As part of a SNARE complex may be involved in endoplasmic reticulum membranes fusion and be required for the maintenance of endoplasmic reticulum organization (PubMed:15272311). Also plays a role in apoptosis (PubMed:15272311, PubMed:23896122, PubMed:7954800). It is for instance required for endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis (PubMed:23896122). As a substrate of RNF185 interacting with SQSTM1, might also be involved in mitochondrial autophagy (Probable). {ECO:0000269|PubMed:15272311, ECO:0000269|PubMed:23896122, ECO:0000269|PubMed:7954800, ECO:0000305|PubMed:21931693}. This is the function of BNIP1 (BCL2 interacting protein 1, Ensembl gene identifier ENSG00000113734).