BNP Paribas to Renew Focus on Community Responsibility at the 2022 BNP Paribas Open
World-Leading Tennis Sponsor to Activate a Number of Environmental and Social Equity Initiatives
New York, NY / Indian Wells, CA, March 7, 2022 – BNP Paribas, Europe’s premier global bank and a leading sponsor of tennis, and Bank of the West, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, today announce a renewed focus on community responsibility – specifically environmental and social equity causes – through a series of initiatives at the 2022 BNP Paribas Open, the largest combined ATP and WTA Tour event in the world.
As the tournament prepares to host the event in its traditional spot on the tennis calendar for the first time since 2019, BNP Paribas and Bank of the West will invite fans to join a number of efforts centered on environmental and social equity issues.
- Team BNP Paribas Mac 1: A new inductee will be selected to join ‘Team BNP Paribas Mac 1,’ which helps the most promising and deserving young American tennis talents often from disadvantaged backgrounds to reach the next level. The US program builds on the global ‘BNP Paribas Young Talent Team’ in partnership with the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. In addition, two Mac 1 players will receive wild cards into the BNP Paribas Open qualifying draws.
- BNP Paribas Open Scholarship Program: BNP Paribas and Bank of the West will award scholarships to four deserving high school students from the local community. The students will be awarded the college grants at a ceremony at their school and will be recognized in a presentation during the tournament.
- #FAAPointsForChange: Félix Auger-Aliassime, the 21-year-old ATP Tour player who is currently at a career-high rankings of World No. 9, has committed to donate $5 for each point he wins at the tournament and BNP Paribas will match with $15 per point. Funds raised will be donated to CARE for EduChange in the West African nation of Togo. The initiative protects the most vulnerable children (of which 60 percent are female) against all forms of violence and gives them access to education.
- Aces for Trees (#BNPPOpen4Trees): BNP Paribas and Bank of the West will once again team up to plant trees in areas affected by recent California wildfires. Three trees will be planted for every ace served throughout the tournament and one tree for every social media share using #BNPPOpen4Trees, highlighting a 40-foot, co-branded living wall located in the tournament’s Exhibitor Village. . In 2021, the banks planted 2,500 trees via 2,000 aces and 500 social shares. The initiative complements BNP Paribas’ and Bank of the West’s policies and commitments to fight deforestation and strengthen biodiversity.
The Indian Wells Tennis Garden and the BNP Paribas Open, one of the world’s premier tennis facilities and events respectively, remain committed to building a more “sustainable Tennis Paradise,” driving change in the community and inspiring action outside of it, and lessening the tournament’s environmental impact through waste management, energy efficiency and strategic partnerships. New for 2022, the BNP Paribas Open will showcase its heightened commitment to sustainability though digital transformation, comprehensive food repurposing, yearly accountability reports and the pursuit of ‘green certification’ from accredited organizations.
Jean Yves Fillion, Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas USA, said: “We’re very happy to be returning to Indian Wells for the BNP Paribas Open as it resumes its traditional spot on the tennis calendar this spring, and welcome all the fans back to see world-class tennis in person. This year’s theme also aligns perfectly with BNP Paribas’ goals of being the bank for a changing world. I encourage all tennis fans to come join us for what should prove to be an exciting two weeks of tennis.”
Nandita Bakhshi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West and Co-Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas USA Inc., said: “We proudly support the sport of tennis and the important strides it’s made with diversity. I’m pleased to see its increasing focus on environmental sustainability. We’re excited to bring our Aces for Trees program back to the tournament which helps plant trees in areas affected by recent wildfires. As a California based company, the impacts of climate change are impossible to ignore – wildfires have impacted many of our customers and employees.”
As title sponsor of the tournament since 2009, BNP Paribas’ commitment to the sport of tennis – above its partnerships at all levels of the game – is reflected by a wide range of social, educational and charitable activities across the tennis world, including the annual BNP Paribas Open. BNP Paribas has been engaged in major philanthropy initiatives for 30 years through its Foundation, focusing its activities on three main areas: the Arts, Social Inclusion, and the Environment – giving over 40 million euros per year.
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Press Contacts:
BNP PARIBAS
Robert Madden
Media Relations
+1 (332) 323-3704
Robert.Madden@us.bnpparibas.com
BANK OF THE WEST
Emily Iwan
Media Relations
+1 (628) 250-6459
BNP PARIBAS OPEN
Matt Van Tuinen
MVT PR
+1 (773) 860-5828
About CARE International
Founded in 1945, CARE is one of the largest humanitarian networks in the world. It is apolitical and non-denominational. In 2019, CARE supported more than 68 million people in 100 countries.
Its objective is to fight extreme poverty and defend access to fundamental rights. Women and children are at the core of its actions: supporting their empowerment and championing their rights are essential in the fight against poverty.
At Bank of the West, we know money deposited in a bank has the power to finance positive change. So we are taking action to ensure our activities help protect the planet, improve people’s lives, and strengthen communities. We are redefining banking for a better future by focusing on areas where we believe we can have a real impact: supporting energy transition, helping enable women entrepreneurs, and financing innovative start-ups. As the bank for a changing world, Bank of the West is committed to sustainable finance along with our parent company BNP Paribas. Through Digital Channels and offices across the U.S., Bank of the West provides financial tools and resources to more than 2 million individuals, families and businesses.
Deposit and loan products offered by Bank of the West, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender . © 2022 Bank of the West. Doing business in South Dakota as Bank of the West California.
About the BNP Paribas Open
The BNP Paribas Open is the largest ATP Tour and WTA combined two-week event in the world and is held annually at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The tournament offers more than $15 million in prize money and is the only event to provide the Hawk-Eye line challenge system on all match courts, including qualifying rounds. For more information, visit bnpparibasopen.com.
About BNP Paribas & Tennis
BNP Paribas is one of the major worldwide partners to tennis, with an, unrivalled commitment to sport, going back to 1973. The Group’s support covers all levels and dimensions of the game all over the world, including singles, doubles, team tennis, wheelchair tennis and family tennis, ranging from beginners’ training to top professional tournaments.
- Professional Tennis: Official sponsor of the French Open at Roland Garros; title sponsor of the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas; title sponsor of three ATP Masters 1000 tournaments – the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Italian Open) in Rome; partner to the Open 13 (Marseille), the Parc de Lyon Open, the Metz Moselle Open, the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open and the Queens Championships;
- Wheelchair Tennis: BNP Paribas World Team Cup;
- Junior & University Tennis and Academies: The Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas and Junior Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas; Master’U BNP Paribas;
· Amateur Tennis: Sponsors of the BNP Paribas Family Trophy; also supporting over 1,000 amateur tournaments around the world.
· The younger generations: BNP Paribas supports over 100 deserving young tennis and wheelchair tennis players, through its ‘Team BNP Paribas Young Talents’ programmes in France (with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and the French Tennis Federation), in the United States (with John and Patrick McEnroe), in Italy and in South Africa; also partner of the Roland-Garros ball-kids selections for over 20 years.
· Solidarity tennis: Supporting a number of original tennis related social engagement projects, through partnerships with more than 20 national tennis federations and dozens of tennis-based charity organisations: ‘#FAAPointsForChange‘ with Félix Auger-Aliassime; ‘Fête le Mur’ with Yannick Noah; the ‘Aces Du Cœur‘ charity programme for hospitalised children; the ‘Sound of Tennis‘ initiative for visually impaired athletes in the United States; the Israel Wheelchair Tennis Project…;
· Tennis e-sport: ‘Roland-Garros e-Series by BNP Paribas’, an e-sport tournament played all over the world as part of the ‘Tennis World Tour’ video game.
· Employee tennis: the ‘BNP Paribas We Are Tennis Cup’ is one of the largest global employee tennis tournaments in the world (3 500 participants each year).
Having entered into all these partnerships, in 2011 BNP Paribas set up a programme called We Are Tennis, whose purpose is to promote interest in the game of tennis all over the world. The wearetennis.com website and its social network accounts bring together a community of tennis lovers and dedicated fans from all continents who are keen to obtain the latest news from the ATP, WTA and ITF circuits. Furthermore, in 2015 BNP Paribas created the We Are Tennis Fan Academy, which enables fans to express their passion for tennis as never before. BNP Paribas also supports local tennis through crowdfunding campaigns designed to finance projects.
About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas is the European Union’s leading bank and key player in international banking. It operates in 68 countries and has more than 193,000 employees, including nearly 148,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main fields of activity: Retail Banking for the Group’s retail-banking networks and several specialized businesses including BNP Paribas Personal Finance and Arval; Investment & Protection Services for savings, investment and protection solutions; and Corporate & Institutional Banking, focused on corporate and institutional clients. Based on its strong diversified and integrated model, the Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realize their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, BNP Paribas has four domestic markets: Belgium; France; Italy; and Luxembourg. The Group is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model across several Mediterranean countries, Turkey, Eastern Europe as well as via a large network in the western part of the United States. As a key player in international banking, the Group has leading platforms and business lines in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific.
BNP Paribas has implemented a Corporate Social Responsibility approach in all its activities, enabling it to contribute to the construction of a sustainable future, while ensuring the Group’s performance and stability.