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December 2022 was a major step for biodiversity with the signing of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Numerous economic players, including ENGIE, joined forces during this 15th Conference of the Parties to demonstrate their involvement and underline the need to act immediately to halt the loss of biodiversity and reverse the downward trend, while also continuing efforts to respect the Paris Climate Agreement. In 2023, ENGIE continued to work on developing SBTn guides and took part in the TNFD Forum. To identify the necessary steps to become aligned with the European directive and the new international frameworks, the Group has analyzed how its practices deviate from these regulations, then worked on the implementation of the LEAP method (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare).
Sommaire
- Protecting Biodiversity
- Improving Air quality and developing Green mobility
- Optimising Water management
- Become part of a circular economy and reduce waste
- Protecting the Forests
- Reducing soil pollution
- Managing the use of critical materials and rare-earth elements
Like every other aspect of human life, ENGIE Group activities are in constant interaction with biodiversity. Protecting biodiversity is a priority for the Group's businesses and projects.
The protection of biodiversity is a component of the Group’s development, along with the management of its risks and opportunities in terms of regulation and reputation. Poor consideration or anticipation of regulatory changes ever stronger or stakeholder expectations may cause delays or stoppages in our business, and therefore significant financial costs. The protection of biodiversity is fully involved in environmental and social responsibility of the Group and constitutes a strong challenge to the territorial base of its activity.
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In addition to CO2, other emissions are produced by the combustion of fossil or renewable energies during the industrial processes involved in energy production. Depending on their concentration in the air, nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matters (PM) can have a serious impact on the environment and human health. ENGIE is therefore developing actions to control these atmospheric pollutants at its facilities, as well as green mobility plans, to help protect cities and regions.
Optimising Water management
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Due to the nature of its industrial processes, ENGIE pays particular attention to water management in its energy production and wastewater treatment processes. Since water is an essential resource for life, the availability and quality of water resources are two key priorities for the planet. The droughts of recent years have only reinforced the need for action. ENGIE works on these issues by implementing operational measures and by lending ideas to international discussions on this issue including the OECD and the CEO Water Mandate.
The oceans, key elements in carbon capture, are also threatened by human activity. ENGIE's activities interact with this resource directly, through the cooling of certain power plants or the heating of liquefied gas, desalination or offshore wind power, and indirectly, through hydraulic structures on rivers, greenhouse gas emissions, atmospheric discharges or waste produced.
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The Group considers the integration of its activities into a more circular economy as an essential factor of its economic and environmental performance. Actions are carried out at several levels: reuse of organic waste (production of biomethane), management of the endof-life of materials (wind turbines, solar panels, etc.), or sustainable use of resources. The circular economy often leads to a reduction in production costs, an increase in added value and higher consumer loyalty.
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For several decades, and due to overexploitation of forest products and increasing needs for agricultural development, the world's forest cover has been constantly decreasing. Yet forests are essential for stabilizing the climate by naturally absorbing carbon dioxide (about one third of the CO2 emitted by the burning of fossil fuels is absorbed by forests each year), and for the range of ecosystem services they provide (food, water, fuel, medicines, traditional crops, livelihoods, etc.), which help regulate ecosystems and protect biodiversity.
In order to reduce its environmental footprint and to reconcile industrial activities with a positive impact on the planet, ENGIE has adopted a Forest Policy in 2021 that reflects the Group's commitments in terms of deforestation and the use of forest biomass.
Reducing soil pollution
Soil and groundwater protection are an integral part of the Group's environmental policy.
The environmental consequences of soil pollution, and the costs of subsequent remediation measures, can be considerable. It is therefore important to prevent this risk. By 2022, 1.332 billion euros had been invested in site remediation, the dismantling of non-nuclear facilities and the scheduled disposal of products.
In this area, ENGIE complies with the regulations of each country in which the Group operates. In Belgium, for example, as part of a study into soil pollution at several power plant sites, the risks were assessed in collaboration with the relevant environmental authorities, and a remediation project was put in place.
ENGIE owns several former gas plants and sites that may be affected by hydrocarbons, heavy metals and other volatile substances affecting health. They must therefore be restored before being reused. And for all the Group's sites, soil and groundwater monitoring is carried out, in accordance with operating permits, to prevent possible pollution.
Gas pipelines are ENGIE's main land use. As they are buried, they can generate land-use conflicts. In France, GRTgaz therefore draws up amicable easement agreements with all the owners of the land it crosses, following consultation phases.
Finally, for the development of new sites for the production of renewable wind and photovoltaic energy, the choice of site is crucial, and the arable nature of the land is an essential factor taken into account well upstream of the project.
- In France, calls for bids for photovoltaic power plants are issued under the aegis of the Commission de Régulation de l'Énergie, and sites on arable land are often ruled out.
- For wind farms, development on arable land is possible if a state of play is carried out before and after the project by an independent agricultural expert, in order to define the fair compensation to be paid to landowners or farmers for the use of this land.
Managing the use of critical materials and rare-earth elements
Critical materials are raw materials used in certain equipment purchased by ENGIE to produce decarbonized electricity, which present supply risks of an economic, geopolitical, environmental or human rights nature.
Certain so-called rare earths are among these critical materials since they have become indispensable for certain low-carbon technologies (electric batteries, magnets for certain wind turbines, electrolyzers for hydrogen production, etc.) due to their exceptional properties: high thermal stability, high electrical conductivity and strong magnetism.
At this stage, ENGIE considers that geostrategic, human rights and environmental risks are the main issues to be addressed around these rare earths and intends to deepen its analysis of the negative impacts of their extraction and their reusability potential with the help of experts or within the framework of partnerships with suppliers of equipment using these materials.
In 2022, ENGIE has drawn up a global internal action plan for critical raw materials, known as the CRM plan (for Critical Raw Materials), to anticipate future tensions and mitigate the risks associated with critical materials over the period to 2030. The CRM action plan includes measures linked to supply chain management, industrial partnerships, lobbying and the scaling-up of circular economy models.
The focus is on improving supply chain traceability. In addition, ENGIE Research is developing a tool that should be operational by 2024 and will provide a comprehensive overview of the specific risks associated with each key material.
End-of-life management and secondary sourcing offer enormous potential for mitigating the risk of supply chain bottlenecks, reducing our dependencies and limiting the environmental impact of our fleets. That's why ENGIE is leveraging its expertise in component dismantling/reuse/recycling to pave the way for a circular approach to renewable energies, in close collaboration with our industrial partners.