Supported by the CCI Nice Côte d’Azur, the “Mission Carb Zero” aims to support SMEs and small businesses in reducing their pollution. To do this, the L.I.S.E. platform was created and allows companies to assess their current emissions, and then find solutions to remedy them. A model that seems to be proving itself.
At the heart of a period during which climate issues are paramount, many stakeholders are mobilizing to change certain old habits that damage our planet. This is the case with the “Mission Carb Zero”, which has been aiming, for three years, to support French and Italian SMEs in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
In Nice, this Tuesday morning, at the heart of the CCI (Chamber of Commerce and Industry), the actors and beneficiaries of this project were gathered for feedback on the actions implemented as well as the first results and observed impacts.
The project was built around a simple conviction: companies of more modest size wish to act on their CO2 emissions, but they rarely have sufficient resources or appropriate skills to undertake these initiatives.
To address this, “Mission Carb Zero” focused on four economic sectors representative of the cross-border territory: the “Perfumes and Aromas” and “Mountain” sectors led by French partners, and the “Agri-food” and “Mechatronics” sectors managed by Italian partners.
The concrete objective was to support voluntary companies in these business sectors to identify their greenhouse gas emissions, and then find solutions to reduce them.
According to Daniele Casetta, director of the CCI of Cuneo, in Italy, “the strength of this project is that it united the best French and Italian practices. In France, you are more analytical and very precise. In Italy, we are less targeted, but we act quickly to make things evolve. This project must continue, borders cannot separate our objectives.”
A platform at the heart of the project, the L.I.S.E. model.
To achieve changing the habits of SMEs, it was necessary to create a tool capable of identifying, for each business sector, which poles within the company were polluting the most, and propose alternative solutions.
It is the L.I.S.E. platform (Limit your Impacts and Monitor your Emissions), created by the CCI Savoie with the support of CCI Nice Côte d’Azur and Piedmont, which was designed to address this issue. In addition to this platform, comprehensive support over several months is offered. A qualified study manager comes to help SMEs in the different phases of the transition.
Concretely, monitoring is done in three stages. The first is the diagnostic phase, during which the SME and the study manager assess all the poles responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.
The second part of the process is related to the use of the tool. After being collected, data related to the company is entered into the L.I.S.E. model, the total CO2 emissions appear, and the ranking of the most emitting poles is established. Depending on the business sectors, the results can be very different. Some companies find that the equipment used is largely responsible, others realize that the means of transport used for goods are too polluting, etc.
Finally, a concrete action plan is created and companies can initiate decarbonization initiatives.
A concrete example: the Michel Monin company
Located in Savoy, Michel Monin is a company that sells wooden outdoor furniture. Founded in 1955, this company has strong environmental values and holds several certifications (PEFC, Bois des Alpes).
To continue preserving nature, its director, Sébastien Bochet, called upon the L.I.S.E. model to begin a decarbonization initiative. After diagnosis, he realized that the largest CO2 emissions linked to his company came from freight, that is, the rental of trucks for wood transport.
Now aware of what he needs to improve in his company, the general manager of Michel Monin was able to implement the appropriate decarbonization strategy. Today, he works with local suppliers, he has improved equipment related to energy expenditure, he recovers wood waste, he raises employee awareness of carpooling, he tries to use less polluting vehicles for transport, etc.
“To give you an example, we’re 3 km from the train station, so we’re sort of out in the countryside. When we have visiting collaborators, we systematically offer to pick them up by car at the station, that way, they take the train and don’t drive the whole route by car. It also allows us to get to know each other before they arrive” said the Savoyard business leader.
Today, Sébastien Bochet is happy to have taken this step: “I am very satisfied to know my emissions and to be able to project myself forward. It’s a big advantage over competitors that can justify a price difference on our products.”
The same feeling for Sophie Gogot, who works in Grasse for the perfume company BLH, “our company’s strength was being able to be hyper responsive on deliveries, but we realized that it was at the expense of the environment, since our trucks were sometimes running almost empty. Now, we prefer to really fill the trucks, and deliver twice a week instead of doing it every day.”
Having obtained a European certification from AFNOR (French Association for Standardization) which attests to its method, the L.I.S.E. platform will continue to be available in the coming years. The goal now is to develop support to other business sectors, in France as well as in Italy.
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