Three quarters of the effort needed to reduce the average carbon footprint of people living in France depends not on individual choices but on decisions by public and private organisations. Economic stakeholders such as Aderly play an important role and measuring the carbon impact of local areas is now essential.

The study conducted by Utopies on behalf of Aderly (using the LOCAL FOOTPRINT® and LOCANOMICS® modelling tools) aims to understand and quantify the carbon footprint impact of the companies supported by the Agency over the last 10 years.

 

Local demand

The 574 companies supported by Aderly have created 9,917 jobs and generated €1.3 billion of production, including €0.7 billion in response to local demand in Amelyse (the Lyon and Saint-Etienne metropolitan area), representing emissions of 51 kt of carbon equivalent (CO2eq).

 

If these 574 companies were not present locally, it would have been necessary to import €0.7 billion of production into Amelyse, with an estimate of €628 million from France and €94 million from abroad.

So to meet local demand in Amelyse,

  • French companies would have emitted 19 ktCO2eq if they had had to replace the companies set up with Aderly. The transport emissions required to bring the imported goods from the rest of France are estimated at 0.3 ktCO2eq (total 19.3 ktCO2eq),
  • Foreign companies would have emitted 56 ktCO2eq if they had had to replace the companies set up with Aderly, with 12 ktCO2eq for transport to Amelyse (total 68 ktCO2eq).

resulting in total emissions of 87 ktCO2eq.

Subtracting the carbon footprint associated with companies set up with Aderly (51 ktCO2eq) from the footprint that would have been generated in their absence (87 ktCO2eq), the balance is 36 ktCO2eq in favour of these companies being present in the region.

Exports

As we have already seen, the companies supported by Aderly have generated €1.3 billion of production, including €0.6 billion for exports.

These exports have led to emissions of 63 ktCO2eq for production and 5.7 ktCO2eq for transport (1.4 ktCO2eq within France, 4.3 ktCO2eq in the rest of the world).

Without Aderly, the need for €0.6 billion of production could theoretically have been met by companies in the rest of France (€246 million) and abroad (€371 million), generating:

  • 35 ktCO2eq for production by French companies, together with 0.4 ktCO2eq for transport (35.4 ktCO2eq in total)
  • 63 ktCO2eq for production by foreign companies and 3.8 ktCO2eq for transport (66.8 ktCO2eq in total)

resulting in total emissions of 102 ktCO2eq.

The balance between the carbon impact associated with exports with Aderly’s help (69 ktCO2eq) and the theoretical impact of meeting these unmet needs (102 ktCO2eq) is thus 33 ktCO2eq in favour of the companies set up with the Agency’s support.

“CARBON-NEUTRAL” ATTRACTIVENESS

In summary, the companies set up between 2008 and 2019 with Aderly’s assistance have helped to lower the global carbon footprint by 69 ktCO2eq (52% for local demand and 48% for exports outside Amelyse).

This figure of 69 ktCO2eq represents the emissions of 6,400 people living in France.

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Lyon’s commitment to the environment

The city of Lyon is committed to reducing its environmental impact. As one of the largest French cities, it has to take measures to ensure its sustainable development for its inhabitants and businesses. Optimising the use of resources, improving the quality of the air, creating jobs, etc. are some of the actions undertaken by the Lyon metropole.

Lyon doesn’t use any chemicals for the maintenance of its public gardens and parks. Embankment cutting is done responsibly, when necessary, using mechanical, manual or thermic methods. The pruning of the city trees is reduced to the minimum to preserve their aesthetics and health. Thanks to the ecological policy of Lyon, 3 of its parks have received the “ÉcoJardin” (“EcoGarden”) label: Parilly, Lacroix-Laval and Saint-Priest.

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Ecology in France

French people are growing more and more concerned about environmental issues. Not only Lyon but the whole country is working towards a more ecological approach to its economy and daily life.

For instance, the law regarding energy consumption is becoming more stringent. Now, with the RT 2020 (Réglementation Thermique 2020), all new constructions must be energy-plus buildings. This means that now, any house or office must produce at least as much energy as it consumes.

France, along with the rest of the European Union, is also about to stop the production of cars with combustion engines by 2035. Only electric cars will be sold in the whole country, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By starting your business in France, you will choose a country that cares about the future generations by reducing its carbon footprint and takes measures to preserve the environment.

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