched to look into integrating a tool that automatically reports on the bank's buildings' fluid and energy consumption.
A further study will create a self-evaluation tool to define objectives and actions to improve the energy and environmental performance of buildings.
Banks are becoming increasingly aware of the value of greening their buildings. In February Deutsche Bank embarked on a programme to carry out a 'green' technological modernisation of its iconic twin-tower office blocks in Frankfurt.
Last year Bank of America made an undisclosed investment in Philadelphia-based Field Diagnostic Services (FDSI) and is deploying the firm's energy management technology across thousands of US branches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut energy costs in half.
Meanwhile UK banking group HSBC has completed the installation of 422 solar panels on the roof of its Canary Wharf headquarters in London.