The urgency of low-carbon construction.

Eiffage is a French construction and concession group, founded in 1993 by the merger of Fougerolle and SAE 3 . Its fields of activity in public works are varied: construction, infrastructure, concessions and energy. The group ranks third among the French construction and concession groups, behind Vinci and Bouygues , and the fourth European group.

The Eiffage group has more than 66,000 employees. It is present in 70 countries, and carries out more than 100,000 projects each year .

In 2019, its turnover amounted to 18.1 billion euros.

For several years, the Eiffage group has implemented a corporate culture based on eco-responsibility and respect for the environment. These are all the more important subjects for a group whose activities induce a significant carbon footprint and whose effects on living things and ecosystems are significant.

It was in 2019 that a process started for Eiffage. Indeed, on this date, the group becomes a partner of the “Countdown 2010” initiative led by the IUCN. This grouping of countries, regions and civil society aimed to help governments reduce the loss of biodiversity at the threshold of 2010. During this period, Eiffage publishes two internal charters, Biodiversity and Waters and aquatic environments, applicable to the whole Group.

Subsequently, Eiffage will join the national strategy for biodiversity (SNB), which concretizes France's commitment under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), ratified in 1994. The group therefore commits to a plan biodiversity action defined and officially recognized in 2012, then in 2015 and 2018, by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

2018-2020: Act4nature and the Biodiversity action plan

2018 marks the launch of the “Act4nature” initiative. Composed of a global grouping of networks of companies, scientific institutions, NGOs as well as the French Biodiversity Office (OFB, ex AFB), this initiative mobilizes all these actors around the question of direct impacts and indirect on the nature and possibilities of finding positive action solutions.

Eiffage has therefore made strong commitments to protect, enhance and restore biodiversity. This involves integrating environmental issues into the group's strategy, but also raising the awareness of all employees through training.

In May 2020, Eiffage formalizes its commitments in a report which specifies the roadmap and sets the objectives. This plan indicates the following points:

• “Control and even reduce more strongly the ecological footprint of construction and operation activities by better evaluating the impacts and strictly applying the“ avoid, reduce, compensate ”(ERC) sequence;
• develop a range of products and services that respect the environment and contribute to this reduction of the ecological footprint;
• mobilize its innovation capacities to meet these challenges, in particular by working with specialized associations and the research sector. "

Considering its sensitive sector of activity, Eiffage takes the full measure of an entrepreneurial strategy based on sustainable development as well as an eco-responsible approach in all its processes, both societal and commercial. For the years to come, the group will continue its research with a view to continuous improvement. This will mean:

• further reduce fossil fuel consumption
• further reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• strive for environmental excellence
• respect and anticipate the regulations governing the sector
• participate in the sustainable and responsible growth of the Group.
• use the circular economy more and more.