For a consulting firm, it is not always easy to know what happens “afterwards”: has this assessment permanently changed the client's perspective on the issue, have these recommendations been followed up on, has biodiversity ultimately benefited?
So when we learn that our report has not been shelved, and that our recommendations have led to concrete action, we savor the moment!
Here is just one example among many: two years ago, we worked on the green and blue infrastructure of the Roissy Pays de France agglomeration.
The assessment, which we conducted with Auddicé, identified the main obstacles to ecological continuity that exist across the region.
In addition to transport infrastructure, these obstacles are mainly concentrated in two types of environment: the highly dense urban fabric and agricultural land, which is mainly used for arable farming.
To remedy this, we recommended, among other things, increasing the presence of trees and shrubs in certain urban areas (to strengthen nature in the city) and establishing agroecological infrastructure (particularly hedges) in certain agricultural areas.
Based on this assessment, at the end of 2024 the local authority launched a vast planting program called Canopée (https://www.roissypaysdefrance.fr/vivre/cadre-de-vie/developpement-durable/projet-canopee).
Initially, around 30 projects were identified, covering the greening of schoolyards, the enhancement of existing wooded areas, the planting of hedges, the development of tree-lined islands in certain green spaces, and the creation of orchards.
In an original approach, the urban community asked the private sector to contribute to the financing of these renaturation works: companies were invited to participate in a call for donations, thereby directing their CSR actions towards these planting projects.
Our mission was to provide a scientifically robust ecological assessment, but it was the local authority that did the rest: launching a proactive action program for biodiversity (including in urban areas) and getting private actors in the region on board with the initiative.
I'm being told in my earpiece that this is not an isolated example: it's up to you to tell us about it!