In the run-up to the IUCN World Conservation Convention in Marseille and the COP15 Biodiversity Conference in China in 2021, BNP Paribas Real Estate is shaping its biodiversity strategy with a dedicated charter and an operational roadmap for rethinking nature in the city.
Based on 7 objectives, BNP Paribas Real Estate is committed to integrating biodiversity into all its European activities and to developing, sharing and promoting a culture and expertise in this area within the real estate industry:
1. Preserve, restore and/or develop biodiversity by integrating it into our product and service offers
2. Support our clients in the development and inclusion of biodiversity in their operating sites and assets
3. Enhance the biodiversity performance of our activities through accreditations and certifications
4. Mobilise and engage our employees by developing a biodiversity culture and expertise
5. Raise awareness of biodiversity issues among our clients and stakeholders
6. Contribute to the profession's biodiversity initiatives and work
7. Measure, monitor and report on our actions
Find the complete Biodiversity Charter here
A roadmap with operational tools is a tangible form of this charter, enabling employees, particularly in the Development, Investment Management and Property Management departments, to integrate biodiversity into the assets that BNP Paribas Real Estate designs, renovates, manages or occupies, with:
- A catalogue of solutions to integrate biodiversity in the design/renovation, construction and operational phases: to vegetate the building, reconnect it to its natural environment and facilitate contact with living organisms for occupants,
- A monitoring tool to assess the ecological potential of an existing site or building,
- Performance indicators to measure the progress of our actions (currently being developed in collaboration with our various business lines)
BNP Paribas Real Estate's commitment has increased in recent years
The integration of biodiversity has been part of BNP Paribas Real Estate's CSR strategy since 2016 and has resulted in several new initiatives.
- In 2017, the company took action by joining the Nature 2050 programme launched by CDC-Biodiversity to restore biodiversity and adapt territories to climate change.
- In 2018 BNP Paribas Real Estate responded to the international "#MakeOurPlanetGreenAgain" appeal by the CIBI (International Council on Biodiversity and Real Estate) and signed the BiodiverCity charter® to develop biodiversity in cities.
- That same year, convinced of the benefits of nature in the city, they set up the BNP Paribas Real Estate Urban Farm on the terraces of their head office, which is at the same time a place for experimenting with urban vegetable gardens, a showcase for clients and businesses, and a collaborative and relaxing space for teams.
- In 2019, BNP Paribas Real Estate joined forces with the association of urban and plant stakeholders in the “For a natural city!” forum, a ground breaking initiative that brought together scientists, elected officials, construction and real estate professionals in a call to action. Today, its head office is piloting the future Biodivercity Life® label (a reference system that evaluates the ecological performance of a building in the operational phase).
"Our role in promoting biodiversity is part of a positive approach that goes beyond reducing our impacts. Our goal is to promote the development of biodiversity in real estate, to reconnect the urban environment with nature and to contribute to the building's influence on its natural and human environment. It is through training, raising awareness among our employees, and involving our clients and partners - architects, landscape designers, ecologists and design consultants - that we will be able to make existing buildings and those under development more alive and contribute to making the city more desirable" says Catherine Papillon, Head of Sustainable Development and CSR at BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Significant real estate projects promoting Biodiversity
#V2 and #V3 in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine
© Becard-Map - building #V2 – Perspective by Alessandro Brotto
Located in the ZAC des Docks, the project will comprise almost 59,000 sq m of offices, services and retail. The site will include 7,300 sq m of green spaces, including several terraces accessible to people with reduced mobility, and 5,000 sq m of landscaped roof tops with a variety of uses, including an urban vegetable garden and a running track. Delivery is scheduled for 2022 and the project is aiming for HQE, Breeam, BiodiverCity and Well certifications and accreditations, among others.
Les Mathurins in Bagneux
© MFR, Naaja and Robert & Reichen – Perspective by Pyralis
The project is located on an 11-hectare site and will include: 1,800 housing units for first-time buyers, 700 social housing units and 12,000 sq m of retail. Upcoming developments will include urban agriculture on rooftops, flower boxes on terraces as well as vegetable gardens and an aquaponic basin on the ground floor, fed by a rainwater recovery system. Eventually, the project will also include a 4-hectare park, and is aiming for the NF Habitat HQE, Eco Quartier, BiodiverCity Ready and One Planet Living accreditations and certifications.
L’Arboretum in Nanterre
© Laisné Roussel and François Leclercq (Weiss images)
This new green office concept will be the largest hardwood campus ever built in the world. This large-scale project aims to redevelop a 9-hectare industrial wasteland on the banks of the Seine. The materials, construction, operation and evolution of the buildings have been designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life of the campus and maximise its resilience. The use of bio-sourced materials, bioclimatic design, the reuse of wood waste and the production of renewable energy make the site a true model of simplicity and sustainable development.
Logistics platform in Corbas
An example of the transformation of a former backfilled quarry into a logistics platform demonstrates that this type of use can be a solution for the reconversion of wasteland, despite the difficulties inherent in using derelict land. The choice to regenerate this type of land rather than an agricultural or natural area, more classically hosting logistics property, helps to combat the spread of soil artificialisation. It can even help to preserve natural areas that have spontaneously taken over wasteland. The project includes the conservation of a natural area, free from any construction and developed to accommodate local fauna and flora. It is also planned to build a photovoltaic power plant integrated into the building and shared vegetable gardens on 1,200 m2 of terrace.
- Amira TAHIROVIC
