International Day of Education
On January 24, the ENGIE Foundation celebrates International Education Day.
According to UNESCO, 250 million children and young people do not go to school, while 763 million adults lack basic literacy skills.
The ENGIE Foundation wants to give the most vulnerable children the energy to learn and grow in a positive environment and is convinced that children will build tomorrow’s world; giving them the energy to act is vital for the future of the planet.
The Foundation supports projects that promote education for as many people as possible, in France and abroad, around 3 themes:
- Education through sharing, transmission and discovery
- Educating for academic success
- Education to improve living conditions for children.
Education through sharing, transmission and discovery
UNESCO CAMPUS: Understand contemporary issues and become an agent of change.
Since its creation, UNESCO’s aim has been to support global access to education, to fulfill its mandate of building peace through international cooperation in education, science and culture.
UNESCO and the ENGIE Foundation have launched the Campus program to help young people better understand major contemporary issues and their role as young citizens.
Drawing on the knowledge of various UNESCO and civil society speakers, experts in their fields (technology, education, science, etc.), the UNESCO Campuses aim to tackle today’s challenges with middle and high school students in the form of a free, horizontal discussion.
The aim is to inform, raise awareness and mobilize young people around major social and environmental issues.
IMPACT: UNESCO CAMPUS has reached 25,000 young people since 2014, of whom 5,500 have taken part in the online Campuses (for a total of 145 countries reached).
This CAMPUS scheme is incidentally an important vector for raising awareness of the key issues carried out by UNESCO, building its image among a young audience, as well as a strong relational tool between UNESCO and teachers.
By 2022-2023:
- 8 online campuses
- 1 face-to-face at UNESCO headquarters
- 36 schools involved.
- 1577 students
The ENGIE Foundation is supporting the campuses on biodiversity and the oceans, Access to science for all, themes for the years 2023-2024.
Campus Sciences et Filles online
Promoting diversity and girls' access to science with ENS Paris-Saclay
As part of its equal opportunities plan, ENS Paris-Saclay is involved in several programs designed to help young people (high school, middle school and high school students), particularly girls, gain access to higher education and research careers.
The ENGIE Foundation has made access to science a priority in its education program.
That is why the ENGIE Foundation is supporting ENS Paris-Saclay for 2 school years in its science awareness programs for young people (especially girls), to:
- stimulate young people’s interest in science,
- boost the academic ambitions of young people from a variety of socio-territorial backgrounds, and of girls,
- limit self-censorship.
On October 6, as part of the Fete de la Science 2023, ENS Paris-Saclay organized the Village des Sciences for 700 youngsters.
Teacher-researchers, doctoral candidates and students welcomed 300 primary school pupils to several “Mini Researchers” workshops in all scientific disciplines, in the presence of Nathalie Carrasco, President of the School, and Anne PEYROCHE, Vice-President in charge of strategy and resources.
With Toutes à l'école, environmental education for girls in Cambodia
The Toutes à l’école association, founded by journalist Tina Kieffer in 2005, aims to bring a prominent level of education to the poorest girls in Cambodia, so that they can become free, educated women.
Every year, 100 new girls aged 5 to 6 from the poorest families join the Happy Chandara campus in the suburbs of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from kindergarten onwards. They will have the opportunity to pursue a high-level curriculum in kindergarten, primary school, junior high and high school, taught in Khmer, English and French.
The action continues with young baccalaureate students continuing their studies, who are accommodated in the two Chandara Students’ Homes in Phnom Penh, where they build an independent adult life in a secure environment.
As early as 2016, sensing the scale of the climate crisis, the association integrated our first environmental protection courses into its educational program and created permaculture vegetable gardens within the Happy Chandara campus.
Today, the IPCC report is clear: Cambodia is one of the country’s most vulnerable to global warming.
The association aims to make Happy Chandara the first entirely green pilot school in Cambodia.
The ENGIE Foundation supports the creation of the Green Team
The Green Team is made up of trainee engineers from the Grandes Ecoles (Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole Centrale – Supélec Paris and Lyon), agronomists or communication schools such as Celsa, all of whom are passionate about environmental issues. They design educational tools, run workshops with our students and prototype projects (such as greening spaces and creating educational videos).
Trainees lead:
- Awareness-raising workshops on the ecological transition for students and campus staff.
- Organic soap-making workshops for boarding schools and hygiene baskets for families.
- Paper recycling workshops for postcards sent three times a year to student sponsors.
- Eco-committees with our students.
- Plastic collections around the school and alongside institutional partners in the capital Phnom Penh.
To give students access to the best training, the association has forged partnerships with universities and Grandes écoles in Europe and around the world.
The ENGIE Foundation is supporting a student, TOLA CHHORN, with a scholarship to the Ecole des Mines.
Culture with the 10 Months of School and Opera program, discovering the professions at the Paris Opera
The ENGIE Foundation, patron of the Académie de l’Opéra de Paris, supports the 10 mois d’Ecole et d’Opéra program
The Paris Opera’s 10 Months of School and Opera program aims to promote equal opportunities and academic success for pupils in priority education networks. This long-standing partnership with the Paris and Versailles education authorities is continuing to develop in Corsica, Centre-Val de Loire and Normandy.
IMPACT
In collaboration with the educational teams at each school, the Paris Opera is involved in innovative teaching methods that reach over 900 students each season, from nursery school to vocational high school.
RESULTS:
- 60% of beneficiaries improve their writing skills.
- +25% exam pass rate.
A SENSITIVE ENCOUNTER WITH OPERA
Experiencing a performance is the first step in learning about the history and heritage of the Opéra national de Paris. Every season, students attend rehearsals and performances of ballets and operas at the Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille. These encounters with works at distinct stages of creation enable students to develop their viewer’s eye and acquire new knowledge.
Meeting professionals from the Opéra national de Paris in theaters or classrooms is a high point in the students’ careers, nurturing the dreams of some and the vocations of others by making opera a future.
ARTISTIC PRACTICE AT SCHOOL
In partnership with teaching teams, professional artists set up practical artistic workshops – music, singing, dance, theater, visual arts, etc. – during school hours. – during school hours.
As an integral part of students’ school lives, these workshops provide an opportunity for each student to learn about the creative process and develop an awareness of others in a context of artistic expression.
A SPECIAL SCHEME: “SHOW” CLASSES
Each year, two classes – one from the Versailles academy, the other from the Paris academy – are selected to take part in this program. Artists offer students three-hour weekly workshops during school hours, in the belief that intense artistic practice can be a key factor in academic success.
The “performance” classes meet at the Opéra for “immersion” days, leading to the creation of a show performed at the Opéra Bastille Amphitheatre in June.
Vocational high school classes in costume, hair and make-up take part in the creation of the show.
Educating for academic success
With Fête le Mur: programs focused on academic success
Founded by Yannick Noah over 20 years ago, the Fête le Mur association enables children from disadvantaged housing estates to play tennis in the heart of their neighborhoods, under the supervision of professional tennis coaches. Since its creation, the association has been offering educational support to young beneficiaries at some of its sites throughout the year.
The ENGIE Foundation celebrates 25 years of partnership with Fête le Mur.
Vacances Educ’Actives
Since 2020, the academic difficulties observed during confinement have led them to develop school vacation courses combining sports activities and academic support: Vacances Educ’Actives. This program during the school vacations not only brings children who have fallen behind up to speed, but also enables them to resume supervised physical activity.
IMPACT 2022-2023:
Vacances Educ’Actives means:
- 5,816 children benefiting
- 143 courses and 657 days of courses
- 9 regions involved, including 2 overseas.
- 77 sites, 137 neighborhoods
- 18,178 young beneficiaries, 47% of them girls
Education to improve living conditions for children
Strengthening the education of 600 girls at Likuni Girls' Secondary School, Malawi
ENGIE volunteers from ENERGY ASSISTANCE Belgium have helped improve the educational landscape for 600 girls at Likuni Girls’ Secondary School in Malawi, by installing solar panels and batteries.
Malawi faces frequent power cuts that disrupt the learning process. Solar power is a reliable source of energy that not only lights up classrooms, but also contributes to the well-being of our planet.
Lighting the way to education:
Likuni Secondary School for Girls, a boarding school near Lilongwe, caters for 600 girls. The solar system not only lights up the classrooms after dark (around 5 p.m. because of the latitude), but also powers 30 computers, providing access to modern educational tools. We passionately believe that every girl deserves a chance for a bright future, and that access to education is the key.
Although the school is connected to the local grid (ESCOM), persistent power cuts led to the installation of 22 photovoltaic panels and 4 lithium batteries as back-up. The panels were placed on the roof of the school building, and a restored technical room now houses the solar control equipment, electrical boxes and batteries. The solar system (10kWp with a storage capacity of 19.2kWh) ensures a continuous power supply to classrooms, the computer room and the administration block during blackouts.
Towards sustainability and ecological friendliness:
In addition to the classrooms and administration block, the dormitories, kitchens, etc. are still not connected. A feasibility study is underway to supply the kitchen with biogas. This would enable daily meals to be prepared without the need for electricity or firewood, and provide biofertilizer for the vegetable garden, thus offering an environmentally friendly solution. The aim is to combat deforestation and improve the school’s self-sufficiency.
Promoting biodiversity for a sustainable future:
As part of its commitment to sustainable development, Likuni Girls’ Secondary School is committed to planting 800 indigenous trees. This planting aims to reforest areas of Lilongwe most affected by deforestation (for firewood and charcoal) and to teach girls the benefits of having trees nearby. Trees planted along watercourses aim to reduce flooding during the rainy season, which is particularly dramatic given the floods that have hit Malawi in recent years.
World Climate Day: ENGIE FOUNDATION PARTNERS MEET AT COP28
On December 8, we celebrate World Climate Day, created at the initiative of several NGOs as a reminder of the threat of global warming and the need to act to limit its effects.
The aim of this day is to raise public awareness of climate change issues, and to expose the ever-increasing impacts they are having on our Earth.
With 47% of its projects dedicated to access to renewable and sustainable energies and to biodiversity in 2023, the ENGIE Foundation is committed to the environment year after year. The aim is to participate in ambitious, high-impact projects and to contribute to the collective effort of the Agenda 2030 through the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and carry ENGIE’s raison d’être: this is what guides the ENGIE Foundation’s action daily.
With the 28th UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP 28) taking place until December 12, this day is an opportunity to highlight the commitments of the ENGIE Foundation alongside its partners.
The ENGIE Foundation is acting for the climate around 2 themes
- Support for research and innovation
- Concrete action to combat global warming
ENGIE FOUNDATION PARTNERS MEET AT COP28
Claire Waysand, Executive Vice President of ENGIE in charge of Corporate Secretariat, Strategy, Research & Innovation and Communications and Vice President of the ENGIE Foundation, took part alongside Runa Khan, Founder of Friendship, at the round-table “How can corporate commitments to sustainable development contribute to access to renewable energies, biodiversity protection and climate adaptation for greater prosperity, including in developing countries?”
Claire Waysand recalled the ENGIE Foundation’s historic and innovative commitment to Friendship in 3 areas
- A model solar village, which has given rise to two other projects financed by the Government of Bangladesh.
- A mangrove replanting project
- Connected schools
The COP28 also provided an opportunity to meet two Bangladeshi ambassadors for Friendship France’s “Écoles Connectées” project, supported by the ENGIE Foundation: Biuti Akter and Ronzana Akter, alongside Runa Khan, Founder and Executive Director of Friendship NGO, and Nasrul Hamid, Bangladesh’s Minister of Energy.
Watch the replay of the Arte interview with Biuti Akter and Ronzana Akter: https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/117976-000-A/la-cop28-tribune-des-victimes-du-dereglement-climatique/
The ENGIE Foundation is proud to support this connected schools project, which links French middle and high schools with secondary schools in Bangladesh, on solutions for adapting to climate change.
The project encourages students to share innovative solutions for coping with climate change: logistical or behavioral adaptations, changes in practices and lifestyles, etc. By taking a stand on these issues, they can become agents of change, raising awareness in civil society (fellow students, parents, associations, etc.).
At COP28, Bertrand Piccard presented the new climate narrative of the SOLAR IMPULSE Foundation: A STRATEGY TO OVERCOME RESISTANCE TO ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION.
“It’s imperative to design a new narrative and replace the one that hasn’t worked in the past. What we are asking for is nothing less than a revolution in the way we talk about climate action.”
Bertrand Piccard
President of the Solar Impulse Foundation
More information: https://solarimpulse.com/le-nouveau-narratif-du-climat
FIGHTING THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING AND IMPROVING LIVING CONDITIONS IN BANGLADESH WITH FRIENDSHIP
For over 10 years, the ENGIE Foundation has been working alongside the NGO Friendship to build community capacities, encourage major contributions from women, facilitate access to solar energy and training, and protect biodiversity.
Restoration of 14 hectares of mangroves in southern Bangladesh
One of Bangladesh’s greatest assets is the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Unique and diverse coastal ecosystems, mangroves are a formidable tool in climate change mitigation thanks to their high CO2 absorption capacity.
However, many mangrove reforestation projects in Bangladesh are not sustainable because they consist of non-resilient monocultures, are not effectively managed during the growth phase, are sometimes planted with species not adapted to the area or fail to take socio-economic factors into account.
Plantation of 14 hectares in 3 areas located in 3 villages in the Satkhira district (land is a scarce commodity in Bangladesh and it is difficult to have single plots available for reforestation).
The first two areas (30,000 trees) were planted in October 2022 by local communities under the supervision of Friendship and local forestry experts. The third (12,000 trees) is scheduled for May 2023. In all, almost 2,000 meters of dikes will be protected against flooding thanks to this project, bearing in mind that the damage caused by salt water can persist for an exceptionally long time (flooded soil becomes unfit for cultivation for years, just as a livestock pond invaded by salt water can no longer be used).
Six community groups of 30 people received capacity-building training (prior to planting) in seeds, nurseries and planting; they also each took part in the first follow-up meetings.
IMPACT: over the 3 zones, 240 participants will be trained, corresponding to between 1,200 and 1,440 direct beneficiaries (family members). Indirect beneficiaries will be far more numerous. They include all the villagers, farmers and fishers who will see their homes, fields and ponds protected from flooding and salinization.
Energy to improve living conditions in Bangladesh
Since 2011, with the support of the ENGIE Foundation and Energy Assistance France, the NGO Friendship has been developing a sustainable rural electrification project for remote villages in Bangladesh.
Friendship has designed and installed the first solar-powered electricity microgrid in the tanks of northern Bangladesh, inaugurated on August 22, 2021, in the presence of Mr. Nasrul Hamid, Bangladesh’s Minister of Electricity and Energy.
The solar village, built in the village of Goynar Potol, is now operational, bringing well-being, prosperity and satisfaction to its inhabitants. The population of the Goynar Potol tank has grown considerably. The village grew from 150 to over 500 houses in early 2022, due to the arrival of people who had left other islands that disappeared during the exceptional floods of 2020.
The solar village in figures:
- 3,000 inhabitants of Goynar Potol now have access to electricity
- 54 kWp of electricity generated by solar panels and stored in batteries
- 200 solar panels and 200 batteries installed
Thanks to the electricity generated and stored, every household will be able to operate lamps, fans, televisions and cell phone chargers daily. Light provides security at night and access to healthcare. Stores can stay open in the evening, generating new income for shopkeepers. Children can study in the evenings and follow lessons broadcast on television.
In 2023, Friendship and the ENGIE Foundation will ensure the continuity and technical optimization of the operation of the Goynar Potol solar village, as well as the strengthening of local capacities through a training plan to guarantee the sustainability of both the solar village and electrification in these remote areas of the country.
Interview with Runa Khan, Founder and Executive Director of Friendship
✷ Why this commitment to a Mangroves program and this new development for biodiversity?
My country is one of the hardest hit by climate change in the world. Every year, cyclones, floods and storms follow one another and punctuate the daily lives of the population. It is worth noting that their frequency and intensity are increasing due to global warming, forcing communities to move 25 times in their lifetime! By 2050, to escape the consequences of climate change, a third of the population of Bangladesh will have to move – the equivalent of the entire population of France!
To the south, in the Bay of Bengal, salt water from the Indian Ocean is eroding riverbanks and ruining cultivated land for years to come. Here lies the Sundarbans Forest, the world’s largest mangrove swamp. It covers the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers. This site is world-renowned for the richness of its fauna: 260 bird specimens, 400 fish, between 250 and 300 Bengal tigers and other endangered species, but it is also a very fragile ecosystem: due to pollution, over-industrialization and deforestation, the mangrove has lost 20% of its surface area in twenty years.
Since 2017, Friendship has been carrying out a vast mangrove reforestation project, which is essential for environmental protection and socio-economic development in the region: this ecosystem now provides many added resources for local communities (crabs, shrimps…) and limits saltwater intrusion into fertile land by acting as natural dikes.
✷ How do you see this program? What are the challenges?
For a reforestation project to be sustainable, it must be designed considering all the environmental and social-economic factors of the region. We face several challenges to ensure long-term effects:
- choosing resilient crops: we need to identify the right species of tree to plant in the right place, depending on the nature of the soil, the topography of the land and the amount of sunlight
- protecting the trees throughout their growth period: it takes 5 years for nursery trees to mature before they can be replanted in the mangrove. These trees need to be protected from goats that come to eat them and prevented from being destroyed by communities for resale or personal use. To achieve this, it is vital to include the communities in the development of the project! This is one of the key factors for success: community support for the project and their involvement at every stage of implementation. This ensures ownership of the project and the sustainability of the plantation. People who have planted the trees themselves and know the importance of mangroves to their living conditions will naturally take care of them.
We have developed a solution that meets 3 objectives:
- plant at least 5 different tree species over hundreds of hectares along tidal rivers to guarantee respect for biodiversity and encourage the development of a new terrestrial or aquatic ecosystem.
- include local residents and diversify their livelihoods to avoid degradation of the plantations by poverty-stricken communities.
- involve local authorities and strengthen their cooperation with local populations.
We launched this program in 2017 thanks to the support of the Luxembourg Cooperation and I would like to thank the ENGIE Foundation for partnering with Friendship to extend these activities over 14 hectares of mangroves.
Thanks to the support of the ENGIE Foundation, Friendship can carry out these activities on 14 hectares in 3 areas of the region: 10 hectares have already been planted in the villages of Horishikhali and Jhapa and 4 hectares will be planted in May/June 2023 in the village of Chakla. Today, 70 people are working on the project with the ENGIE Foundation.
What is more, we noticed that each replanted tree gave birth to 2 or even 3 new trees within two years! This exponential growth shows a strong environmental and socio-economic impact for years to come.
THE ENGIE FOUNDATION PARTNERS THE SOLAR IMPULSE FOUNDATION
Efficient solutions for clean economic growth
To meet ecological challenges without undermining economic growth, Bertrand Piccard and the Solar Impulse Foundation have identified 1000+ clean, cost-effective solutions. The Solar Impulse Foundation has organized these solutions into a research engine for climate action – the Solutions Explorer – to support their large-scale implementation. By giving political and economic decision-makers the tools to adopt far more ambitious energy and environmental policies, the Foundation will help them to establish a roadmap for achieving their environmental goals.
The ENGIE Foundation partners the Solar Impulse Foundation’s “City of Tomorrow, an exploration in 1000+ solutions” exhibition.
From September 20, 2023 to January 7, 2024, the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, with the support of the ENGIE Foundation, is hosting “Ville de demain, une exploration en 1 000+ solutions”, an exhibition designed by the Solar Impulse Foundation, chaired by Bertrand Piccard.
Echoing the “Urgence climatique” exhibition at the Cité des Sciences, the “Ville de demain, une exploration en 1 000+ solutions” exhibition, focusing on the challenges of ecological transition in urban environments, invites the public to explore the many innovative approaches that today’s technologies offer to protect the environment while promoting economic development. A fun-filled tour takes visitors on a journey of discovery through concrete, efficient proposals developed in the fields of energy, water, construction, sustainable housing, mobility and waste management.
As a partner of the SOLAR IMPULSE Foundation and a member of the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie partners’ club, the ENGIE Foundation focuses on environmental education, raising awareness of the fight against global warming and the preservation of biodiversity, and aims to make younger generations more aware of the challenges of ecological transition.
Our world is in the throes of change, and cities, which account for 75% of CO2 emissions, must urgently commit to the ecological transition. It’s this transformation that the City of Tomorrow, an exploration in 1,000+ solutions exhibition invites visitors to discover, by appealing to our collective boldness and ability to believe together in our potential for change: how can we move from rhetoric to the concrete application of innovative solutions, capable of mobilizing individuals, entrepreneurs and politicians to build a clean, collective, sustainable city?
In a pioneering spirit that aims to be constructive and non-partisan, with eco-explorer Bertrand Piccard as our guide, the exhibition offers visitors a unique insight into urban ecological issues and the sustainable solutions that exist today to meet them, with concrete applications in different cities.
On the 25th of November, a new Bubble Barrier has been launched in Portugal with the support of the ENGIE Foundation and ENGIE Portugal, preventing plastic from flowing into the Ocean
Credits The Great Bubble Barrier
Each year 1.8 million tons of plastic enter our oceans via rivers. Once lost at sea, plastic is almost impossible to retrieve and degrades into smaller particles.
How can we fight against this plastic pollution in the oceans? Scientists have discovered that 80% of the plastic waste found in the ocean is discharged by more than a thousand rivers, and that most of this waste is transported by small streams in densely populated urban areas, rather than by larger rivers. This finding is crucial to understanding and solving the problem of plastic waste.
This is a major issue in Portugal, where the Porto region is home to two of the most plastic-polluted rivers in Portugal, including the River Ave (around 10 tons of plastic are discharged there every year).
The ENGIE Foundation wanted to contribute to this issue by betting on innovation and supporting the initiative of The Great Bubble Barrier, a Dutch start-up founded in 2017, to set up an innovative system to combat plastic waste in rivers, a Bubble Barrier in the Porto region of Portugal.
The 25th of November, this new Bubble Barrier has been inaugurated on the river Ave in the city of Vila do Conde
Credits The Great Bubble Barrier
This Bubble Barrier is the first one installed outside the Netherlands by the Dutch start-up after the two first Bubble Barriers in operations in Amsterdam (2019) and in the region of Katwijk (2022).
According to preliminary studies, the Bubble Barrier can catch up to 86% of debris in the Ave River, before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
Credits The Great Bubble Barrier
Technology
By injecting air into a perforated pipe at the bottom of the stream (1), a wall of bubbles generates a vertical current. This brings the plastic to the surface, then directs it to the bank where it is collected by a recovery system (2) placed at the river’s edge.
Bubble Barrier is a unique, innovative and environmentally friendly system.
Credits The Great Bubble Barrier
This project in Portugal was developed as part of MAELSTROM (Smart technology for MArinE Litter SusTainable RemOval and Management), a major EU-funded project supporting innovative technologies for the removal and treatment of plastic pollution in river ecosystems. It has been developed by a consortium of 14 partners (including research centers, recycling companies, NGOs, marine scientists, and robotic experts from 8 European countries), in charge of specific tasks (assessing the presence of waste in rivers, removing waste, recycling…).
Credits The Great Bubble Barrier
A Bubble Barrier in an estuary
The Ave River ends in an estuary meaning that the incoming tide brings a flush of salt water into the river mouth twice a day, thereby reducing or even reversing the flow direction, and increasing the water level by roughly 2.5 meters…
The Bubble Barrier Vila do Conde is the first project in an estuary. The results of the pilot will be evaluated after 1 year of operation. With this project, The Great Bubble Barrier aims to realize a standard design for more tidal rivers in the future.
Interview with CARLOS ROSARIO, CEO of ENGIE Portugal
Carlos, could you present briefly the activities of ENGIE Portugal?
ENGIE Portugal is a leading company in the field of energy transition. ENGIE is present in the country since 1983 in electricity production and energy services and we provide our customers with solutions that foster energy and environmental sustainability through the generation of renewable and thermal energy, the district heating and cooling system in Lisbon and energy solutions to tertiary and industrial clients.
- ENGIE is the 2nd player in the country in electricity production with more than 4 GW of installed capacity: 1.9 GW of thermal capacity (TrustEnergy), 1.7 GW of hydroelectric capacity (Movhera) & 513 MW of wind capacity.
- ENGIE Portugal is also operating the largest district heating and cooling system of Portugal (Climaespaço in Lisbon).
- ENGIE Portugal (trough ENGIE Hemera) is also a specialist of medium and large-scale decentralized solar photovoltaic systems for B2B customers (with more than 30 MW installed)
- ENGIE Portugal is a reference in the provision of energy efficiency services and in the operation and maintenance of technical facilities for industrial and tertiary sector customers.
Could you tell us about the challenges ahead for ENGIE in Portugal?
In renewables, we intend to grow with new projects and upgrade the capacities of the existent assets with modernization, hybridization, repowering and overpowering.
In Flexible Generation, we will proceed in the decarbonization path of the actual sites.
In Energy Services, developing innovative low-carbon solutions for our clients is the core of our growth ambition, in areas like Onsite Utilities, Distributed Solar & Storage, Districts Heating and Cooling systems and Energy Efficiency Services.
What about the interest for ENGIE Portugal in the Bubble Barrier project in Villa do Conde?
Considering the group commitment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), such as SDG N°14 “Life Below Water”, ENGIE Portugal is also aligned with these major international principles in favor of preserving the environment. Therefore, supporting the implementation of The Great Bubble Barrier’s innovative technology is an opportunity for us to act in the fight against a global environmental problem, that is the riverine plastic pollution, contributing to conservation and sustainability of natural resources. It is also important for us to demonstrate the ENGIE’s presence in Portugal and disseminate our great CSR values through the community and our stakeholders.
INTERVIEW WITH PHILIP EHRHORN, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of The Great Bubble Barrier
Philip, how was the idea of Bubble Barrier born?
The other three co-founders of The Great Bubble Barrier, Anne Marieke Eveleens, Francis Zoet and Saskia Studer, are lifelong sailors and friends who constantly came across plastic at sea on their sailing trips. When they were having a beer after one of their trips, they started mulling over ways to tackle plastic pollution. They dreamt of a solution that would target plastic but would not hinder ship traffic or fish migration. The bubbles in their drinks eventually sparked their imagination, their concept and prototype were awarded and soon they started testing and developing their first prototypes further.
At the same time, I was developing my own Bubble Barrier in Germany. During a course in Environmental Engineering, I visited a wastewater treatment plant where I saw bubbles being used to aerate the water basin. The plastics that were present were pushed to the side of the basin. So, I wondered: “Why can’t we use the power of bubbles to capture plastic in rivers?”
Eventually, the four of us met. We decided to join forces and co-founded The Great Bubble Barrier in 2017.
After five years of R&D and pilots, our team developed the world’s first Bubble Barrier technology to effectively capture plastic in rivers. The first long-term Bubble Barrier was installed in the canals of Amsterdam in November 2019, followed by Katwijk in 2022. Bubble Barrier Vila do Conde, is the first Bubble Barrier outside of the Netherlands.
Other Bubble Barriers in operation in the Netherlands
Credits The Great Bubble Barrier
Why the choice of this site in Portugal?
The problem of riverine plastic pollution is universal: plastic debris is transported by rivers, crossing national and political borders, before reaching oceans.
The Ave River was chosen because the river needed a solution to plastic pollution without interfering with daily river activities. The Ave River has its source in the Cabreira Mountain in the Minho Region. In its course it passes through the cities of Guimarães, Vizela, Santo Tirso, Trofa and finally Vila do Conde, and carries plastic pollution into the Atlantic Ocean.
Bubble Barrier Vila do Conde is the first Bubble Barrier to directly stop plastic pollution from flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.
What interactions with the other parties involved (MAELSTROM consortium, Municipality, University of Malta…)?
The Municipality of Vila do Conde has taken a proactive approach to plastic pollution by partnering with the MAELSTROM team to co-design and implement a Bubble Barrier in the Ave River.
Indeed, the Bubble Barrier has been implemented as part of the EU-funded project MAELSTROM, which brings together a consortium of 14 international partners with the mission to investigate and implement innovative technologies for the identification, collection, recycling, and recovery of marine litter.
The project was undertaken with the scientific supervision of the Italian Research Council (CNR), project coordinator, and CIIMAR – Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research – a leading research and advanced training institution of the University of Porto, which has led multiple assessments to understand the environmental impact of the Bubble Barrier on Ave’s riverine ecosystem.
CIIMAR has also facilitated the involvement of other local stakeholders such as the Docapesca Portos e Lotas, S.A., the Portuguese Environmental Agency, the Vila do Conde Port Captaincy and the Vila do Conde Environmental Monitoring and Interpretation Centre (CMIA) which were extremely relevant for the design and implementation of the system.
Credits The Great Bubble Barrier
The energy supply of the Bubble Barrier will be co-powered through solar panels installed by the University of Malta, another key partner of the MAELSTROM project. The University of Malta designed a tailored solar panel system – both inland and floating – connected to the Bubble Barrier compressor and the CMIA and Municipal Pool buildings in Vila do Conde. The system is expected to generate 57,300 kWh of renewable energy in the first year of operation, compensating for part of the electricity required by the Bubble Barrier from the electricity grid.
How do you see the support of the ENGIE Foundation and ENGIE Portugal ?
In order to tackle the problem of plastic pollution we need the collaboration of many stakeholders, from the private sector to the government.
We cannot implement Bubble Barrier projects without partners like the ENGIE Foundation and ENGIE Portugal, who support our mission of plastic-free rivers. We are extremely grateful for their operational and financial support in making Bubble Barrier Vila do Conde possible.
International Children's Rights Day
On November 20, 1989, the rights of every child in the world were recognized by the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted by the UN General Assembly. This international text sets out four fundamental principles for children: the right to live, survive and develop; the best interests of the child; non-discrimination; and respect for the views of the child.
Since then, November 20 has been designated International Children’s Rights Day. On this day, we celebrate the projects and actions carried out to advance children’s rights. For children are both the most vulnerable and the future of our society.
Universal Children’s Day offers each and every one of us a unique opportunity to raise public awareness of children’s rights, to promote and highlight them, and to transform this date into concrete action in favor of children everywhere.
For 30 years, the ENGIE Foundation has been working to help the most vulnerable children by supporting projects that have an impact on their lives, via:
- Access to education, culture and health,
- Access to energy and essential goods, because without energy there can be no schools, hospitals, drinking water..,
- Integration, employment and the fight against poverty, to enable economic activity that promotes community development.
The ENGIE Foundation wishes to give the most vulnerable children the energy to learn and grow in a positive environment, and is convinced that children will build tomorrow’s world. Giving them the energy to act is vital for the future of the planet.
Mobilizing employees for children's education with Energy Assistance
Reinforcing the education of 600 girls at Likuni Girls' Secondary School, Malawi
ENGIE volunteers from ENERGY ASSITANCE Belgium have helped improve the educational landscape for 600 girls at Likuni Girls’ Secondary School in Malawi, by installing solar panels and batteries.
Malawi faces frequent power cuts that disrupt the learning process. Solar power is a reliable source of energy that not only lights up classrooms, but also contributes to the well-being of our planet.
Lighting the way to education:
Likuni Secondary School for Girls, a boarding school near Lilongwe, caters for 600 girls. The solar system not only lights up the classrooms after dark (around 5 p.m. because of the latitude), but also powers 30 computers, providing access to modern educational tools. We firmly believe that every girl deserves a chance at a bright future, and that access to education is the key.
Although the school is connected to the local grid (ESCOM), persistent power cuts led to the installation of 22 photovoltaic panels and 4 lithium batteries as back-up. The panels were placed on the roof of the school building, and a restored technical room now houses the solar control equipment, electrical boxes and batteries. The solar system (nearly 10kWp with a storage capacity of 19.2kWh) ensures a continuous power supply to classrooms, the computer room and the administration block during blackouts.
Towards sustainability and ecological friendliness:
In addition to the classrooms and administration block, the dormitories, kitchens, etc. are still not connected. A feasibility study is underway to supply the kitchen with biogas. This would enable daily meals to be prepared without the need for electricity or firewood, and provide biofertilizer for the vegetable garden, thus offering an environmentally-friendly solution. The aim is to combat deforestation and improve the school’s self-sufficiency.
Promoting biodiversity for a sustainable future:
As part of its commitment to sustainable development, Likuni Girls’ Secondary School is committed to planting 800 indigenous trees. This planting aims to reforest areas of Lilongwe most affected by deforestation (mainly for firewood and charcoal) and to teach girls the benefits of having trees nearby. Trees planted along watercourses aim to reduce flooding during the rainy season, which is particularly dramatic given the floods that have hit Malawi in recent years.
Health education with “The Healthy School Program” in Brazil
The Healthy School program aims to improve the quality of life of children and communities through health and nutrition education. The Healthy School strategy is based on transforming children into agents of change, so that they can pass on educational messages to their families and communities.
The main components of the program are as follows:
- Sustainability: establishing a solid foundation for the program through partnerships with local stakeholders; training local staff and including program themes in the schools’ political/educational curriculum
- Education: training of teachers, canteen staff and community health workers on program themes; monthly educational activities for children and communities; integration of themes into the school curriculum (cross-cutting themes) and effective changes in school communities.
- Health: monitoring of children’s health and treatment of iron-deficiency anemia.
- Monitoring and evaluation: initial and final evaluation (including knowledge and impact of actions).
The aim of the Healthy School program is to develop a sustainable culture of healthy lifestyles in schools and communities.
IMPACT: The program directly affects 1,334 children from 16 public schools in the municipalities of Lajes and Pedro Avelino, as well as 113 teachers, 25 cafeteria workers and 49 community health workers. Indirectly, the program reaches around 5,000 people in the community, including children, young people and the elderly.
The program aims to meet several specific objectives:
- Determine the nutritional status of children participating in the program (including levels of anemia, overweight and underweight)
- Improve teachers’ and school staff’s knowledge of nutrition, healthy lifestyles and environmental education.
- Strengthen the school community so that the school becomes a model “healthy school”, giving priority to healthy habits and behaviors.
- Promote alternatives for drinking water, with training in the SODIS (“Solar Water Filtration”) method
- Promote the sustainability of the program and its actions, with ongoing training for the educators involved and the establishment of local partnerships.
Access to healthcare in INDIA with La Chaîne de l’Espoir
La Chaîne de l’Espoir, in partnership with the Indian NGO Taabar and with the support of the ENGIE foundation, has developed a mobile health clinic dedicated to the care of young girls and women in various districts of Jaipur.
The mobile clinic brings together a team of 7 people: a female doctor who knows the particular problems faced by young girls, a nurse, a driver, a counselor, a coordinator and two health educators.
Each district of Jaipur, depending on its population and the ethnic groups living there, presents more or less recurrent health problems. The clinic’s gynecologist believes that many problems are linked to misinformation and lack of knowledge among parents about the female reproductive system and the menstrual cycle. She also explains that these subjects are often taboo in most communities, and that sessions with young girls and sometimes their parents help to free up the floor for discussion.
IMPACT
Nearly 5,000 girls were seen for consultations between January and July 2023. Taabar estimates that by the end of the year, they could be more than 10,000.
Several types of psycho-social support sessions are organized:
- Individual sessions that enable girls to address certain issues in private.
- Group sessions, accompanied by a pre- and post-test to assess knowledge and the impact of the sessions.
Finally, referral is a tool that redirects beneficiaries to special medical attention in hospital institutions.
IMPACT: 2925 session beneficiaries
1860 participants in group sessions, 1245 participants in individual sessions and 40 referrals were done.
International Day of the Girl
Today’s girls will be tomorrow’s women.
October 11 is the International Day of the Girl, which focuses on the need to address the challenges faced by girls, and to promote girls’ empowerment and respect for their human rights.
Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, healthy life and to education, not only during their critical formative years, but also once they become women. If girls are supported through adolescence, they have the potential to change the world – as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, heads of households and political leaders. Investing in the potential of adolescent girls means defending their rights today and ensuring a fairer, more prosperous future. A future in which they will have an equal share with half of humanity in solving the crises of climate change, political conflict, economic growth, disease prevention and global sustainability.
Girls break down barriers posed by stereotypes and exclusion, particularly those related to children with disabilities and those living in marginalized communities. As entrepreneurs, innovators and initiators of global movements, girls are creating a relevant world for themselves and for future generations.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are integral to all 17 goals. Only by guaranteeing the rights of women and girls across all the goals will we achieve justice and inclusion, economies that work for all, and the maintenance of our shared environment, now and for future generations.
The ENGIE Foundation is convinced that the role and future of girls, future women, are essential to help achieve the goals of Sustainable Development.
The ENGIE Foundation pays particular attention to projects that have an impact on the lives of young girls through :
- access to education and culture
- access to scientific careers
- challenging gender prejudice and promoting gender equality
- The ENGIE Foundation wants to give young girls a chance
For International Girls’ Day 2023, the ENGIE Foundation is highlighting girls’ education, particularly in sciences. Oriented by gender norms and stereotypes conveyed by textbooks, teachers and parents, girls are few and far between in scientific and technological fields. What’s more, the absence of female role models does not encourage them to pursue science-related studies.
According to UN Women, worldwide, women account for just 35% of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) graduates, and only 3% of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) graduates.
Girls’ access to science and technology is a priority for 2023-2025
Discover our commitments right by our partners’ side
Promoting diversity and girls' access to science with ENS Paris-Saclay
As part of its equal opportunities plan, ENS Paris-Saclay is involved in a number of programs designed to help young people (high school, middle school and high school students), particularly girls, enter higher education and research careers.
The ENGIE Foundation has made access to science a priority in its education program.
That’s why the ENGIE Foundation is supporting ENS Paris-Saclay for 2 school years in its science awareness programs for young people (especially girls), in order to :
- stimulate young people’s interest in science,
- boost the academic ambitions of young people from different socio-territorial backgrounds, and of girls,
- limit self-censorship.
On October 6, as part of the Fete de la Science 2023, ENS Paris-Saclay organized a Science Village for 700 young people.
Teacher-researchers, doctoral candidates and students welcomed 300 primary school pupils to numerous “Mini Researchers” workshops in all scientific disciplines, in the presence of Nathalie Carrasco, President of the School, and Anne PEYROCHE, Vice-President in charge of strategy and resources.
400 middle and high school students (around 15 classes) attended mini-conferences with Alain Aspect, ENS Paris-Saclay alumnus, Nobel Prize in Physics 2022, Emeritus Research Director at CNRS, affiliated professor at ENS Paris-Saclay, professor at Institut d’Optique Graduate School (IOGS) and École Polytechnique.
WIA Code program: Coding training for high school girls in Senegal with Women In Africa
Women in Africa has set up a coding and science training program for young girls at the Lena Mama Diop High School in Ngaparou, Senegal.
The first phase, an introduction to coding, enables the girls to develop their computer skills and pave the way for new study prospects.
The second phase, dedicated to mentoring, enables them to cultivate soft skills such as confidence, leadership and public speaking.
A program like WIA Code is more than relevant, it enables high-school girls to develop new skills by introducing them to the use of IT tools and the principle of coding, thus adding other perspectives to their studies. These perspectives are complemented by the mentoring phase and the various workshops that revolve around professional integration and aim to raise awareness of the essential tools and skills that will accompany them throughout their academic and professional careers.
Impact: 76 high school girls took part in the program over two years
Testimonial from a young high school student
“You chose us from among so many others to teach us things that most of us were totally unaware of. Your program may be coming to an end, but it will have an impact throughout our lives. Through this program, you’ve taught us the basics and the depths of computing. Like, for example, how to create an application. But beyond that, you’ve awakened our team spirit, taught us to be patient, to communicate with others and to see things through to the end. We’re happy to say that you haven’t wasted your time. You’ve given us a clear picture of where we want to be in the future. We won’t give up and we’ll keep up the momentum. Many thanks to you!
Access to education is a right that is not guaranteed everywhere in the world: today, 118.5 million girls aged between 6 and 18 are still out of school for various reasons (conflict, war, prejudice, forced marriage, early pregnancy). And yet, the benefits of access to education have been proven to be numerous: poverty reduction, lower infant mortality rates, reduced violence against women and better HIV prevention.
Leadership for young schoolgirls in South Africa with Valued Citizen
For 20 years, the ENGIE Foundation has been a long-standing partner of the NGO Valued Citizens Initiative.
Valued Citizens is an association that aims to inspire individuals to become responsible citizens, determined to lead their lives by engaging with South Africa’s democracy and economy.
Since 2009, the ENGIE Foundation has been supporting the NGO’s iNSIRE program.
This iNSPIRE program aims to address the problem of gender inequality and poverty in communities by developing and challenging girls’ self-perception, promoting their emotional well-being and helping them to become young leaders in their communities, becoming the positive role models that young people expect.
Impact 2023: 171 “Valued Citizens” teenagers took part in the leadership training courses and implemented their real-life, medium-scale citizenship project within their school community, with a direct impact on 3,197 students involved in carrying out their project and an indirect impact on 9,414 middle-school students.
With the NGO Toutes à l'école, focus on girls' education in Cambodia
The NGO Toutes à l’école, founded by journalist Tina Kieffer in 2005, aims to bring a high level of education to the most impoverished girls in Cambodia, so that they can become free, educated women.
Every year, 100 new girls aged 5 to 6 from the poorest families join the Happy Chandara campus in the suburbs of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from kindergarten onwards. They will have the opportunity to pursue a high-level curriculum in kindergarten, primary school, junior high and high school, taught in Khmer, English and French.
The work continues with young baccalaureate students pursuing their studies, who are accommodated in the two Chandara Students’ Homes in Phnom Penh, where they build an independent adult life in a secure environment.
As early as 2016, sensing the scale of the climate crisis, the association integrated their first environmental protection courses into its educational program and created permaculture vegetable gardens on the Happy Chandara campus.
Today, the IPCC report is very clear: Cambodia is one of the country’s most vulnerable to global warming.
With this in mind, the association aims to make Happy Chandara the first entirely green pilot school in Cambodia.
The ENGIE Foundation supports the creation of the Green team
The Green Team includes trainee engineers from the “Grandes Ecoles” (Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole Centrale – Supélec Paris and Lyon), agronomists or from communications schools such as Celsa, all of whom are passionate about environmental issues, designing educational tools, running workshops with our students and prototyping projects (such as greening spaces and creating educational videos).
Trainees lead :
- workshops to raise awareness of the ecological transition for students and campus staff
- organic soap-making workshops for boarding schools and hygiene baskets for families
- paper recycling workshops for postcards sent three times a year to students’ godparents
- eco-committees with our students
- plastic collections around the school and alongside institutional partners in the capital Phnom Penh
To give students access to the best training, the association forges partnerships with universities and “Grandes Ecoles” in Europe and around the world.
The ENGIE Foundation is supporting a student, TOLA CHHORN, with a scholarship to the Ecole des Mines.
International Day for Biodiversity
Every year on May 22, the world celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity. It is an opportunity to highlight the crucial importance of biodiversity for our planet and to raise awareness of the urgent need to preserve it.
This awareness, took place 30 years ago. The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity, with the objective of preserving diversity, the sustainable use of its components and genetic resources, as well as the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from them.
For this year 2023, the theme is: From agreement to action: build back biodiversity. This choice is in line with the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, an agreement signed in December 2022. A new dynamic that aims to halt and reverse the loss of nature through four global targets by 2025: healthy ecosystems and species, sustainable use of biodiversity, equitable benefit sharing, and implementation and financing.
Caring for life and our planet is what has driven the ENGIE Foundation for over 30 years. With 46% of its projects dedicated to access to renewable and sustainable energy and biodiversity in 2023, the ENGIE Foundation is committed to the environment year after year. The objective is to participate in ambitious and impactful projects and to take part in the collective effort of the Agenda 2030 through the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
With the ENGIE Foundation, act for the preservation of biodiversity in France and internationally :
- Protecting biodiversity and ecosystems
- Better understand and explore the richness of biodiversity
- Educate and raise awareness about the preservation of biodiversity
"Thirty years ago, our Corporate Foundation was created to carry out projects to restore major natural sites: to limit the impact of human activity on biodiversity, to preserve and restore it, and to unite employees around a great cause. This commitment to biodiversity has remained a strong marker of our action, and we wanted it to shape the 2020-2025 mandate of our Foundation. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, our outlook and requirements have changed. Fortunately, we have witnessed a global awareness of the challenges of global warming. A company like ours has made it part of its raison d'être to make a just transition to a low-carbon economy with positive impacts for the planet.
In the face of climate change, we must not forget Nature in the broadest sense, including biodiversity. We must not dissociate them, they are intrinsically linked. Global warming is the third major cause of biodiversity erosion. If we see the consequences of climate change, the damage on biodiversity is quieter, but just as dramatic. Some species have already disappeared. And it is the well-being and health of humanity that are at stake. Ecosystems have an essential role to play in our resilience. The role of the ocean is essential, as is the fight against land artificialisation and the preservation of wetlands.”
Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ENGIE, President of the ENGIE Foundation.
To act in favor of biodiversity, the ENGIE Foundation relies on experts: Meeting with 2 administrators committed to biodiversity
Gilles Bœuf, Professor emeritus at Soborne University, member of the Scientific Council of the French Office of Biodiversity (OFB), President of the Center of Study and Expertise on Biomimetism (CEEBIOS), administrator of the ENGIE Foundation.
“Let’s treat the issue of biodiversity on the same level as the issue of climate change. The urgency is just as strong and the two are linked.
Gilles Boeuf is a director of the ENGIE Foundation and a specialist in environmental physiology and biodiversity. Professor emeritus at Sorbonne University (Pierre and Marie Curie University, UPMC), assigned to the Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls after spending 20 years at the IFREMER in Brest (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea). He was President of the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN), between 2009 and 2015.
He was also a visiting professor at the Collège de France for the academic year 2013- 2014, in the “Development of the Sea” Chair.
2014, on the Chair “Sustainable development, energy, environment and societies” and had then dedicated his teaching to the interactions between biodiversity and humanity. He was for two years scientific advisor to the cabinet of the Minister of the Environment, Energy and the Sea. Today he is member of the Scientific Council of the French Office of Biodiversity, visiting professor at AgroParisTech and president of the SCIC CEEBIOS, dedicated to biomimicry. In 2013, he was awarded the Albert I Great Medal of Monaco for his entire career, dedicated to the seas and the ocean. He is a Regional Councillor for Nouvelle-Aquitaine, in charge of the “One health” program.
Allain Bourgain Dubourg, President of the League for the Protection of Birds and of the Strategic Orientation Council of the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB), Director of the ENGIE Foundation.
A pioneer in the field of environmental commitment, for more than 30 years Allain Bougrain Dubourg has presented animal-related programs on television and radio, notably on France Télévision, France Inter and RTL. Producer and director of numerous animal documentaries, he has just published a “Dictionnaire amoureux des oiseaux”. An inspiring figure, he has contributed to making ecology a mainstream issue. As a director of the ENGIE Corporate Foundation, he participates in the choice of projects carried.
The commitments of the ENGIE Foundation
Protecting biodiversity and ecosystems
With the GoodPlanet Foundation, development of sustainable beekeeping in Morocco
The ENGIE Foundation supports the GoodPlanet Foundation in the development of 10 beekeepers’ cooperatives in the Mesguina forest in Morocco to enable producers to develop their beekeeping activity in a profitable and sustainable way, as part of its commitment to biodiversity and climate.
Objectives: to support 95 beekeepers from 10 cooperatives and to raise awareness among 100 students from 9 rural schools about the preservation of bees.
With Friendship, mangroves restauration in Bangladesh
For more than 10 years, the ENGIE Foundation has been working alongside the NGO Friendship to build community capacities, encourage major contributions from women, facilitate access to solar energy, training and biodiversity protection. To combat the effects of global warming and provide communities with the means to develop, Friendship is developing mangrove restoration with the support of the ENGIE Foundation.
One of the notable assets of Bangladesh is the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Unique and diversified coastal ecosystems, mangroves are a formidable tool in climate change mitigation due to their high CO2 absorption capacity.
However, many mangrove reforestation projects in Bangladesh are not sustainable because they consist of non-resilient monocultures, are not properly managed during the growth phase, are sometimes planted with species not adapted to the area, or do not take socio-economic factors into account.
The 14 hectares plantation project
The project supported by ENGIE Foundation is carried out in 3 areas located in 3 villages of Satkhira district (land is a scarce commodity in Bangladesh and it is difficult to have land in one piece available for reforestation).
The first two areas (30,000 trees) were planted in October 2022 by local communities under the supervision of Friendship and local forestry experts. The third (12,000 trees) is scheduled for May 2023. In total, nearly 2,000 meters of dikes will be protected against flooding thanks to this project, knowing that the damage caused by salt water can persist for a very long time (a flooded soil becomes unfit for cultivation for years, just as a breeding pond invaded by salt water can no longer be used).
Six community groups of 30 people received capacity building training (prior to planting) in seeds, nurseries and planting; they also each participated in the first follow-up meetings.
In total, 240 participants will be trained in the three zones, which corresponds to approximately 1,200 to 1,440 direct beneficiaries (family members). Indirect beneficiaries will be much more numerous. They are all the villagers, farmers, fishermen who will see their houses, their fields, their ponds, protected from flooding and salinization.
Better understand and explore the richness of biodiversity
With the French Office of Biodiversity, the ACB of Biodiversity
Raising awareness among the general public and public players about the issue of biodiversity in the heart of the Territories is one of the priorities of the ENGIE Foundation.
Since 2017, the French Office of Biodiversity (OFB) launches each year a call for projects in order to financially support the municipalities and the inter-municipal structures in the realization of their Atlas of the Communal Biodiversity (ABC In french).
An ACB is an approach that allows a municipality or an inter-municipal structure to know, preserve and enhance its natural heritage. It is an inventory of environments and species present on a given territory.
Since 2017 nearly 3,000 municipalities have been involved in an ACB and 400 projects have been carried out in metropolitan France and the French overseas territories.
Call for projects 2023 and support from the Engie Foundation
For the 2023 call for projects, the territories had until March 22 to submit their projects to the OFB. The winners will be announced in June.
To support this dynamic, the ENGIE Foundation has chosen to support the development and promotion of the program, to ensure its sustainability and to accompany the increase in quality of the projects, in particular through
– Thematic tools dedicated to local authorities for the realization of their ACB
– Collecting feedback from communities that have already carried out an ACB
– Networking between local authorities that have already carried out a ACB, those that have completed it and those that would like to start one, as part of a process of dissemination of good practices
– Actions in order to mobilize the circle of historical ACB partners and to attract the interest of new partners
– Finally, the organization of an annual trophy where the finalized ACBs that stand out will be rewarded, particularly from the point of view of knowledge (involvement of scientific colleges), citizen mobilization, and their long-term inclusion (federation of external partners).
Educating and raising awareness about the preservation of biodiversity
With the Ligue de Protection des Oiseaux LPO, the Plus de Nature dans mon quartier program
Environmental education and awareness-raising are strong drivers of the ENGIE Foundation’s action.
This citizen mobilization program combines biodiversity and social cohesion in the heart of the territories. It is organized around actions of awareness, preservation and integration of the biodiversity in the priority districts of the city policy. The LPO is leading the implementation of the program in collaboration with local actors, such as residents, schools, communities, social landlords and neighborhood associations.
The program is currently being deployed in a dozen pilot neighborhoods with a view to a national rollout in 2024.
In 2022, the program has raised awareness among 64 primary and secondary school classes in the 9 pilot districts, i.e. about 1,600 students and, through them, their families. Concrete actions (planting of tree strata, construction of nesting boxes, etc.) have been carried out each time.
On the occasion of Biodiversity Day, meet two committed administrators for biodiversity
Meeting with 2 administrators committed to biodiversity
Gilles Bœuf, Professor emeritus at Soborne University, member of the Scientific Council of the French Office of Biodiversity (OFB), President of the Center of Study and Expertise on Biomimetism (CEEBIOS), administrator of the ENGIE Foundation.
“Let’s treat the issue of biodiversity on the same level as the issue of climate change. The urgency is just as strong and the two are linked.”
Gilles Boeuf is a director of the ENGIE Foundation and a specialist in environmental physiology and biodiversity. Professor emeritus at Sorbonne University (Pierre and Marie Curie University, UPMC), assigned to the Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls after spending 20 years at the IFREMER.
IFREMER in Brest (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea). He was President of the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN), between 2009 and 2015. He was also a visiting professor at the Collège de France for the academic year 2013- 2014, in the “Development of the Sea” Chair.
2014, on the Chair “Sustainable development, energy, environment and societies” and had then dedicated his teaching to the interactions between biodiversity and humanity. He was for two years scientific advisor to the cabinet of the Minister of the Environment, Energy and the Sea. Today he is member of the Scientific Council of the French Office of Biodiversity, visiting professor at AgroParisTech and president of the SCIC CEEBIOS, dedicated to biomimicry. In 2013, he was awarded the Albert I Great Medal of Monaco for his entire career, dedicated to the seas and the ocean. He is a Regional Councillor for Nouvelle-Aquitaine, in charge of the “One health” program.
✷ What is your view of biodiversity?
An alarmed and alarmist view….The beginning of the 21st century is marked by a collapse in the number of individuals living in wild natural populations. This is a major scientific fact. Let’s take an example: in 18 years, we have lost 30% of birds in some agricultural areas.
However, today, the debates and the attention of the general public are focused on the climate.
Everyone recognizes that climate change affects living organisms. We forget the opposite: the living that goes away affects, in return, the climate. Overfishing reduces the ocean’s capacity to store CO2. Even though the oceans store about 30% of the carbon that we emit in excess. Climate and life: same fight! This is the mindset we need to have.
✷ What reasons explain the collapse of biodiversity and what are the threats?
The pure and simple destruction of ecosystems is the first threat to living things. It is responsible for two-thirds of the erosion of biodiversity. This is what we call the artificialization of soils, urbanization or the destruction of the coastline.
The second threat is contamination and pollution, in which agriculture has its share of responsibility. We have killed half the soil on this planet. We have grown to 8 billion human beings in the last few weeks. How can we feed this population with dead soil? It is impossible. We have to put some life back into it.
Third threat: the dissemination of species is a threat to life. Many species are transported. At the marine level, the hulls and ballasts of ships carry species across all the seas. Or they have been voluntarily introduced for fishing and colonize
the waterways. Catfish originating from Eastern Europe eat for example small salmon, shad and sturgeon.
Overexploitation is the fourth threat to biodiversity. The example of tropical forests is typical. As far as we know, they contain more than half of the known living species on Earth. And they are disappearing at about the speed of the surface of Great Britain every year. These large biodiversity basins can be counted on the fingers of one hand. There is the Congo Basin in Africa, the Amazon and the large islands of Papua New Guinea and Borneo. Overexploitation also concerns marine fisheries: humans take more than nature is capable of renewing. This is one of the properties of living beings, being renewable. But the current tragedy is that we are exceeding the thresholds of natural renewability of the Earth. We must fish, yes, but overfishing is stupid. With aquaculture, this represents a little more than 200 million tons per year, in spite of the fact that the stocks are more and more pressed. Illegal fishing is massively practiced.
Fifth threat: the much too rapid evolution of the climate. I don’t put climate as the primary cause of the collapse of life. But it could become important. … Bacteria, viruses, fungi, plants, animals… There is a general migration northwards in the northern hemisphere,
and southward in the southern hemisphere. This is related to the temperature of the water mass, the air temperature but also to the lack of water. The tiger mosquito has spread northward to 22 departments in France this year, causing an increase in dengue cases.
✷ What measures to take?
Europe is rather more advanced than the rest of the world on environmental issues.
Policies are not new: there is the Water Framework Directive, the Birds Directive, all the Natura 2000 projects… but, it is sometimes timid, as on pesticides. We need to move a little more and think about externalities. Pesticides have consequences on biodiversity and we have never consumed so much of them. The problem is also to find governance. International governance on these subjects is complex to implement.
✷ What do you expect from the actions led by the ENGIE Foundation?
The ENGIE Foundation is already very active on climate and biodiversity issues. We have had the opportunity to analyze various projects in recent years and we must continue. Today, these questions are essential for the well-being and the future of our fellow citizens and it is of course the role of our Foundation to contribute to them on solid scientific bases. The means allocated must be consistent and well targeted. The relationships established with the French Office of Biodiversity and the National Museum of Natural History are essential.
Allain Bourgain Dubourg, President of the League for the Protection of Birds and of the Strategic Orientation Council of the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB), Director of the ENGIE Foundation.
A pioneer in the field of environmental commitment, for more than 30 years Allain Bougrain Dubourg has presented animal-related programs on television and radio, notably on France Télévision, France Inter and RTL. Producer and director of numerous animal documentaries, he has just published a “Dictionnaire amoureux des oiseaux”. An inspiring figure, he has contributed to making ecology a mainstream issue. As a director of the ENGIE Corporate Foundation, he participates in the choice of projects carried
✷ You call for greater awareness of living things and a necessary change in human behavior.
The recent appeal by the “15,000 Scientists for the Planet” pointed to two obvious causes that explain the decline of living things: overpopulation on a planet with limited resources and intensive agriculture.
In both cases, we note that the idea of respect for life remains secondary, even inappropriate, in relation to productivist objectives. We must end this and consider that our dominant position on earth should not exonerate us from the respect we owe to other species. I would even say that our status obliges us to be compassionate. We cannot add unnecessary suffering to the need to kill! At the beginning of the 21st century, an awareness seems to be emerging but the retrograde lobbyings keep a power of resistance which postpones the deadline for change. The latter will be done step by step, sector by sector, under pressure from public opinion. The field of consumption can be a determining factor in this process, which is why we must fight for true traceability including animal welfare.
Basically, each citizen has the power to change… To quote Pascal: “the intuition of the heart leads to reason”.
✷ What do you expect from the actions of a Foundation, like the ENGIE Foundation?
First of all, the Foundation’s support for a project is a recognition of its value and of the actors who carry it. It obviously allows to develop the ambition of the action thanks to the granted budgets. Finally, it creates a link between the goodwill that animates the company. I am particularly sensitive to the ENGIE Foundation’s investment in the preservation of biodiversity, which suffers from a lack of attention compared to the climate issue. The education sector on this theme seems to me a priority.
The ENGIE Foundation supports diversity and early-stage researchers at IHES
A historical partner of IHES, the ENGIE Foundation has recently made a gift to IHES supporting early-stage researchers and female visitors at the Institute.
This support will contribute directly to the Institute’s operational budget, to finance both the organization of summer schools and the visits of women researchers to IHES.
The IHES summer schools are a major annual event at the Institute aimed at scientists at the beginning of their careers, doctoral students or post-doctoral fellows. By supporting these events, the ENGIE Foundation contributes to the transmission of knowledge and the training of new generations of researchers. In 2023, the ENGIE Foundation will support the summer school “Advances in algebraic K-theory“.
By supporting the visits of women researchers to IHES, the ENGIE Foundation strengthens its action to make scientific careers more accessible to women, who remain under-represented, especially in mathematics and theoretical physics, two key subjects at IHES.
With this new gift to IHES, the ENGIE Foundation goes even further in its commitment to support excellence in fundamental research at the highest international level, standing alongside early-stage researchers and women scientists.
In 2023, the ENGIE Foundation’s gift will be used to support in particular the visit of Delaram Kahrobaei, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at the City University of New York (CUNY), Honorary Chair of Cybersecurity at the University of York in the United Kingdom and Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at New York University.
Prof. Kahrobaei first visited IHES in 2004, when she was an assistant professor at the University of St. Andrews, UK, and she recently returned to IHES for a three-week visit, which will be funded thanks to the support of the ENGIE Foundation.
Read Delaram Kahrobaei’s portrait on the ENGIE website and discover here her video testimony as part of the series “Voices of Women at IHES”.
The ENGIE Foundation is committed to contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals in three areas: “Helping Children & Education”, “Access to Energy, Biodiversity & Climate” and “Employment and the Fight against Poverty”.
The Foundation’s three main priorities meet a single requirement: to take care of life and our planet, and to meet the needs of vulnerable or remote populations.
The ENGIE Foundation is convinced that the role of women is essential to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, the ENGIE Foundation supports projects according to the following four criteria
- Strengthening women’s leadership and participation, particularly through education, access to culture and integration through employment
- Fighting against violence against women and against precariousness
- Strengthening women’s economic empowerment, particularly through access to energy
- Committing to gender equality.
Supporting impactful projects, participating in the collective effort of the 2030 Agenda and carrying ENGIE’s raison d’être are what guides the ENGIE Foundation’s action every day.
International Education Day
This Tuesday, January 24, we celebrate International Education Day, on the theme of investing in people, making education a priority. Today, education must be the priority to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
According to UNESCO, 244 million children (aged 6 to 18) are still not in school and 771 million adults will not have mastered basic literacy skills by 2022.
For 30 years, aid to children and education have been at the heart of the ENGIE Foundation’s action and commitments, at the heart of its DNA.
With one conviction: to give the most vulnerable a chance to build the future.
The ENGIE Foundation wishes to offer the most vulnerable children the energy to learn and grow in a positive environment and is convinced that children will build the world of tomorrow, giving them the energy to act is vital for the future of the planet.
The Foundation supports projects in favor of education for the greatest number of people in France and abroad around 3 themes:
- Educating through sharing, transmission and discovery
- Educating for academic success through tutoring
- Educating to improve the living conditions of children
Educating through sharing, transmission and discovery
With UNESCO, share, transmit, debate
In June 2014, thanks to the ENGIE Foundation, UNESCO launched the first UNESCO Campus.
The objective of the CAMPUS: to put the expertise of UNESCO’s teams and its partners at the service of young people for a better understanding of major contemporary issues and to develop their civic spirit on the subjects for which UNESCO works. The campuses target middle and high school students in France and internationally, particularly in Africa.
UNESCO Campus has an impact on young people around the world: 2,000 participating students from 100 schools.
Discover the UNESCO Biodiversity Campus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpVExD4FY6o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt5iFLQzQoQ&list=PLQoYyEOJcTWWgRrAyVGtYqqcSgGN9Uloi
With TAJO (GAND), workshops on energy
TAJO is a Saturday school that offers 9-12 year old in the Ghent region the opportunity to experience, during practical workshops, the different professions that are available to them for their future. This educational project has been supported for a year by the ENGIE Foundation.
In October 2022, about fifteen young people from TAJO discovered the world of energy alongside ENGIE employees. During workshops, they learned how to produce energy with lemons or solar panels. Or how an electric car and an electric circuit work.
With FRIENDSHIP, connected schools in Bangladesh to exchange on the subject of energy transition
The Friendship organization, an international network of NGOs, born in Bangladesh in 2002, works with the country’s most vulnerable populations to support them and promote their access to vital services (health, education, energy, climate adaptation and citizens’ rights) with development projects and in emergency contexts.
@FRIENDSHIP
The Connected Schools project encourages students to share innovative solutions for dealing with climate change: logistical or behavioral adaptations, changes in practices and lifestyles, etc. By taking a stand on these issues, they will be able to become actors of change, by raising awareness in civil society (classmates, parents, associations, etc.).
Between January and June 2022, 8 secondary schools, equipped with internet connection and computers, participated in five exchange sessions with 8 French schools. The 2022 session was also a success, hailed by the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports and recognized by the French Development Agency, a new partner of this educational program for 3 years.
Key figures of the program
Each year :
- 20 schools connected in France and Bangladesh
More than 150 students in Bangladesh, 300 in France in correspondence - 30 teachers and educational managers involved
- 5 exchange sessions, including 2 interactive meetings
Educating for academic success through tutoring
With School Choice, encourage and accompany young graduates and young working people towards teaching in public colleges in priority neighborhoods
Created in 2015, School Choice is an association that accompanies young graduates and young working people who wish to switch to teaching in priority neighborhoods. To ensure their success in their new missions, and that of their students, the association trains and accompanies these young teachers during their first two years of teaching in primary, middle or vocational high schools.
Since 2015, we have provided support to:
- 310 teachers accompanied in 4 academies: Créteil, Versailles, Paris and Aix-Marseille,
- 55,000 primary, middle and high school students in priority neighborhoods have had a teacher supported by Le Choix de l’école since 2015,
- 89% of middle schools in Seine-Saint-Denis have had a teacher supported by Le Choix de l’école
As a partner of the Association, the ENGIE Foundation supports the development of the School Choice program in vocational high schools in the 4 partner academies and accompanies new female teachers in math and science, with the objective of encouraging the commitment of young women to scientific careers.
Testimonials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBuost9f_yo&list=PLEp3ndQXx0_CG_3Qylf5P9HUJfRy1IbFi&index=3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHh9UagQgQA
With Fête le Mur: programs focused on academic success
Created by Yannick Noah more than 20 years ago, the association Fête le Mur allows children from the suburbs to play tennis in the heart of their neighborhoods, supervised by professionals and certified tennis coaches. Since its creation, the association has been offering educational support to young beneficiaries throughout the year in some of their sites.
Vacances Educ’Actives
Since 2020, the academic difficulties observed during the confinement have led them to develop during school vacations courses combining sports activities and academic support: the Vacances Educ’Actives. This program during the school vacations allows children who have fallen behind to catch up on their studies, but also allows them to resume a supervised physical activity.
La classe en fête
An innovative educational and academic support action, serving equal opportunities for beneficiaries in Cycle 3 (CM1, CM2, 6ème.)
It is for nearly 2400 children in Cycle 3 in Priority Neighborhoods, to have access to an application to review lessons, all subjects included, using the prism of the song to help them memorize the knowledge transmitted in class by their teachers. The children of the association will be the actors of the project because they will present the application to their classmates and will mobilize them to participate in the national challenge “A sound, a lesson” which will elect the best creation of lesson in song.
With Coup de Pouce, equal opportunities and prevention of school dropout
For 30 years, the Coup de Pouce association has been working alongside schools and supporting parents so that each child develops a taste for learning and the ability to learn. To do so, the association designs and distributes after-school programs offered to municipalities or other educational actors. Each of its programs is tested, evaluated and implemented in a rigorous manner in a continuous improvement process.
Their vision: Academic success is a right for every child, regardless of his or her social and family environment, and a responsibility shared by the French National Education system, parents, local authorities and civil society.
The ENGIE Foundation supports Association Coup de Pouce Partenaire de la réussite à l’école to promote equal opportunities and prevent school dropout. 300 children from kindergarten to CE1, accompanied in 60 Coup de Pouce clubs in the Hauts-de-France region with support for reading, writing, maths etc.
With Valued Citizens, work on self-esteem in South Africa
Valued Citizens is an association that aims to inspire individuals to become responsible citizens, determined to lead their lives by engaging in South Africa’s democracy and economy. Since 2009, the ENGIE Foundation has been supporting the NGO on the iNSIRE program.
iNSPIRE is a program that focuses on self-development with psychosocial support so that adolescent girls can free themselves from their emotional wounds (betrayal, humiliation, abandonment, injustice…).
The INSPIRE program strives to empower marginalized adolescent girls to
– Take control of their lives with resilience and dignity;
– Gain self-awareness and conquer their fears, anxieties and “ghosts” related to situations of abuse or abandonment;
– Preventing the victimization of young women;
– Becoming active and engaged citizens who make a positive change in their schools and communities;
– Take responsibility for their own actions and the collective actions carried out through their citizen project;
– Know how to manage a project as a leader and their life project with determination and self-confidence;
– Communicate with impact to influence a school community;
– Become independent young women who contribute to South Africa’s economy.
The program invests in 6 high schools in the same vicinity, in order to have an impact on the community of a rural district where townships are numerous within the Gauteng province where Engie is present.
This program is specifically designed for:
– 12 teachers who will become the school support team (2 per school)
– 180 teenage girls in grade 3 – 30 young female students per high school aged 15/16 – 20 recognized leaders and 10 vulnerable teenagers.
– 300 high school students will be directly involved in their citizenship project which will have an impact on all schools representing approximately 5100 students, boys and girls but also parents and community leaders.
Know more > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNPmsZUGHMM
Educating to improve the living conditions of children
With Instituto Melhores Dias, improving the quality of life of communities
Instituto Melhores Dias (IMD) began its activities in 1993 and was established as a Brazilian non-profit organization in 1995. Over the past 29 years, IMD has promoted the improvement of the lives of children and communities through programs in the areas of health and nutrition, education, health prevention, physical activities, culture, environment, among others.
More than 12 million people have benefited from these programs, in 16 Brazilian states and 75 cities. More than 50,000 teachers, cafeteria workers and community health workers have been trained and 3 million children have received health and nutrition education. With a mission to promote the healthy development of children, through the formation of partners and the articulation of local networks, the Institute has gained experience in developing projects in schools and communities, in partnership with local governments, with the support of foundations and national and international companies.
Healthy School in Lages and Pedro Avelino, RN, Brazil
The project brings direct and indirect improvements to the quality of life of communities through educational actions in health prevention and hygiene. It is a multi-faceted program that provides participatory education on preventive health and general nutrition, treats children on major nutrient deficiencies and engages families and communities in efforts to improve their health and standard of living. Improved health in these communities is achieved through interventions that include biomedical examinations and treatments, as well as education on the importance of good hygiene practices and community involvement.
UNESCO is dedicating this year's International Education Day to the girls and women in Afghanistan who are denied their right to education and is calling for an immediate end to this ban on education
The ENGIE Foundation has supported the Free Afghanistan association since 2015 in favor of education for girls in Afghanistan via a digital training program with Free Afghanistan in the provinces of Panjshir and Kabul.
After participating in the electrification of 13 schools, the ENGIE Foundation financed a project of “digital classes”. Goal : to train young girls in digital skills.
600 young girls were trained each year in the framework of the digital classes after having followed the three-year training program.
Impact
– 600 female students aged 15 to 17 trained over three years, 70% success rate in the exam
– 5 pilot classes, one of which will open in 2019 in Kabul province
World Climate Day
This Thursday, December 8, we celebrate the World Climate Day, initiated by several NGOs in France and Belgium. To remind the threat of global warming and the need to act to limit its effects.
The objective of this day is to raise awareness of climate change issues and to make people aware of the increasingly important impact they have on our Earth.
This day aims to raise awareness on climate change issues and to expose the increasingly important impacts they have on our Earth.
The ENGIE foundation acts for the climate around 3 themes :
- Raising awareness and mobilizing young people
- Support for research
- Concrete actions to fight against global warming
With 52% of its projects dedicated to access to renewable and sustainable energies and to biodiversity in 2022, the ENGIE Foundation is committed to the environment year after year. Supporting impactful projects, participating in the collective effort of the Agenda 2030 and carrying ENGIE’s raison d’être – “acting to accelerate the transition to a carbon-neutral economy, through more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions” – is what guides the ENGIE Foundation’s action on a daily basis.
Raising awareness and mobilizing young people for the climate with the support of the ENGIE Foundation
"Warm up the atmosphere...not the planet"
This is a collective and immersive experience on the climate from December 3, 2022 until May 8, 2023 at CAP Sciences Bordeaux. The ENGIE Foundation is a partner of this interactive event, a mix between theater, cinema and a workshop that explores with humor the subject of the climate emergency, answering questions and highlighting solutions, gestures that everyone can adopt.
Raising awareness of climate issues is one of the priorities of the ENGIE Foundation.
To find out more about this hard-hitting and engaging show that will help you move from awareness to action:
Réchauffe l’ambiance… pas la planète ! – Cap Sciences (cap-sciences.net)
A "Re-generation" of 8 young people committed to the climate.
With the support of the ENGIE Foundation, GoodPlanet Belgium organized a 4-day training for young people who want to commit themselves to the climate. The goal of this initiative is to train them to become future climate coaches who will reach out to the younger generation to raise awareness and change behavior to protect the future of our planet. Their working group is called “Re-generation”.
GoodPlanet inspires and encourages all generations to live sustainably. For a healthy planet, for everyone, for today and tomorrow. Good Planet relies on education to play an essential role in the transition to a more sustainable society through its projects, campaigns, workshops and by sharing its knowledge.
The two-weekend training was organized in two parts. The first part focused on topics related to global warming, approached with the help of games, a debate on the ecological transition for a country like Belgium and the Climate Mural. The second part, focused on the development of their skills to become themselves a coach and present a topic to an audience.
Théophile Lienhardt, coordinator of the project at GoodPlanet testifies: “Several young people told us that they really appreciated the speaking part and learning to put forward their emotions. Indeed, for some participants, the consequences of global warming affect them personally as well as their families. Learning how to manage their emotions in order to convey a powerful message appealed to them!”
Since the end of this training, the young people involved have been speaking out on global warming and reaching out to young people.
Fighting climate change by supporting research.
Chair: Resilience of energy systems to climate change and negative emissions.
The Chair, supported by the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, is a project aiming to study and conduct work to address both the issue of resilience, adaptation and also mitigation with a particular focus on negative CO2 emissions.
This charter of the Polytechnic Institute will be articulated around 4 axes:
Axis 1: The impact of climate change on the producibility of our renewable assets (solar, wind and hydro) and industrial resilience with regard to the associated risks (on an international scope).
Axis 2: Carbon-negative technologies. At this stage, companies are not working as hard on these issues, but they will probably be necessary to compensate for non-avoidable emissions. These technologies raise questions of maturity, economic model and also societal acceptability.
Axis 3: Modeling of integrated energy systems, notably involving electricity, gas and heat/cold networks, storage and production of various kinds. The grid may be local or national.
Axis 4: Training students in the challenges of decarbonation.
The ENGIE Foundation, patron of this project at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, supports this project created as an educational tool on a campus scale. Education and training are at the heart of the ENGIE Foundation’s commitments.
Trent Chair: study of territorial energy transitions in New Aquitaine.
This chair, which is held by Science Po on the Bordeaux campus, is a project that aims to study the legal, economic and social aspects of the energy transition in three areas: increasing the professionalization and internationalization of training, strengthening support for research and disseminating knowledge.
The TRENT Chair aims to:
- to professionalize and internationalize the students’ curriculum (support for students in terms of internships, hosting of local or international experts, creation of a document collection, organization of study trips),
- strengthen support for research on this theme (university observatory, hosting of interns, dissertation prizes, mobility grants, promotion of scientific work),
- share the expertise developed and disseminate knowledge (organization and participation in conferences, strengthening bridges between private and public actors, final publication on all the results achieved).
The ENGIE Foundation, patron of the Chair, brings with the ENGIE Group: strategic orientations, a business and field vision, an adequacy of the actions with the needs of the sector (sharing of field expertise, tutored projects, hosting of trainees…) and relays communication actions.
Some emblematic projects supported by the ENGIE Foundation to limit the effects of global warming
Restoration of mangroves in southern Bangladesh with Friendship
The Friendship organization, an international network of NGOs, born in Bangladesh in 2002, intervenes with the most vulnerable populations of the country to support them and promote their access to vital services (health, education, energy, climate adaptation and citizens’ rights) with development projects and in emergency contexts.
The Engie Foundation has been supporting this NGO for over 10 years.
Bangladesh is a country particularly vulnerable to floods, tropical storms and cyclones, which are increasing in frequency and intensity due to global warming.
In the coastal region, mangrove forests have a vital function for development and socio-economic prosperity as these ecosystems provide many resources to poor local communities and act as barriers against coastal erosion by mitigating the effect of waves on dykes and limiting saltwater intrusion on fertile land.
Although mangrove planting is a priority climate change adaptation measure in Bangladesh, many reforestation projects are not sustainable because they consist of non-resilient monocultures, are not properly managed during the growth phase, plant the wrong species in the wrong place, or do not take socio-economic factors into account.
In this challenging environment requiring a threefold joint action on environmental, socio-economic and disaster resilience, Friendship has developed a nature-based solution with three goals:
- Plant at least 5 different tree species on hundreds of hectares along tidal rivers. The direct benefits are the limitation of dyke erosion, the protection of agricultural soils against salinization and the improvement of biodiversity and thus the productivity of terrestrial and aquatic biotopes;
- Include the poorest and most vulnerable residents to climate shocks and diversify their livelihoods. This ensures that the trees planted will mature without being degraded by livestock or people driven by poverty.
- Involve local authorities and strengthen their cooperation with the people.
Friendship’s mangrove planting program was initiated in 2017 with support from the Luxembourg Ministry of Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development under the International Climate Finance. More than 100 hectares of mangroves have already been restored in Satkhira district (southwestern Bangladesh), near the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Raising awareness and planting trees in a Los Angeles neighborhood: an initiative of ENGIE Group North America employees with TreePeople.
TreePeople is a mouvement founded over 40 years ago from the hopes and dreams of a teenager. It supports Southern California residents in coming together to plant and care for trees, harvest rainwater and renew impoverished landscapes, and work with communities to develop greener, shadier and more water-efficient homes, neighborhoods, schools and surrounding mountains.
Today, with the help of 3 million people, the organization has planted more than 3 million trees in the Los Angeles area and has developed one of the largest environmental education programs in the country. TreePeople is now the largest environmental movement headquartered in Southern California.
Its mission: to inspire, inspire and help people take personal responsibility for the urban environment, making it safe, healthy, fun and sustainable, and to share their process as a model for the world.
The planet is getting warmer and big cities are the most affected areas. Studies have shown that by 2050, Los Angeles’ average temperatures will have increased by 1.6°C to 3.85°C. This warming will have a significant impact on communities.
Planting trees is one of the possible solutions to deal with global warming: they clean the air, release oxygen, create a shaded area in the street…
On April 22, on the occasion of Earth Day, the partnership was formalized with the objective of organizing a tree planting in 2023 alongside TreePeople, with the support of the ENGIE Foundation. For the occasion, a moment of awareness was held for the employees with the intervention of a scientific researcher on the advantages of the urban canopy and the solutions based on nature to limit the effects of global warming.
Working alongside this organization reflects the ENGIE Group’s commitment to the fight against climate change.
Find out more about the movement : About Us – TreePeople