Initiatives adapted to local environmental issues and the duration of the project are taken on long-term sites operated and managed by Group companies as well as worksites. These actions are based on the four main commitments to the act4nature international initiative indicated above.
Actions relating to the governance of biodiversity
A governance approach for biodiversity preservation has been in place for several years to coordinate the Group’s commitments (see paragraph 1.2.1, “ESG governance”, page 191). A Biodiversity Task Force, comprised of about 90 ecology experts and environment managers from VINCI’s different activities, meets three times a year. It is responsible for monitoring the regulatory environment, developing scientific expertise, analysing risks, promoting initiatives and sharing best practices.
Actions to improve knowledge
Knowledge is critical for choosing effective initiatives that are best adapted to the context. With the right information, VINCI can systematically and accurately anticipate, measure and manage environmental impacts, including over the long term, while leveraging existing or emerging tools and techniques to preserve biodiversity. Building knowledge also means sharing information and working with experts and environmental and scientific organisations to create synergy, pool resources and optimise biodiversity conservation, especially near sensitive areas.
Integrate biodiversity into employee awareness-raising programmes and top management training courses
Employee awareness and training actions, particularly in relation to biodiversity, are described in paragraph 2.1.2.2, “Training and awareness”, page 202.
Increase the number of local partnerships
As Group businesses operate locally over long periods, a number of educational initiatives are implemented to support regional actors.
Group entities have for many years developed strong partnerships with non-profits or research centres to support natural environments (nearly 1,200 agreements, of which 800 voluntarily, were signed or in effect in 2023), and they have broadened the scope of their collaboration.
VINCI Autoroutes has joined forces with many national partners in France, such as the Bird Protection League (LPO), France’s leading agricultural union (FNSEA), the national beekeepers association (Unaf) and the National Forest Office (ONF). With the creation of the VINCI Autoroutes Foundation’s biodiversity mission in June 2022, these partnerships have evolved toward natural environment restoration projects. Projects supported by the foundation must not be for profit or related to the company’s business. They must be located in an administrative department covered by the VINCI Autoroutes network, but not on motorway property. By the end of September 2024, the foundation had supported 53 projects involving 29 non-profits, 12 local authorities, six wildlife care centres, five river protection associations and one government organisation (French Office for Biodiversity, OFB), contributing a total of €1.3 million in financial assistance.
At VINCI Concessions, partnerships also develop at a regional level. London Gatwick airport celebrated its support of the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership (GGP), which reached its 30th anniversary. Through this partnership, thousands of volunteers, local schools, and community groups have engaged in biodiversity enhancement activities. London Gatwick airport has helped rare species, such as the nightingale and great crested newt, return to their habitats. The GGP, funded in part by the airport, coordinates ecological activities within the airport grounds and surrounding areas. To combat wildlife trafficking, Manaus airport has partnered with the World Conservation Society (WCS) to train staff in identifying species affected by trafficking.
In 2024, VINCI Energies France signed a partnership with the association of French regional parks and the Bird Protection League (LPO).
Monitor the measures implemented for consultation with stakeholders
Along with their institutional partnerships, VINCI companies engage in continuous dialogue with stakeholders. They strengthen communication with local residents near worksites and infrastructure in operation, through information meetings, improved signposting, worksite visits and new communication channels.
Continue to deploy status indicators that take ecosystem functionality into account
In partnership with Patrimoine Naturel (a collaborative research and education entity focused on natural heritage, also known as PatriNat), under the aegis of France’s National Museum of Natural History (MNHN), the National Centre for Scientific Research and the French Office for Biodiversity, VINCI Construction has developed a method to map and analyse the natural zoning of quarry sites, based on an ecological quality indicator (IQE) designed by the MNHN. Using this method, VINCI Construction can assess issues involving flora and fauna and determine the measures that must be taken to conserve existing species while providing a favourable environment for new ones. Since the partnership was founded in 2012, the method has been tested on some 40 quarries out of the 150 sites in France.
With the help of the firm I Care & Consult, VINCI Autoroutes is developing a biodiversity footprint tracking system to measure the impact of the presence, use, operation, maintenance and development of existing infrastructure. The system also takes into account all related services such as distribution and food management at service areas. The initial results show that the infrastructure’s fragmentation of habitats, the direct impacts of motorway traffic (noise, contribution to climate change and pollution), and the agri-food model at the rest and service areas have an equivalent impact on biodiversity. This calculation gives meaning to the action plans and serves to align efforts with impacts identified. From a strategic point of view, it also ensures that all the necessary measures have been taken to reduce the impact on biodiversity and implement land rehabilitation solutions.
