To protect biodiversity, Societe Generale is working to save water!

The Societe Generale Real Estate Division is involved in the various aspects of CSR in order to contribute to the Group’s sustainability challenges.  As well as reducing carbon emissions associated with the energy consumed in our buildings, actions are also deployed to reduce waste, boost the circular economy, ensure we use water sensibly, etc.

Sustainable resource management and sensible water use

Preserving and protecting biodiversity is a key challenge for the ecological transition, one of the four strategic focusses of Societe Generale’s CSR ambition. Indeed, the sustainable management of living natural resources and the preservation of our biodiversity are pivotal to ensuring the durability of the ecosystems that human life and our societies’ economic activity depend on. 

As a responsible economic player, Societe Generale has joined a collective approach by signing the French “Entreprises pour l’Environnement” association’s EpE charter. It commits the Bank to monitoring any possible leaks and deploying measures to reduce water consumption on all its new sites in France and abroad.  

Resource-saving equipment

Within the Group’s buildings, the main consumers of water are the buildings’ occupants (toilets, water fountains…), the buildings’ operators (fire and sprinkler systems, cleaning stations…) and the corporate catering facilities. As primary consumers, occupants have an active role to play in conserving water.  To help them in this respect, water-saving devices have been put in place: smart taps, flow aerators, dual-flush toilets. 

Among the other practical actions implemented to save water, we could notably mention the connected boxes installed in the technical premises of the Alicante-Chassagne Towers in La Défense. Enabling leaks to be detected, they avoid greater damage thanks to a faster response. 

The use of available natural resources

Several buildings have put systems in place to recuperate rainwater that is used in their toilet blocks. This the case for the Basalte and Spring buildings in France and the Ayvens building in Belgium, thus saving 259,200 litres of water annually. Rainwater is also reused to water green spaces at the Dunes and Sakura (Fontenay-sous-Bois, France), as well as for cleaning the delivery bays of the Granite Tower in La Défense. Lastly, the Hong Kong teams reuse seawater for their toilets and the Ayvens teams in Belgium partially recycle carwash water.

By preserving and protecting biodiversity, we are looking after the natural capital (forests, water, minerals, soils, species, …) our quality of life and survival depend on. This is why the Group Real Estate Division has moved swiftly to contribute, across its scope, to the Group’s commitments by activating all the levers associated with its activities.