Ecological engineering: a regional agency of Forézienne, the Eiffage Génie Civil earthworks subsidiary, awarded Kalisterre certification

Ecological engineering refers to works that aim to preserve, restore and promote the resilience of natural environments and ecosystems. With the introduction of the European taxonomy, the new regulation that evaluates sustainable economic activities, this fast-developing sector is coming into its own. To make a more effective contribution to restoring biodiversity, Eiffage’s biodiversity action plan is developing the Group's ecological engineering services for its earthworks and infrastructure operations, but also its development, construction and concessions business. With its ecological engineering activity, the Eiffage Group is helping to support living ecosystems by developing specialist biodiversity expertise.

Eiffage has proven expertise in this area. Several of the Group’s subsidiaries already carry out excellent quality work in this field: Eiffage Génie Civil Terrassement – Forézienne, Eiffage Route, Eiffage Travaux Maritimes et Fluvial (ETMF), as well as APRR. In 2021, more than 50 cross-division commercial solutions in this field were recorded: renaturation of sites and soils, remediation and ecological development of watercourses, creation of artificial habitats, combating invasive alien species, construction of structures improving ecological transparency, etc.

The ecological engineering sector is undergoing structuring. Since 2020, Eiffage has been a member of the UPGE (Professional Union of Ecological Engineering), one of the main stakeholders in the sector. Recently the UPGE created the Kalisterre professional certification, to recognise the skills and expertise required to work in the ecological engineering field. A Forézienne regional agency (MCPC - Massif Central Poitou Charentes), located in Lempdes (Puy-de-Dôme), has just been awarded the Group's first Kalisterre certification. Forézienne is aiming to obtain certification for all its agencies very soon.

In fact, at Forézienne, ecological engineering is emerging as an activity in its own right, due to the challenges of the ecological transition. The company intends to further develop these services, where earthworks operations play a key role, in response to increasingly strong and specialised demand.

Its services include:

• restoring/renaturation of watercourses, tributaries, backwaters, wetlands;
• restoring fish farming continuities;
• developing wildlife passages and restoring ecological continuities;
• creating habitats: ponds, hibernacula, etc. ;
• combating invasive alien plant species.

The Group's environmental strategy focuses on the following ambitions:

• minimise our environmental footprint;
• manage the risks related to our activities;
• increase the positive impacts on the environment of our activities and development.

Our plan is not just to develop these services within the Group, in conjunction with the network of specialised companies, but also to fully support the creation of a dedicated ecological engineering training course, in order to equip technicians and engineers with the future skills they are calling for, in line with respect for living ecosystems.