Thinking differently about flood risk

With extreme weather events expected to increase in frequency and intensity, many cities and local authorities are reassessing their exposure to flood risk and updating their resilience strategy by planning development works, building or adapting structures, implementing crisis management procedures, among other measures.

We support these authorities at every step of these processes. We perform flood and inundation modelling at a variety of scales. We carry out vulnerability assessments and propose mitigation solutions striking the right balance between technical, economic, environmental and social feasibility. We study and design the schemes and structures required to adapt to climate hazards, and also contribute to the creation of efficient early warning and crisis management systems.

Adapting to rising sea levels

Developments in coastal areas must now factor in the rising sea levels, which are accelerating coastal erosion and increasing the potential intensity of storms and flood waves. Many local authorities are currently reconsidering their relationship with the sea, the exposure of coastal areas and towns, and developments that will boost their resilience.

We support stakeholders facing these issues throughout the process of assessing, planning and implementing adaptation measures. Over the decades we have acquired extensive know-how in coastal modelling and coastline preservation. We have also assisted many authorities in coastal areas with their discussions on how to live with the ocean, and with their coastal and maritime development schemes.

Living with increasing temperatures

In many regions of the world, climate change is starting to drive up temperatures and increase the occurrence of heatwaves, with direct impacts for water resources, agriculture and industry as well as for building design and urban and regional development.

We have taken these heating-related issues completely on board and are developing a variety of adaptation solutions. We co-develop strategies to move towards resilient cities and regions. We apply ecodesign methods to buildings, including solar insolation assessments, heliodon studies, and thermal performance assessments. We have acquired extensive know-how in the field of cooling (cooling networks, heating/cooling loops, seawater air conditioning, etc.). Many local authorities also call on us to help them prevent urban heat islands, with a particular focus on bringing nature back into public spaces.

Producing low-carbon energy on a massive scale

Cutting energy-related CO2 emissions, one of the main causes of climate change, is now an objective widely shared by governments and has already been the focus of extensive planning and scenario building among international bodies. One key means of achieving this is to end our huge dependence on fossil fuels by massively adopting other energy sources such as renewables (hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal), nuclear and biomass, and by recovering and harnessing carbon in the form of synthetic fuel.

We work on all these methods of producing energy and combine them to support the move towards low-carbon systems. We are world-renowned experts in hydropower, and among the pioneers of solar photovoltaics and the conversion of thermal power plants to burn biomass. We are deeply committed to the expansion of wind and geothermal energy, and actively contributing to maximising the performance and safety of the French nuclear industry. We are also involved in the burgeoning development of green hydrogen production and technologies to recover and recycle carbon from various industry sectors – chemicals and steel in particular.

Distributing vital energy to everyone

Access to modern, sustainable and reliable energy services is now almost as essential as access to water in contemporary society, and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the United Nations Global Compact. In 2021, nearly 750 million people around the world were still living without electricity, and more than 2.4 billion were unable to use non-polluting cooking methods.

We have been contributing for decades to the development of power grids and transnational interconnection infrastructure, particularly in Africa, where most of the needs are now concentrated. For regions that are difficult to connect to the grid, we design and implement hybrid production systems (largely based on solar photovoltaics) and local mini-grids. We help to perfect and automate such networks in order to make them more stable, increase their electricity storage capacity and equip them to manage efficiently the multiple variable flows arising from the renewable energy boom.

In Europe, we are also involved in extending and upgrading district heating and cooling networks, which are highly interesting alternatives to individual heating systems. Here too, we harness all our expertise to build efficient, automated distribution facilities using energy mixes comprising high proportions of renewables.

Reducing and decarbonising our consumption

Global energy consumption has increased almost continuously over the past century, in line with population growth and the emergence of new uses, and is still rising. This raises a large number of questions in the face of today’s efforts to decarbonise the energy sector. How can we dispense with fossil fuels while meeting growing demand for energy? Increasing low-carbon production will most probably not be enough. Curbing certain types of consumption therefore seems to be an essential way forward, and this will require major efforts to both boost energy efficiency and promote conservation.

We have developed a systemic approach to energy in order to help our clients draw up efficient and sustainable strategies, starting from their practices and needs and then working with them to examine all the production, transmission and distribution facilities to be built or optimised. We have acquired extensive expertise and designed a range of solutions to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, urban infrastructure and industrial facilities. We make binding commitments to reduce the energy consumed by property portfolios via energy performance contracts. We implement large-scale operations to optimise public lighting. We are involved in many projects to recover unavoidable energy, whether heat or gas, and also offer a range of solutions for generating energy from waste. These are just some of the actions we are taking to promote the smarter and more sparing use of energy.

Safeguarding water resources in the face of shortages and pollution

Melting glaciers, dwindling river flows, high demand for groundwater, and contamination and pollution of freshwater resources are all issues being aggravated by climate change, population growth and economic development. Even in countries where water has always been plentiful, it is becoming essential to manage, share and protect resources.

We have specialised in the entire water cycle for many years. We analyse and and mobilise the various resources (ground- and surface water, desalination). We help authorities design and implement strategies and organisation systems for managing catchment basins. We design and build structures for storing, conveying, distributing, purifying, draining and retreating water.

This puts us naturally at the leading edge of current projects and discussions on solutions to fight water stress, conserve surface water quality, and support aquifer regeneration. We are also actively involved in efforts to improve sewerage systems and the performance of treatment plants, while also considering new ways to use the water they produce.

Adopting a low-carbon, life-cycle approach to materials

The growing demand world-wide for buildings, infrastructure and consumer goods is resulting in overuse of raw materials, with the prospect of shortages and strong pressure on some of them in the near future. These availability issues are compounded by the impacts of extracting, processing and transporting such materials – especially in terms of carbon emissions. Various discussions and actions are underway to ease this pressure by shifting towards a more sustainable use of the planet’s resources.

We are supporting these efforts by harnessing our multi-disciplinary know-how and our vast experience in the development and construction sectors. We are developing ecodesign methods to help our clients define circular economy strategies incorporating material-saving targets, placing the priority on rehabilitation and drawing on local channels and resources. We are involved in many initiatives in Europe to promote resource-efficient development. We are also striving to foster the use of bio-based materials and incorporate ways to recover, reuse and recycle materials and equipment into construction and deconstruction processes. In France we have even set up a platform dedicated to such reuse. We are also innovating in many other fields, such as developing lower-carbon concrete mixes and using new 3D printing techniques to save construction materials.

Conserving natural areas, biodiversity and the associated ecosystem services

The loss of greenfield land, the widespread conversion of natural areas for intensive farming, and overexploitation of the world’s oceans are leading to a dramatic decline in the number of living species, to the extent that scientists are now referring to a new “mass extinction”. Ecosystems and biodiversity provide humanity with invaluable services, so measures to preserve them must now be given very serious consideration when it comes to drawing up development policies and projects.

We help public authorities think about their approaches to regional planning and strike new balances between urban and economic development, agriculture, and rewilding. We help them define rehabilitation strategies that limit greenfield land loss. We have long been involved in projects in many countries to regenerate urban and industrial wasteland, contributing our know-how in the fields of deconstruction, remediation and urban redevelopment. We also oversee a variety of projects to rewild rivers and bring nature back into cities.

Reducing GHG emissions in industry

The climate crisis is putting humanity under pressure and forcing us to think afresh about the main factor behind this disruption, namely the massive greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) generated by human activities as a whole. Several gases are involved in this process, among them methane and nitrous oxide, but it is mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) that is responsible for intensifying the greenhouse effect. And industry, along with the transport sector, is one of the leading emitters of carbon dioxide at a global scale. For the states and companies committed to combating climate change, decarbonising industry has hence become a key issue.

We offer industrial firms comprehensive support with their decarbonisation process. On the basis of assessments and evaluations (energy and carbon audits, instrumentation and monitoring, potential and feasibility studies, etc.), we offer strategic advice (roadmaps, economic packages, due diligence, etc.) and practical assistance with project development (ecodesign, process engineering, project management, performance monitoring, etc.). We are currently involved in numerous schemes alongside industrial firms to redevelop sites, upgrade manufacturing processes, improve energy efficiency, replace fossil fuels with renewable sources, recover and share unavoidable energy, capture and store carbon, and refurbish buildings.

Reining in the consumption of materials

Reducing the consumption of resources in production activities is related to the issue of decarbonisation, and another vital facet of making industry more sustainable. The goal of bringing industrial activities within the planet’s limits is taking on a whole new meaning as rising demand for industrial products heightens tensions in regard to the availability of certain metals and construction materials.

We have been contributing for more than half a century to projects aiming to improve industrial facilities, making them more productive and efficient while also enhancing their safety. There is nothing fundamentally new about saving energy and raw materials in order to reduce production costs, even though this issue of material efficiency is set to become increasingly important. The assignments we perform today to revamp and optimise industrial facilities fully embrace these goals of cutting consumption and reducing losses and scrap. One of our specialities is reusing existing materials and equipment on-site as much as possible when rehabilitating a facility, to avoid mobilising new resources. Similarly, we support industrial firms in their considerations of how best to manage water resources.

Improving the environmental integration of industrial activities

A great deal of progress has been made in recent decades to control releases of noxious gases and effluents, noise and odour pollution, and the risks associated with certain manufacturing processes. In developed countries in particular, these efforts are continuing under the impetus of increasingly strict regulations introducing new objectives such as controlling greenfield land loss and mitigating the environmental impacts of the products themselves. Amid international tensions pitting sustainability goals against fierce economic competition and the desire of governments to regain sovereignty over certain strategic products, the environmental integration of industrial activities is a crucial issue.

We have been conducting environmental impact assessments for industrial firms since the 1970s, when these concerns first began – somewhat timidly – to be addressed in legislation. Today we perform environmental and social studies for an extremely wide range of development projects, incorporating the most stringent regulatory requirements and growing challenges such as conserving biodiversity. We have developed ecodesign methods for industrial facilities, enabling us to propose alternatives that are both efficient and environmentally responsible. We oversee consultation and information procedures involving local stakeholders in order to take their expectations into account and facilitate their understanding and acceptance of projects. We help to safeguard assets of many types against natural risks, and to build their climate resilience.

We have also acquired a wealth of experience in overseeing operations to deconstruct and remove asbestos from buildings and structures, and in rehabilitating contaminated sites and soils. Each year we contribute to the complete restoration of industrial brownfield sites, operations that are becoming increasingly popular as efforts are stepped up to limit the unnecessary loss of land.

Enhancing energy and environmental performance

The building sector accounts for about one third of final energy consumption worldwide. Its carbon footprint is also extremely significant if indirect emissions are included in the calculation. To reduce such consumption, many countries have introduced thermal and carbon standards and regulations while asking players to look at buildings over their entire life cycle. Various quality labels aimed at supporting sustainable approaches have also been created and now serve as national and international benchmarks. While the construction of new buildings is now relatively well regulated, the renovation of existing buildings – which are by far the majority – is a real challenge on which efforts are now being concentrated.

We have been active players for more than 30 years in this large-scale movement to improve the energy and environmental performance of buildings. We have developed ecodesign methods enabling us to be involved right from the initial discussion and audit phases, and then to draw up and manage the appropriate renovation programmes. Our technical expertise covers all new-build and renovation requirements (thermal and carbon analyses, envelopes and insulation, heating and cooling systems, ventilation, etc.). We take part in rehabilitation operations that are both varied and ambitious, guaranteeing tangible results in the framework of energy performance contracts.

We also assist many players in achieving compliance with sustainable building regulations and quality certifications. We help some of them to draw up their specifications, as is the case in France with the association responsible for the ‘BBCA’ (low-carbon building) quality label.

Ensuring the well-being and health of users

Most human beings now spend the majority of their time inside a building, whether it be an office, their home, a hotel or other places for living, working, or leisure. The well-being and health of users as they interact with these different indoor spaces have thus become increasingly important issues in contemporary thinking about sustainable buildings, in addition to other improvement targets relating to their functionality, energy consumption and carbon footprint.

We are working on these questions with various players (architects, developers, builders, material and equipment manufacturers, etc.). Regardless of the type of building concerned, our ecodesign approach incorporates many parameters aimed at enhancing the physical and mental well-being of its occupants, such as the use of natural light, indoor climate control, acoustic quality, greening, the development of co-working and socialising areas and the use of ecologically and biologically virtuous materials, paint and coverings.

Looking at buildings over their entire life cycle

In aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings, the sector’s players have called a number of their habits into question. Indeed, achieving this goal involves taking into account much more carefully the consumption and costs associated with each stage of a building’s life cycle. At the design stage, the mobilisation of materials and equipment is decisively important but relatively brief. During the operating stage, energy and maintenance-related consumption can be very high over time. And finally, at the end-of-cycle stage, solutions for transitioning to a new form of usage (rehabilitation, conversion) should be preferred over demolition, which is intrinsically resource-heavy.

We have fully adopted this comprehensive life-cycle approach, which we consider to be essential in moving towards genuinely sustainable construction practices. We endeavour to reckon in terms of life-cycle cost in order to find the best compromise between initial investment and running costs. We are developing cutting-edge BIM (Building Information Modelling) resources to link up the design, construction and operational stages. In particular, we have implemented a number of innovative projects involving digital twins of buildings.

We have also invested heavily in the last stage of the life cycle. Each year, we supervise many major renovation projects for all types of buildings. In partnership with various players, we are also looking at how buildings can be made reversible and at ways to design them with a view to facilitating their conversion (from offices to housing or hotels, for instance). We are also deeply involved in developing processes and channels for reusing materials and equipment.

Ecodesigning and promoting sustainable towns and cities

More than half of humanity is now concentrated in urban and suburban areas. The authorities responsible for organising and administering these towns and cities must therefore be able to manage complex practical issues (housing, economic activities, provision of resources, transport and interaction with the surrounding area, waste and effluent management, communication, etc.), while making allowance for the social aspirations of the inhabitants (safety, inclusion, solidarity, equality, comfort, entertainment, etc.). A genuinely sustainable city must reconcile these multiple expectations while at the same time controlling the environmental and carbon footprint inherent in the extremely high density of individuals and activities found there.

We have been assisting local and regional authorities for many years in their decisions and actions with regard to the design and development of sustainable towns and cities. In the framework of drawing up development master plans and creating ecodistricts, we work with them in applying certain fundamental principles: a functional mix of neighbourhoods, rehabilitation of brownfield sites and vertical construction to rebuild cities on top of existing ones, structuring around public transport networks, reintroduction of nature into the city, modernisation of all basic infrastructure, deployment of digital systems for collecting and managing data, etc. We also initiate, coordinate or take part in many innovative think tanks and in the creation of demonstrators dedicated to sustainable cities.

Bringing nature back into the urban environment

Faced with climate change and the disappearance of species, the various players involved in urban development are paying greater attention to ways to bring nature back into our cities. Indeed, “”natural”” spaces provide a whole range of services, in particular by improving a city’s resilience. They make it easier for rainwater to infiltrate into the ground, cool the atmosphere and combat the formation of heat islands. They help to restore biodiversity and act as leisure areas for citizens, who often rank them as a leading criterion for urban well-being.

Artelia has specialists dedicated to the various issues of nature in the city, the greening of buildings and the conservation of biodiversity in the urban environment. We are working on a wide variety of projects, some of which are very large, like the Grand Parc Garonne initiated by the city of Toulouse (France), which aims to restore the river banks over a distance of 32 km and link the city, the river and nature harmoniously together. We are working on several projects involving green corridors, green roofs and façades, new parks, gardens and even urban forests.

Our environmentalists provide their know-how in the fields of ecological assessments, identification of species of special interest and recommendations regarding the conservation or restoration of biodiversity in such urban environments subject to many forms of stress (light pollution, loss of greenfield land, fragmentation, high user numbers, etc.). In France, we are involved in rolling out the Biodiversity quality label to be awarded for the inclusion of biodiversity at the scale of a building, plot of land or neighbourhood.

Relying on optimised, connected infrastructure

Modernising and perfecting basic infrastructure are obviously crucial goals in improving the way cities function, reducing their consumption and limiting their greenhouse gas emissions. High hopes are now being placed in the digital management of such infrastructure and the various urban flows associated with them (water, energy, traffic, waste, effluent, etc.).

We are well acquainted with the different types of infrastructure underpinning cities and the services expected of them. We work on drinking water supply schemes, the development of renewable energy, urban lighting and signage, all transport modes, sewerage systems and waste water treatment plants, always with the threefold goal of making qualitative and quantitative improvements in the services provided, consuming fewer resources and limiting environmental impacts. In a similar vein, we take part in projects to connect these various structures and networks in order to improve the way they are managed. As an example, we have helped to implement data collection and management systems in several urban areas in order to optimise their street lighting and parking facilities. We are currently studying various other possibilities, in particular for the city of Paris.

Helping to plan sustainable transport

The use of combustion engine vehicles has become universal since the 1950s. Private cars have become a symbol of freedom and completely changed the face of our cities and countryside. At the same time, maritime transport experienced unprecedented growth as a direct result of the globalisation of trade and production systems. This was followed by a boom in aviation enabling high-speed national and intercontinental travel, which stimulating business and prompting the rise of large-scale tourism. Today, faced with the climate crisis, this entire system of transport and the associated lifestyles, which consume a great deal of energy and emit carbon, are being called into question.

We help many urban and regional authorities in looking at the organisation of their transport systems. We offer our experience in the various transport modes, our extensive knowledge of urban and regional development and our expertise in environmental issues to help them draw up sustainable transport master plans. We emphasise coordination between the various modes, the adoption of low-carbon solutions – in particular public systems – and support for active modes over short distances. We design urban development projects that aim to reduce unavoidable travel, especially commuting between home and the workplace. We also pay great attention to the efficiency of connections between the city and its surrounding area. We collaborate with rail and river transport management companies with a view to improving the performance of their infrastructure and regional services, thus helping to encourage use of the modes that consume the least energy and emit the least carbon (per passenger or tonne transported).

Preferring low-carbon transport solutions

At present, taking all categories together (land, sea, air – people and goods), transport is more than 90% dependent on fossil fuels, and especially oil. The transport sector is one of the principal emitters of CO2, but also of nitrogen oxides and fine particulates. It is therefore logical that it should be a prime target of strategies aiming to combat climate change. Several initiatives have therefore been taken to encourage the take-up of alternatives to oil (electricity, gas and biogas, liquid biofuels, hydrogen, etc.) and create the infrastructure needed for them to be deployed (production, storage and distribution facilities).

We are engaged in this transformation of transport systems at various levels. As specialists in the design and construction of urban transport infrastructure, we are involved in the development of public – and especially electric – transport systems (metros, tramways, buses, cable transport), for which we are also conducting R&D. Carbon assessments clearly show the advantages of preferring public and active modes for personal travel over short distances. We have also built up considerable expertise in the design and integration of infrastructure dedicated to bicycles and pedestrians.

We also collaborate with players in the fuel distribution field in various countries in order to create networks of service stations offering electrical charging points, hydrogen and biofuels. In parallel, we are working with these distributors and local authorities with a view to creating urban networks for recharging electric vehicles. We are also taking part in the development of innovative train demonstrators running on hydrogen, notably in Germany and Italy.

Assisting transport hubs with their transition

Even though transport hubs (stations, ports, airports) only account for a very small proportion of the sector’s emissions, several initiatives have been launched to reduce energy costs and the carbon footprint inherent in their activities. In conjunction with improving the way they operate, several major transport hubs, notably airports, have begun to draw up roadmaps and transform their infrastructure in order to achieve net zero carbon emissions within the next 10-20 years.

We are fully involved in these changes. For example, we are helping with the Marseille Provence Airport project (France), which is aiming for energy self-sufficiency and “”net zero”” by 2030. We are also working on port infrastructure, in particular on the roll-out of renewable energy and electrical supply systems for berthed ships, with a view to reducing the carbon emissions from their diesel engines that otherwise operate uninterruptedly. Our teams perform detailed audits of existing systems, study different technical solutions, identify the best scenarios, propose the relevant contractual and financial arrangements and oversee implementation of the measures chosen.