PRESS file
June 2012
GDF SUEZ and RIO+20:
Our initiatives for a responsible economy
OUR INITIATIVES FOR A RESPONSIBLE
GREEN ECONOMY
The next Conference on Sustainable Development
(Rio+20), organized by the United Nations,
will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June
20-22. This event will be attended by government
authorities at the highest level, as well as by many
stakeholders from civil society. Rio+20 represents
an opportunity for the private sector to clearly
demonstrate its commitment to sustainable
development.
As the world’s largest utility, GDF SUEZ
is an active participant in the mobilization around
Rio+20. Backed by the business expertise
of its 219,000 employees based in over
70 countries, GDF SUEZ makes responsible
growth the focal point of its activities by offering
innovative, sustainable solutions.
GDF SUEZ relies on a diversified gas supply
portfolio, flexible electrical power production
facilities with low CO2 emissions, and unique
expertise in four key sectors: liquefied natural
gas, energy efficiency services, independent
electricity generation, and environmental services.
GDF SUEZ wishes to share all of the best
practices developed within the Group with private
customers, municipalities and businesses.
Energy is essential to society’s development,
and world consumption increased by over 5%
in 2010, with CO2 emissions reaching their
highest level ever. In 2010, 1.3 billion people
did not have access to sustainable energy,
and 2.7 billion had only traditional biomass
available for food preparation. The development
of an economy with low carbon emissions
accessible to the greatest number of people
is a critical factor in responsible growth over
the long term. This commitment requires major
efforts to control global warming and its impact
on ecosystems, and innovative social initiatives
to contribute to access to sustainable energy
for all.
The challenge of this new development model
lies in implementing methods of production
and the infrastructures necessary for growth while
maintaining social and environmental stability.
This is why GDF SUEZ is diligent in assuring that
all three aspects of sustainable development
- economic, social, and environmental - are integral
parts of its strategy and the development of its activities.
The Group also ascribes great importance
to responding to the expectations of stakeholders
and communities in its projects, from the initial
design phase to construction and operation.
This policy allows better integration of facilities into
their localities, as well as value creation that is shared
by the company and local players, in the form
of business activity and jobs.
As an energy Group with a major presence
in emerging regions, where 80% of future energy needs
are concentrated, GDF SUEZis focusing on specific
initiatives to respond to critical energy and social
needs. For example, to confront the specific problem
of energy access for all, GDF SUEZ inaugurated
its “GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs d’énergies” (“Energy
Gatherers”) initiative in 2011. This measure aims
to give access to energy to impoverished people
in developing countries, while helping to overcome
the lack of secure energy supplies in developed
countries.
The Group’s major projects are therefore targeted
at promoting solutions that minimize the use
of resources and facilitate people’s access
to up-to-date, dependable, affordable, clean energy.
This vision becomes a reality through the development
of renewable energies, control of energy consumption,
the choice of a circular economy, solutions for the city
of tomorrow, and an innovative and determined
approach to energy access for the most severely
disadvantaged.
Table of Contents
TOWARDs NEW GROWTH MODELS:
DEVELOPING THE GREEN ECONOMY 4
RENEWABLE ENERGIES4
ENERGY EFFICIENCY8
SMART GRIDS
11
A COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ACCESS FOR ALL:
GDF SUEZ RASSEMBLEURS D’éNERGIES
13
CONSERVING RESOURCES
AND PRESERVING ECOSYSTEMS16
CITIES: IDEAL AREAS FOR TESTING ENVIRONMENTALLY
AND SOCIALLY INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS19
OPTIMIZING WATER AND ENERGY SOURCES22
Toward new growth
models: developing
the green economy
Renewable energies
The challenges for the GDF SUEZ
Group: a sustainable energy mix
Confronted with the challenges of controlling the energy market and limiting greenhouse
gas emissions, GDF SUEZ made the decision to diversify its production facilities.
This strategy was implemented by investment in renewable energies in all sectors,
for both electricity generation (hydropower, biomass and biogas, wind and photovoltaic
energy) and heating (biomass, solar and geothermal energy). At the end of 2011,
GDF SUEZ had a total overall capacity of 21.7 GW, of which 16.1 GW were in operation.
4
Every day, our construction sites and investment projects take another step toward
our goal of increasing this installed capacity by 50% in 2015 compared with 2009 levels.
This is one of the Group’s ten sustainable development goals, which demonstrates
the importance we attach to the development of clean energy that is respectful
of the environment. The leadership position of GDF SUEZ in the renewable energies
sector, particularly in France, and its many projects throughout the world are proof
of this commitment. The Group has already increased its installed capacity of renewable
energies by 20% since 2009.
Local and international implementation
With its five subsidiaries specializing in wind energy, GDF SUEZ stands out in France
as the national leader in this sector with 16% of installed capacity. The Group has also
developed several wind farms in Europe (Piano del Cornale in Italy and JarMoltowo
in Poland), in Latin America (Monte Redondo in Chile), and in North America.
In hydropower, Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) and Société Hydro Électrique
du Midi (SHEM) make GDF SUEZ the 2nd largest French operator with over 25%
of generation and more than 3,700 MW of installed power. The Group is also engaged
in several hundred hydropower projects throughout the world (the Estreito and Jiraú
dams in Brazil), a sector in which GDF SUEZ has been active for over 30 years.
In addition to these two major renewable energy segments, construction is underway
on biomass plants in the Netherlands, Belgium (the Rodenhuize plant was inaugurated
in September 2011), and Poland. We are also actively contributing to structuring
the wood-to-energy sector to assure high quality supplies over the long term. In addition,
projects for exploiting geothermal resources are being studied in the southern part
of the island of Sumatra.
Finally, in the area of solar energy, the Group has begun developing facilities in France,
Italy, and Portugal (the Ferreira do Alentejo and Porteirinhos plants). New photovoltaic
installations have recently been inaugurated in France, notably the Bollène plant
in the Vaucluse region.
In addition to its activities in renewable energies, GDF SUEZ, in partnership
with local authorities, is offering its expertise right in the heart of the city: in eco-districts,
energy-saving buildings, installation of biomass heating plants and the operation
of urban networks that limit CO2 emissions. Finally, the Group has created a subsidiary
in France that is entirely dedicated to optimizing the operation of its renewable energy
production units (except hydropower).
Leadership in wind-powered energy
(France)
In January 2012, the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône inaugurated its 20th land-based
wind farm in Guerville-Melleville, 15 kilometers from the shore of the English Channel.
With 5 wind turbines, each with 2.3 MW of power, this facility will produce about
28,000 MWh a year, which will cover the electricity needs of approximately
10,000 households, excluding heating. This wind farm will reduce the amount of CO2
released into the atmosphere each year by 27,000 metric tons. Since the launch
of the pilot study in 2002, CNR has focused on the importance of local relationships
and respect for the environment (presentation of the project to the community’s residents,
studies on the technical and environmental impacts, guaranteed income for the local
economy, etc.).
With the launch of this new project, developed with ENERGIETEAM, CNR crossed
the threshold of 200 MW of installed wind power and allowed the GDF SUEZ Group
to reach 1,000 MW (CNR and other subsidiaries specializing in wind power).
This has helped GDF SUEZ to strengthen its leadership position in France.
5
Run-of-the-river hydropower plant
in Jiraú (Brazil)
GDF SUEZ attaches great importance to the development of renewable energies
in Latin America, where numerous projects are underway. The Group strives to make
optimal use of the resources available in the Brazilian countryside. The hydropower
project in Jiraú, along the Madeira River, will use water resources to produce energy,
targeting an installed capacity of 3,750 MW. This “run-of-the-river” plant has the advantage
of a reduced impact on the environment and local inhabitants, with a relatively small reservoir
for its maximum electricity generation capacity.
The Jiraú project also includes social objectives, particularly targeting beneficial
spin-off effects on the local economy (local job creation, improvement in nearby
residents’ quality of life, protection of the environment etc.). GDF SUEZ has established
33 socio-economic and environmental projects that have been endorsed by the Brazilian
government’s environmental agency, IBAMA, for a total sum of €520 million.
These projects include a provision required when an environmental permit is obtained,
such as social programs for environmental education, public health and protection
of biodiversity. There is also a provision for voluntary partnerships with highly regarded
NGOs. GDF SUEZ targets the highest possible socio-economic standards in its work
in Jiraú, with compliance assured by external auditors.
6
New pilot biomass project
in the Atacama Desert (Chile)
The thermal plants of E-CL, a GDF SUEZ subsidiary, are located in northern Chile,
a few kilometers from the Atacama Desert. E-CL decided to establish cactus and shrub
plantations in this arid region to produce biomass to fuel its new CTA-CTH electricity
production units with a renewable resource, replacing about 10% of the coal used
in the two plants.
This project has the advantage of producing biomass on land that is not suitable
for agriculture or other uses, due to the aridity and salinity of the soil. Furthermore,
the close proximity of the plantations and the plants (4 km) considerably reduces costs
and CO2 emissions related to the transport of the resource.
In addition to reducing the carbon footprint of E-CL, this project creates a new focus
of development for the local community of Mejillones, by generating almost 200 new
jobs and diversifying the region’s activities.
7
Wind farm in Monte Redondo (Chile)
Located 325 km north of Santiago in the Coquimbo region, this new farm, which
was inaugurated in 2009, is composed of 24 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 48 MW
(Phase I: 19 turbines + Phase II: extension with the construction of 5 additional turbines
in 2011).
This project, backed by an investment of $127 million, strengthens the Group’s position
in the Central Interconnected System (central and south Chile), one of the country’s two
largest energy grids. It can supply clean energy to 74,000 households in this network,
while reducing CO2 emissions by 88 million metric tons a year.
Wind energy is an additional component in the policy of diversifying the GDF SUEZ energy
portfolio in Chile, contributing to the stabilization of energy prices while reducing the Group’s
dependence on fossil fuels. This wind farm allows the production of clean energy as well
as establishing carbon credits, in compliance with the Clean Development Mechanism
of the Kyoto Protocol.
Energy efficiency
Challenges for the GDF SUEZ Group:
controlling energy consumption
Implementation of a responsible growth policy compels us to consider how we should
carry out our production and consumption activities Energy production and consumption
are central to our social and environmental challenges: rising energy demand, scarcity
of resources, and the fight against pollution and global warming. These challenges
are central to the activities of GDF SUEZ as a major utility. It is therefore incumbent
on the Group to offer the best solutions to consistently optimize the entire energy value
chain, from generation through distribution, all the way to the end user.
Energy efficiency and control of energy consumption are therefore at the center
of the Group’s strategy and the products it offers in its many businesses, on several levels:
•
within its energy services, the Group designs, installs and operates facilities
belonging to its customers (private customers, professionals, businesses
and local authorities) to provide the required services while reducing energy
consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
• as an energy supplier, the Group also operates its own energy generation
and distribution facilities and assets.
8
• in its environmental services, improving energy efficiency is also part of the Group’s
sustainable development commitment. Thus, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT
is developing technologies that consume less energy, due primarily
to the modernization of its water and waste treatment facilities and the optimization
of its sludge incineration process.
A comprehensive policy of energy
services products
The Energy Services Business Line of GDF SUEZ and its 76,000 employees offer
multi-technical energy efficiency and environmental solutions. Through its brands,
TRACTEBEL, INEO and COFELY, GDF SUEZ stands out in the fields of engineering,
installation, and energy services.
The energy suppliers within the GDF SUEZ Group (GDF SUEZ DOLCEVITA,
GDF SUEZ ENERGIES FRANCE, and GLOBAL ENERGY brands) also carry out hundreds
of thousands of energy saving initiatives annually for their customers.
The Group is also investing in R&D to develop tomorrow’s technologies and optimize
the operation of its facilities. This can be seen, for example, in the development
of an array of power production units based on efficient facilities (such as CCGTs, wind, hydro,
and cogeneration), experimenting with biomass gasification, and the development
of innovative processes for heating such as micro-cogeneration for new generations
of boilers or gas heat pumps.
Sustainable solutions for major
industrial customers (France)
GDF SUEZ Global Energy conducted a feasibility study for the recovery of combustion
gases from a galvanizing furnace at the Arcelor Mittal Atlantique Desvres site in France.
After conducting expert assessments
and measurements onsite, the GDF SUEZ
Global Energy experts recommended
the installation of a recovery boiler
that uses combustion gases to preheat
the treatment baths.
Since the industrial site has implemented
this solution, it has saved 15% on energy
consumption and reduced its CO2
emissions by 2,600 metric tons per year
and will earn back its investment in under
two years.
Optimization of public lighting
and building renovation (France)
With its old lighting fixtures and a high energy consumption school complex,
the town of Bougival (France) wanted to improve the energy performance of its facilities
while enhancing its existing assets. In 2011, INEO and COFELY were awarded
a “mixed” Energy Performance Partnership Contract for the optimization of its public
lighting fixtures and the renovation of its Claude Monet school complex to meet
low-energy consumption standards. This is the first time that a contract of this kind
has been signed in France. For a period of 20 years, this PPP also includes the operation
and maintenance of all facilities. In total, the consumption by buildings will be reduced
by 80% and the use of renewable energy will make it possible to decrease currently
generated CO2 emissions by over 98%.
9
Renovation and performance
of datacenter (Belgium)
The Fortis BNP Paribas datacenter in Haren, Belgium, which was built in 1972,
had an end of life scheduled for 2015. With a surface area of 5,500 m², the Tier III+
datacenter was renovated in 2008 by COFELY SERVICES, thus making it possible
to improve the overall performance of the site significantly. Despite difficult
conditions of performance, COFELY SERVICES improved datacenter performance
by nearly 20% through cost-effective solutions (free cooling, outside temperature
sensors on equipment, pooling of server capacities, reduced ventilation and moisture
flow, etc.).
10
Smart grids
Challenges for the GDF SUEZ Group:
developing energy innovations
The efforts to manage energy resources intelligently also include the optimization
of grids and power consumption systems. For several years, GDF SUEZ has been
launching projects and actions to advance thinking on “smart grids”. These networks
of the future will be an essential tool in the transition to more fuel-efficient energy systems.
Besides their ability to improve stability and reliability, smart grids will significantly
change the nature of the energy supply and the relationship between energy suppliers
and their customers.
Study and development of smart grids
Smart metering is the first link in the smart grid. In this area, Lyonnaise des Eaux is equipping
French households with smart meters as concession contracts are renewed. GrDF
and the French energy regulator are studying the deployment of 11 million communicating
gas meters. ONDEO SYSTEMS, a Group subsidiary, has also built a highly effective
smart metering solution for water and gas, which it is offering to the European grid. Finally,
the Group’s business lines in charge of energy supply and services are jointly developing
new products based on smart technologies that will make it possible for their customers
to improve energy efficiency.
The development of customized smart grid solutions includes the construction
of demonstrators that make it possible to test technologies, study the behavior of consumers
and their acceptance of proposed changes, and develop viable business models for offers.
Smart grids thus makes it possible to adapt management to consumer behavior, through
a network of electricity produced in a decentralized manner, a more dynamic equilibrium
between electricity production and demand, and the development of sustainable solutions.
GDF SUEZ is participating in a major project in Belgium, LINEAR, and in Greenlys,
one of the largest smart grid demonstration projects in Europe, which has just been
launched in Lyons and Grenoble. Finally, in the US and the UK, as well as France,
the Group has already begun aggregation offers with its industrial customers,
which involves the modulation of their customers’ load to help reduce consumption
spikes.
11
GreenLys (France)
The GreenLys project is a full-scale demonstrator (1,000 residential customers
and 40 commercial sites in urban areas) that makes it possible to develop and test
the technology solutions needed for the implementation of smart grid functionalities.
GDF SUEZ, with a consortium of industrial and research partners (ERDF, GEG,
Schneider, Alsthom, Grenoble-INP) and local authorities in Grenoble and Lyons,
had responded to the Call for Expressions of Interest made by the ADEME agency
regarding smart networks and power systems (Smart grids - Smart metering).
After more than a year of preparation, the GreenLys project was approved by the local
authorities through the favorable decision of the General Commission for Investment.
For the experimental period of the project(between 2011 and 2014), GreenLys has several
goals: identifying the technological and societal barriers and quantifying the sources
of value related to the deployment of a smart electricity system; placing customers
at the heart of the smart grid concept of and including them in the active management
of electricity demand and production; and finally, building a global vision encompassing
economic, industrial, environmental and societal goals.
LINEAR (Belgium)
12
Local Intelligent Networks and Energy Active Regions (LINEAR), is a major stage
in research into the construction and implementation of smart grids. It is the demonstrator
project with the greatest visibility in Belgium.
This project would make possible
the large-scale deployment of smart
meters in Belgium. LABORELEC,
a GDF SUEZ research and skills center
that specializes in electricity technologies,
is contributing to this project by developing
data collection and monitoring methods
for field tests. LABORELEC has extensive
expertise in the development of boilers
and smart heat pumps and in the testing
of concepts developed both in the laboratory
and by assessing the impact of those
intelligent applications on the quality
of the low-voltage power grid.
A commitment to sustainable
energy access for all:
GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs
d’énergies
Challenges for the GDF SUEZ Group:
sustainable energy access for all
In 2011, 1.3 billion people were without access to electricity. In Europe, one in four people
live with fuel poverty. As a major energy group, GDF SUEZ is therefore particularly concerned
with two major challenges: guaranteeing sustainable access to energy for everyone
and combating fuel poverty. GDF SUEZ is convinced of the potential role of the private
sector in development and poverty reduction.
For this reason, GDF SUEZ has developed innovative models to support energy access
projects for the poor. As a result, in 2011, the Group launched the GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs
d’Energies initiative.
The social dimension at the heart
of an innovative initiative
GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs d’Energies is an initiative with three complementary
areas of action:
• Donation, with the GDF SUEZ Corporate Foundation, which, through its Energies
Solidaires program, provides support to NGOs and associations for public interest
projects targeting energy access.
• Technical assistance for projects, with the support of the three employee
associations within the Group: Energy Assistance, Codegaz, and Aquassistance.
• Finally, investment in projects led by corporate entrepreneurs through the creation
of an investment fund. The purpose of the solidarity investment fund created
by GDF SUEZ is to gradually reach €100 million, of which 10% will be immediately
invested in energy access projects in the form of equity investments in corporate
enterprises.
Through its investment fund, GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs d’Energies aims to support
viable, sustainable, and reproducable projects. They must have a strong social impact
on local populations and encourage access to renewable or low GHG-emission energy
sources, adapted to local environments. The concept of creating shared value is the key
to this innovative initiative in which each stakeholder is a beneficiary of the project
and its financial or social benefits. The initiative aims to support energy access projects
in less developed countries or to reduce fuel poverty in developed countries.
This initiative builds on a partnership approach, from the selection of the project
to its funding and monitoring, with well known and complementary associations, NGOs,
international institutions, or companies.
13
Energy access: support for the NGO
Friendship (Bangladesh)
FRIENDSHIP is an NGO that has been based in Bangladesh since 1998. It is led
by Runa Khan, an iconic figure in social entrepreneurship. This NGO aims to provide
essential services to the poorest and most marginalized populations in the country.
The GDF SUEZ Foundation has been supporting FRIENDSHIP since 2010. Group volunteer
experts are also working with NGOs on a project to bring electricity to island villages.
These volunteers offer their technical expertise and work on solutions for these remote areas.
14
Decentralized energy solutions
adapted to local needs (Peru)
For the past three years, the NGO
Energy Assistance France has been
mobilizing the skills of GDF SUEZ
employees to provide photovoltaic
and micro-hydraulic energy to about
twenty remote villages in Peru near
the Brazilian border.
After a field mission that identified
needs and local resources, Energy
Assistance France provided cocoa
farmers in the villages of Pucalpillo
and Santa Rosa with rechargeable
solar energy lamps
Fighting fuel poverty (France)
The solidarity investment fund GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs d’Energies is supporting
the development of La Foncière Chênelet. This project involves the construction
of high energy performance public housing.
The Foncière Chênelet charitable foundation specializes in the construction of high energy
performance green public housing. It is building 70 public housing structures with the Low
Consumption Building label for tenants who receive rental assistance loans.
Raising awareness of energy savings
(France)
Since 2005, GDF SUEZ has been
developing an ambitious program
in France (ISIGAZ), which aims to raise
awareness of energy savings and
indoor gas appliance safety among
public housing tenants in troubled
urban areas.
At the end of 2011, 680,000 people had
benefited from these efforts, which were
provided free of charge and conducted
by social workers from more than
50 associations.
15
Conserving resources
and preserving ecosystems
Challenges for the GDF SUEZ Group:
management of major water
and waste cycles
GDF SUEZ, through its subsidiary SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT, is developing activities,
solutions, and innovations for integrated management of the major water and waste cycles,
and to conserve resources and preserve ecosystems and their services.
16
SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT is enabling the recovery of household and industrial waste
through the collection, sorting and effective preparation of waste. The Group also offers
a wide range of services: from the material recovery of recyclable waste, to dismantling
products at the end of life, and the production of high-quality secondary raw materials.
The Group is an expert in the biological recovery of organic waste that can be turned
into compost. Finally, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT produces energy from waste through
different processes: incineration, biogas capture from landfills, and finally through
the transformation of biodegradable waste into biogas by anaerobic digestion
or composting.
In addition, GDF SUEZ is committed to integrated management of the major water
cycle in order to limit the impact of human activity on the resource. From the beginning
of the cycle, solutions such as the protection of well fields are developed by the Group
to protect the quality of the resource. SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT is also developing services
and tools that allow better quantitative management of water resources. For example,
Lyonnaise des Eaux in France has a wide range of solutions for sustainable management
of networks, which makes possible such actions as a reduction of network losses.
In addition, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT is also developing the recovery of by-products
from wastewater (sludge), which once processed and dried can be used as fuel.
SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT is working to optimize the hydrological mix through the use
of alternative resources such as desalination of sea water, or wastewater reuse solutions
for uses that do not require extensive water treatment, such as watering municipal parks
or agricultural and industrial activities.
Finally, the preservation of ecosystems is at the heart of the Group’s environmental
businesses. SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT is developing solutions, tools, and academic
partnerships with trade associations and research programs for the restoration
of the marine environment and preservation of aquatic and wetland areas, the rehabilitation
of urban nature, or through the regeneration of biodiversity at landfills.
Waste: an alternative energy source
(UK )
SITA UK, a subsidiary of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT,
is a leader in recycling and resource management
in the UK. In November 2010, SITA UK signed
an exclusive agreement with Cynar Plc, a company
focused on new conversion technologies, to build
ten factories to convert end-of-life plastic into diesel
fuel, which will lead to the creation of about one
hundred jobs. The SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT
venture capital fund will contribute to the funding
mechanism, along with SITA UK.
Each plant is designed to ensure the conversion
of about 6,000 metric tons of mixed plastic
waste per year, targeting specifically the waste
that normally goes into landfills. Each is expected
to produce over four million liters of diesel fuel
from end-of-life plastic.
This solution has a twofold advantage: it is useful for the environment and represents
a new energy source. The cost of this diesel should also be less than normal diesel fuel
and should have a lower carbon footprint than conventional diesel.
Preserving the resource: producing
water suitable for different types
of uses (USA)
For many years, the West Basin Water
District (California) has faced a significant
demand for water even though the water
resources that came from Northern
California and the Colorado River were
rare.
In 1995, the largest wastewater reuse
program in the US was implemented
in the region, and UNITED WATER,
a subsidiary of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT,
made a commitment to the West Basin
Municipal Water District to increase
the volume of wastewater reused,
with the aim of replacing half of the imported potable water with recycled water, thereby
reducing the use of potable water for industrial or agricultural purposes. As a result,
five different qualities of water are produced each day to meet the needs of 300 users:
water supplies to refineries such as Chevron and Exxon, groundwater recharge, irrigation
of golf courses and parks, etc.
17
the “Libellule Zone”
supporting biodiversity (France)
Many studies have proven the depolluting
virtues of natural environments. Working
from such findings, Lyonnaise des Eaux
decided to develop a novel supplementary
treatment based on the concept
of a biologically protected area known
as the Libellule Zone* (Dragonfly Zone)
to
combat
emerging
pollutants.
The purpose of these zones is to more
effectively treat the outflow from sewage
plants and fight emerging pollutants
(pesticides, metals, medical residues)
that escape standard wastewater
treatment techniques while also improving
local biodiversity.
Rigorous scientific monitoring has been set up with frequent measurements of inflow
and outflow to evaluate, over a 3-year period, the effective depolluting capacities
of this 1.5-hectare zone and to monitor the development of biodiversity in the long term.
18
GrDF: a methodology for preserving
biodiversity (France)
In 2011, GrDF set out to develop a methodology to incorporate biodiversity preservation
into its network projects (maintenance, extensions, renewals, etc.). This initiative is run
as a joint construction project with CRIGEN, which is contributing its methodological
expertise in environmental assessment, and with the French National Natural History
Museum (MNHN) as part of a scientific partnership. The methodology is based
on the principle “avoid, reduce and compensate”.
It consists of constructing a methodology and a simple operational tool to take the living
world into account in GrDF’s activities: its natural gas network projects. This software will
give GrDF’s design and engineering planners the ability to determine whether they need
to put in place a special action at any point to preserve biodiversity.
Cities: ideal areas
for testing environmentally
and socially innovative
solutions
The challenge for GDF SUEZ Group:
to help build the city of tomorrow
In developing its activities, GDF SUEZ needs to tackle various social and environmental
challenges such as demographic growth, climate change and the need for greater
energy efficiency. As an urban development player, our Group strives to come up
with new concepts of urban living in order to offer a range of solutions for sustainable
urban development.
The values of a sustainable city reflect its capacity to adapt and transform itself - over
time - to offer high quality of life and practicality, energy saving buildings, smooth
networks, security, and shared spaces. GDF SUEZ is committed to implementing these
values by focusing on them right from the preparation stages of major urban projects.
The GDF SUEZ approach to sustainable
urban development
Listening attentively and respectfully to the various stakeholders, striving to achieve
a balance between human intervention and appropriate technologies in the region,
transparency of information on environmental performance, and developing offers
tailored to the local context are the principles underlying the Group’s approach
to sustainable urban development.
GDF SUEZ has proposed many sustainable development solutions for the city
of tomorrow:
• pooling the means of producing heat and cold, and a more efficient and less
polluting central plant,
• electricity and heat supply using “clean” production systems: photovoltaic panels,
solar thermal panels, rooftop wind turbines, natural gas or electric heat pumps,
geothermal sources, biomass, heat recovery from air venting from buildings,
• heat recovery from wastewater,
• methanization of household waste, offering a renewable source of energy
to produce heat and electricity,
• pneumatic waste collection, where the waste becomes publicly invisible, avoiding
pollution including noise pollution and thereby improving the quality of people’s
lives,
• a dedicated secure network for virtual flows (data, voice and images).
19
Urban cooling network to meet Paris’s
climate plan targets (France)
CLIMESPACE has obtained a concession
from the City of Paris until 2021 to meet
the municipality’s climate plan targets.
CLIMESPACE is specifically tasked
with producing ice water to supply
the 70-kilometer cooling network
that provides cooling for 500 customers
including public and cultural buildings
(the
Louvre,
National
Assembly,
etc.), large stores and malls (Forum
des Halles, Galeries Lafayette, etc.),
as well as offices, hotels and palaces.
The results obtained show a 30-50% reduction in energy consumption, a 40% reduction
in CO2 emissions, a 65% reduction in water consumption, and an 80% reduction
in the use of chemicals.
20
A power plant and a heating & cooling
network for London’s Olympic Park
(United Kingdom)
To host the 2012 Olympic Games (10,000
athletes and millions of spectators
expected) the City of London has
redeveloped more than 300 hectares
located near its City district. It has
used the site to build the Olympic Park
which, right from the start, embodies
an ambitious sustainable development
and environmental protection policy.
GDF SUEZ has built and will operate
the new ultra-modern trigeneration power
plant which will use low-CO2-emission
renewable
sources
(natural
gas
and biomass) to simultaneously produce
heating, cooling and electricity. It will
thus provide an efficient and low-carbon
heating and air conditioning system
for the Olympic Park, and thereafter
for the new buildings and infrastructures
in five “sustainable” districts of Greater
London (Stratford) which will see the light
of day after 2012.
Emblematic of London’s commitment to “clean” Olympic Games, this energy plant
as well as the urban network of the Olympic Park itself and the new “sustainable”
districts, have been designed, financed and built by COFELY, a GDF SUEZ subsidiary.
The Group will operate them for 40 years. To date, it is the largest project of its kind
in the United Kingdom.
Sludge recycling in Shanghai (China)
SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT has developed a method for processing the sludge
from wastewater treatment facilities serving 610,000 people, with a processing capacity
of 300 metric tons an hour.
This process recovers the energy released in treating the sludge, using safe reliable
technology. The resulting dried sludge can be used as fuel in the site’s electricity power
plants, thereby helping to reduce coal consumption.
The entire sludge recycling cycle is CO2 neutral.
21
Optimizing water
and energy sources
The challenge for the GDF SUEZ
Group: combating the increasing
scarcity of resources
GDF SUEZ has many challenges to tackle, in particular the scarcity of natural
resources, which means having to develop innovative and sustainable energy solutions.
There are unbreakable links between water and energy. Water is necessary for energy
production, and energy is needed to produce water.
As a player in both the energy and water treatment industries, GDF SUEZ proactively
participates in discussions and actions in water resource management. Indeed, optimizing
water resource management forms part of the Group’s environmental policy and remains
one of its priority actions for the years ahead.
22
Optimizing the use of water resources
To better manage water resources, GDF SUEZ is working to more clearly understand
the water footprint of its energy and water activities. Alongside this, it is focusing
on implementing local action plans in areas suffering water scarcity or water stress. Some
of the Group’s companies have already identified substantial water savings achievable at
electricity power plants.
In addition, as part of its constant focus on progress while at the same time working
on its water footprint initiatives, GDF SUEZ is also improving its understanding of water
consumption by adapting its reporting. To do this, the Group uses risk analysis tools
such as the Global Water Tool developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development (WBCSD).
The Group’s thinking, discussions and actions also extend to the diversification of energy
sources, in particular the use of water as a means of producing green energy. This type
of energy can be produced, for example, by recovering the heat in wastewater, or using
dry sludge and biogas from sludge digestion as fuel in power plants. The Group is also
continually looking for ways to improve the energy efficiency of its water infrastructures
(wastewater treatment plants, for example).
Last but not least, GDF SUEZ participates in world class initiatives and projects,
such as the “Water Project” sponsored by the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development (WBCSD), the CEO Water Mandate project, and the various projects
of the World Water Forum, the most recent edition of which was held in Marseilles
in March 2012.
Minimizing the impact on water resources
in gas exploration-production
(Norway)
GDF SUEZ, through its Global Gas & LNG Business Line, is particularly careful to minimize
the impact of its oil & gas exploration and production activities on water resources.
Its concern is illustrated by numerous initiatives implemented in its exploration-production
activities.
At the Gjøa offshore natural gas production platform in Norway, GDF SUEZ E&P Norge
AS, a GDF SUEZ subsidiary, has highly efficient equipment to treat the process water
associated with the crude oil & gas flowing from the wells. Although the threshold imposed
by Norwegian standards for the quality of water released into the natural environment
is a maximum of 30 mg of hydrocarbons per liter of water, GDF SUEZ E&P’s desire
to be among the cleanest operators has led it to set its own target at half that figure, 15 mg/liter.
GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS is conducting R&D work with Biota Guard, a young Norwegian
service company which is developing a solution to monitor and control the quality
of the marine environment. Biota Guard offers, among other solutions, a system to detect
hydrocarbon leaks and an environmental footprint assessment based on a technology
that uses mussels as biological sensors.
23
Reducing water consumption
in electricity generation (Brazil)
TRACTEBEL ENERGIA, a GDF SUEZ subsidiary, develops numerous energy activities
in Brazil aimed at protecting the environment. Through its Environmental Code,
TRACTEBEL ENERGIA is developing sustainable and innovative solutions, specifically
to preserve water resources using a range of different processes.
TRACTEBEL ENERGIA is currently focusing on a system for using water infiltration
in its hydropower plants. The Machadinho Hydropower plant is one of the two facilities
that use this system of water infiltration from rock formations. This system reduces
water use by sewage plants, removes the solid residue resulting from water treatment
and curbs the use of chemicals.
TRACTEBEL ENERGIA is also developing a closed cycle system to extract water
from wet ash at the Jorge Lacerda coal-fired plant. The project to connect the wet ash
extraction system has reduced the industrial use of water by 95% across the three units
that make up the plant.
24
An autonomous-energy wastewater
treatment plant (Jordan)
The first in the Middle East, the contract between the Samra Plant Company (SPC),
created by SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT, Infilco Degrémont Inc., The Morganti Group Inc.
and the Jordanian government represented by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation,
is to design, finance, build and operate the As Samra wastewater treatment plant
for 22 years.
Designed to treat the wastewater from 2.2 million people in Greater Amman,
the wastewater sewage plant implements technically advanced solutions for treating
water as well as for treating sludge. Fully integrated into its environment, the plant
is virtually autonomous in energy thanks to connecting its water turbines to gas-powered
motors fuelled by the biogas from sludge digestion. This mechanism generates
95% of the electricity needed for water treatment, and reduces to 5% the proportion
of power coming from the national grid.
25
drive
commitment
daring
cohesion
Tour T1 - 1 place Samuel de Champlain
Faubourg de l’Arche
92 930 Paris La Défense cedex - France
Communications and Financial Communications Division
Press Service:
Phone: + 33 (0) 1 44 22 24 35
www.gdfsuez.com