ADVANCED
INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES

Making progress on three fundamentals of sustainable industry: decarbonisation, resource efficiency and environmental integration

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.