Jean-Claude & Laurent Fayat, President and General Manager of FAYAT GroupYear after year, unarguable scientific findings confirm the impact of human activities on both the climate and the environment. This is demonstrated by increasingly frequent and larger-scale climate events.
Limiting the impact of our activities on the climate is essential to meet the growing expectations of our clients, Group employees, and more broadly all our stakeholders. Decarbonizing our activities is a powerful tool to drive Fayat Group’s performance and long-term future.
Introduction to Decarbonization
Each of the Group’s entities is taking steps to take account of environmental protection in their business according to the specific demands of their activity, with the constant aim of meeting their clients’ expectations.
As an illustration, solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have been designed and rolled out not only to reduce our power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, but also to offer our clients ways to decarbonize their own activities.
Our subsidiaries’ autonomy, in line with the Group’s values, has enabled them to develop solutions tailored to both the local and business-specific context, and will remain a way to drive performance for years to come. With the aim of increasing its scope and effectiveness, Fayat Group launched a Group-wide decarbonization strategy at the end of 2022 designed to share and ramp up entities’ best practices to boost their effectiveness. The climate emergency also requires closer coordination of Group performance in terms of decarbonization.
A full assessment of the Group’s carbon footprint, covering its full value chain and all its activities, is taking shape with initial results due by the end of 2023. This measure is the step before setting goals to reduce our emissions, including practical action plans for all the Group’s business lines. The Group’s decarbonization trajectory will be drawn from this analytical work, guaranteeing an ambitious commitment based on the realities of our business lines.
To coordinate this strategy, the Decarbonization Strategy Department is working on a daily basis with all the Divisions, which are mobilizing their skills via Decarbonization Officers.
Commitment by Group entities
Each Group entity takes account of environmental protection in its business practices in response to the expectations of our clients and stakeholders.
Testimonials and Case Studies
Interview with Thierry De Sars: Reducing carbon footprints in the asphalt industry
In this interview, Ermont Development & Communications Director Thierry De Sars shares his expertise on decarbonization strategies in the asphalt industry, highlighting economic and technical ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: An economic imperative
Thierry De Sars explains that the main factor driving reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in asphalt plants is economic profitability. Clients are looking to cut their production costs by reducing both use of raw materials and power consumption. This trend began back in the 1980s in Northern Europe and is now going global.
- Energy performance and decarbonization: A key combination
According to Thierry De Sars, when a ton of hot-mix asphalt is produced, nearly half of the greenhouse gas emissions stem from the raw materials used, with the other half coming from the power needed for the production process. Fayat has invested in technologies enabling significant reductions in power consumption, particularly by using electricity generated in France to reheat binders.
- Innovating to reduce carbon footprints
In addition to the energy aspect, Thierry De Sars and his team are working on other ways to reduce their clients’ carbon footprints. These initiatives include:
- Recycling: Design of facilities enabling recycling of up to 100% of RAP.
- Mobile plants: Facilitation of the setup of mobile plants near worksites to reduce transport logistics-related emissions.
- The roads of tomorrow: A mixture of sustainable innovations
For Thierry De Sars, the future of roads is a mixture of hot, warm, semi-warm and cold-mix asphalts. Based on recognized expertise in the production of bitumen emulsions and cold-mixing plants, Fayat assists its clients in adopting new more sustainable road techniques, including development of cold-mix asphalts and use of non-fossil fuel alternative energies.
Conclusion: A sustainable and economic commitment
Thierry De Sars and his team at Fayat are firmly committed to the path of sustainability. They provide innovative solutions and assist their clients in shaping a more environmentally-friendly and economically-viable road industry.
Interview with Antoine Rouxel: Innovation to drive the ecological transition
In this interview, Antoine Rouxel, Technological Director at Fayat Environmental Solutions, shares his point of view on the role of innovation in the ecological transition, highlighting the Group’s initiatives to promote sustainable and innovative solutions.
- Antoine Rouxel: Innovation ambassador at Fayat Cleantech
Since the launch of the Fayat Innovation Challenge, Antoine Rouxel has taken up the role of ambassador for his Business Unit. This goes beyond mere participation; it offers him the opportunity to explore developments in other sectors, forge ties across Fayat Group, and highlight his colleagues’ remarkable work. He underlines the constant increase in the quality of projects over the years of the Challenge, sometimes backed by several Group companies.
- Creating cross-company synergies
The fundamental goal of the Fayat Innovation Challenge, according to Antoine Rouxel, is to create cross-company synergies between the Group’s different divisions. This approach has borne fruit, inspiring innovation across the entire organization. The projects developed are not just isolated initiatives, but collective efforts involving different Fayat Group companies.
- Innovation to boost business
Antoine Rouxel insists on the fact that innovation at Fayat is not an end in itself. The projects are business-oriented, with the goal of generating genuine added value for clients. These initiatives have direct impacts on the products and services provided, enabling Fayat Cleantech to stay ahead on its competitive markets. He underlines the importance of maintaining a head start to remain a leader and keep competitive.
- Fayat Innovation Challenge: A source of dynamism and visibility
The Fayat Innovation Challenge is not merely an intellectual exercise, but a source of dynamism and visibility for Fayat Group as a whole. Antoine Rouxel highlights the recognition this provides, particularly when certain solutions can be reused by other Group entities. It is a real showcase of Fayat’s expertise and innovative effervescence.
Innovation central to Fayat Cleantech’s strategy
In conclusion, the interview with Antoine Rouxel underlines Fayat Cleantech’s commitment to innovation and quality. Via initiatives like the Fayat Innovation Challenge, the business is continuing to push back the limits of technology not only to meet the changing needs of its clients, but also to strengthen its position as market leader. The Fayat Innovation Challenge is not only a catalyst for innovative ideas, but also a vector for transversal collaboration and tangible progress at Fayat Group.
Bomag e-Performance: When performance and decarbonization go hand in hand
Bomag has a range of electric e-Performance products to contribute to more environmentally-friendly work on construction sites. These systems provide significant economic and environmental advantages over conventional combustion engines.
- Economic and environmental advantages: Bomag’s e-Performance systems not only reduce CO2 emissions, but also provide significant savings in terms of operating and maintenance costs, as well as meeting the requirements of strict emissions regulations.
- Varied applications: These electric systems are suited to a wide variety of applications, ranging from compact vibrating plates to tandem rollers, providing sustainable solutions for different types of worksites.
Dynapac Seismic : Smart compaction for optimal decarbonization
Dynapac’s Seismic technology is revolutionizing sustainable compaction in harmony with the environment. This innovation not only reduces emissions, noise and wear, but also optimizes efficiency on worksites.
- Principles of Seismic technology: The Seismic system automatically detects the frequency suited to the soil characteristics, enabling optimal power transmission and maximum contact force between drum and soil.
- Advantages for operators: By reducing noise and vibrations, Seismic technology not only improves operator comfort but also guarantees optimal compaction results.
- Future prospects: Dynapac continues to innovate in the field of sustainable compaction, by focusing on energy efficiency and carbon footprint reduction.
The Fayat Foundations decarbonization strategy
Since 2020, Fayat Foundations has been committed to a decarbonization strategy aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Accords. This initiative is designed to reduce the carbon footprint of its activities via a structured assessment and awareness process, plus practical actions.
- Annual carbon footprint assessment: Fayat Foundations has conducted a carbon footprint assessment every year since 2020, enabling the impact of its activities on climate change to be quantified and monitored.
- Transition plan: Based on this assessment, a transition plan was drawn up to identify and implement actions designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Employee awareness: In parallel, awareness tools have been developed to involve employees in this strategy and encourage them to adopt more sustainable behaviour on a daily basis.
- Carbon Challenge initiative: Fayat Foundations has also launched its own Carbon Challenge game, enabling employees to better understand climate change issues and actively contribute to reducing emissions.
Razel-Bec and the project to renovate the Maera WWTP in Montpellier
Razel-Bec is contributing to the renovation of the Maera WWTP in Montpellier, a project designed to increase its wastewater treatment capacity and meet the region’s environmental and demographic requirements.
- Improved capacity: This project will increase the plant’s treatment capacity by 48%, contributing to improving water quality and meeting the region’s growing wastewater treatment needs.
- Environmental integration: The plant’s modernization will integrate it perfectly into its environment, minimizing its impact on local ecosystems.
- Ecological transition model: The renovation of the Maera WWTP is a model for the ecological transition in the sewerage sector.
FAYAT Building : Life-cycle assessment and how to be proactive on Scope 3 of its GHGEA
FAYAT BATIMENT Ile-de-France is renovating 5,000 m² of offices at 35 Boulevard des Capucines in Paris. The project is aiming for both HQE Bâtiment Durable (i.e., high environmental quality sustainable building) and BBC Effinergie Rénovation & Bâtiment Bas Carbone (i.e., low-carbon renovation and building) certification. The pricing studies made effective use of solutions based on a life-cycle assessment of the structure that was carried out at the call-for-tender stage by FAYAT BUILDING Etudes et Ingénierie (FBEI). The BBCA threshold will be improved by 20%. As much of the existing structure and assets as possible are conserved, and eco-designed materials are prioritized. Washroom facilities and adjacent doors, gritted slabs, forged iron handrails or guardrails, lights, fabric and suspended ceilings from another building will be reused. Other actions were taken by the works team, which managed to work without a crane, maintain the existing slabs and apron, avoiding new foundations and related micropiles and excavations.
