At the initiative of Gecina and coordinated by the Observatoire de l'Immobilier Durable, BIG aims to develop a common repository of indicators and measurement tools to define and improve the biodiversity footprint of real estate projects, to inform the choice of project owners and investors and better reconcile the urban and ecological functions of the territories.
Faced with the clear observation of a massive erosion of biodiversity, 16 companies are joining forces to transform practices towards a model more respectful of life:
Aire Nouvelle, Altarea, Amundi, BNP Paribas Real Estate, Bouygues Immobilier, Covea Immobilier, Crédit Agricole Immobilier, Gecina, Groupama Immobilier, Korian, Linkcity, LVMH, Nexity, Perial Asset Management, RATP Group, Schneider Electric.
BIG will develop around three axes to build a common frame of reference on the issue of biodiversity with:
- The development of tools to measure the “benefits” of biodiversity at the scale of a real estate project (measurement of the carbon impact, health or even freshness in the city).
- The development of a platform for mapping local contributions to biodiversity (monitoring of biodiversity, visualization of building densification, etc.).
- The implementation of mechanisms for the appropriation of these tools by the actors of the real estate sector (animation of an exchange community, publication of guides and benchmarks to support the increase in skills of internal teams).
The objective is to measure the biodiversity-related impacts of a building in order to manage progress. This approach will help inform investors' strategies and thus participate in the convergence of economic and financial performance with the socio-environmental performance of economic players. This work will bring together, in particular, developers, major contractors, public agencies and institutions, professional associations and experts mobilized on the subject of biodiversity.
For Sabine Desnault, Executive Director of R&D, innovation and CSR at Gecina: “I am very happy and honored by the broad mobilization of the founding partners of BIG (Biodiversity Impulsion Group) in the face of the urgent need to preserve biodiversity. This reflects their commitment that collectively we help the real estate sector evolve by developing common measurement and visualization tools. Convinced that our strength lies in our ability to cooperate, I invite those who wish to join the initiative. ".
For Loïs Moulas, Director General of the OID: “Accelerating the ecological transition in the real estate sector has always been the DNA of the OID. Thus, BIG is in line with our raison d'être: to unite stakeholders, encourage the sharing of experiences and facilitate the passage to action, in complete independence and transparency in an objective of general interest ”.
For Nathalie Bardin, Executive Director of Strategic Marketing, CSR and Innovation at Altarea: “This is a great market initiative in which Altarea is happy to participate. For us, biodiversity and the climate are part of the same fight: that of protecting and reclaiming living things. And there is an emergency because biodiversity is collapsing and we can reverse this trend. If we know how to measure the carbon footprint of an operation, we do not yet have a tool for measuring biodiversity. With BIG, together we will be able to test indicators on pilot operations that will allow us to have a common frame of reference and to make progress ”.