Environmental footprint

Sustainable and responsible
real estate company

Société de la Tour Eiffel is working to significantly reduce its environmental footprint through a proactive policy supported by clear and concrete objectives. Construction, renovation and sustainable management, support for the energy transition, adaptation to the consequences of climate change, preservation of resources, actions to promote biodiversity, best practices on a daily basis: we act as a sustainable and responsible real estate company.

TAKING ACTION
ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Sustainable development, reducing the footprint of our assets, raising the awareness of our service providers, employees and tenants: our environmental commitments involve meeting several challenges.

HELPING TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE

The result of 3 years of work, including the collection of data on its portfolio’s energy consumption, in correlation with the Dispositif Éco-Énergie Tertiaire (Tertiary Decree), in 2023, the Company published its carbon balance for the first time. As well as the three scopes it traditionally looks at, it studied its greenhouse gas emissions according to a distribution that corresponds to the various business lines: operations (emissions linked to operation of the buildings in the company’s portfolio), development (emissions resulting from construction and renovation operations carried out in the reporting year) and corporate, which includes emissions linked to the contribution of employees.
At the end of a maturity constructed in particular by the voluntary establishment of this Carbon Balance, which allowed it to identify the sources of emissions for which it is responsible and those it can do something about, a Mitigation Plan was co-constructed in 2022 by the company’s various operational teams and support functions. The action plan was approved by the CSR Committee, which presented the targets to be met by 2023, 2025 and 2030 for the different core businesses (development, management and corporate) and for Governance.

ADAPTING ASSETS TO CLIMATE CHANGE

The climate risks to which each asset may be exposed were mapped in 2019 and this mapping is regularly updated. A campaign (which is still ongoing) led to adaptation audits to determine the recommendations to make for each of the risks identified. These recommendations include:

planting of roofs in projects under development as a matter of course;
installation of sunshades as part of the EvasYon project in Lyon and the Nanturra project in Nanterre, which are at great risk of heat islands;
use of reflective white Cool Roof paint at the Eiffel Paris-Saclay farm and discussion about rolling this solution out for other buildings, especially those in business parks;
re-planting in 2022 of a mineral-rich site in the middle of the four buildings in Nanterre and continuation of the adaptation strategy in 2023 with planting of façades;
planting of trees, thus creating cool areas, particularly in the Topaz asset in Vélizy.

PRESERVING BIODIVERSITY

Société de la Tour Eiffel has been committed to biodiversity for many years, with its first Eco-Jardin label obtained in 2015. It takes effective action to manage and protect the fauna and flora on its sites and is also involved in the re-planting of sealed areas.
A strategic decision-making tool has targeted 3 assets with proven potential in terms of biodiversity: Le Parc des Aygalades in Marseilles, Les Amarantes in Toulouse and Bord’eau Village in Bordeaux.
For all its development projects, the company uses the services of an ecologist and/or a landscaper to ensure that biodiversity can be incorporated upstream and the relevant recommendations are implemented (of note, the 27% reversal of soil sealing on the land used for the EvasYon project in Lyon, for which the Biodivercity label is being aimed at).

LIMITING THE USE OF RESOURCES

In the field of materials, the company is continuing a three-year partnership it entered into in 2021 with Booster du Réemploi (a coalition of project managers working together to structure and boost demand for the reuse of materials in real estate construction and renovation). It decided to use the circular economy across all of the works it does on its assets during operation. The EvasYon construction project in Lyon has been the subject of a partnership with Cycleup on the same subject.
It encourages the use of renewable energies (feasibility study for deployment of photovoltaic panels on existing assets, systematic feasibility study for production of renewable energy, in particular geo-energy, in construction projects).
With regard to water, Société de la Tour Eiffel has for many years been committed to reducing water consumption in the common spaces of its assets, even if it is difficult to judge the results since the billing frequency is random. The actions include:

Installation of water-saving equipment in assets during operation, with this equipment being shut down during vacancy periods;
Choice of plant species during the design phase depending on their sobriety;
Continued installation of rainwater recovery systems, particularly on assets in Nanterre, and reuse of grey water where applicable;
Creation of planted terraces with a supply of rainwater, like on the asset in Suresnes.

To improve the environmental performance of our buildings, we take measures for all stakeholders.

WITH OUR TENANTS

we raise awareness, share and unite. We improve our knowledge of our assets by determining the water and energy consumption of our buildings. We support our clients with monitoring of regulatory compliance with the Dispositif Éco-Énergie Tertiaire.
We carry out mobility studies and implement the solutions identified.
We advocate the collection of waste according to the 7 types in the Anti-Waste Law for a Circular Economy (AGEC).
We introduce comfort and well-being areas for tenants within the green spaces.

WITH THE COMPANIES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS

with whom we work, we share our convictions and pursue a policy of commitment and progression, particularly by favouring providers sensitive to the environmental cause.
We also share our circular economy and biosourced materials approaches, stimulating the decarbonisation of our joint activities.

WITH OUR EMPLOYEES

we encourage soft mobility (public transport, hybrid cars), reduced travel and waste production (including through the use of IT equipment as long as it is working).

A COMMITMENT
TO SUSTAINABLE REAL ESTATE

With the desire to invest beyond its assets, Société de la Tour Eiffel was one of the founding members of the Observatoire de l’Immobilier Durable (Sustainable Real Estate Observatory). The OID is an independent, public-interest association that brings together private and public professionals across the entire value chain to promote sustainable development and innovation in real estate. Elected member of the Board of Directors, Société de la Tour Eiffel is also represented in the OID’s office by Odile Batsère, Head of CSR and Innovation of our Group.

Watch the video of Hervé Pagnon,
Technical Director

(French only)

Société de la Tour Eiffel has been committed to Booster du Réemploi for the past 3 years, and in line with its CSR strategy, has carried out a circular economy initiative on the TOPAZ building (14,000 m²), located in Vélizy.
The renovation project was carried out in an eco-responsible manner, from design to completion, notably by favoring materials and furnishings from reuse, recycled, upcycled or eco-designed sources.
For this renovation, Société de la Tour Eiffel won the “Circular Buildings” trophy in the “Private Project Owner Tertiary Building” category.
This trophy recognizes the environmental policy pursued by the real estate company for many years. It should serve as an inspiration for the future, encouraging further efforts in the area of the circular economy.