Like Amsterdam, Brussels, Melbourne or Wellington, the capital of the French Alps has borrowed this methodology to measure its ecological footprint and its social progress in a circular donut, popular in the impact reports of communities and certain companies.
According to the theory proposed by the Donut Economics Action Lab, a think tank founded by Kate Raworth, a sustainable economy must be located in a ring symbolizing a “safe and fair space for humanity”.
To do this, this sustainable economy must meet the essential needs of its population while containing the exceeding of planetary limits, ecological thresholds whose crossing increases the risk of destabilizing the planetary environment in an irreversible manner.
“The donut is a compass for projecting oneself into the future while considering current issues,” summarizes Nathalie Le Meur, donut project manager for the city of Grenoble.
Ms. Le Meur produced a “donut portrait” of Grenoble, prefecture of Isère, which highlights the areas where the city must progress to achieve its climate and social justice objectives.
In the “doughnut hole”, which gauges social needs, Grenoble can do better in terms of participation in the vote, support for seniors or academic success. On the external side of the donut, waste collection, greenhouse gas emissions or biodiversity appear as main avenues for improvement in the environmental register.
“The reception was very good by elected officials, even if the diagnosis is quite red,” notes Ms. Le Meur, who used her graph as an impact analysis and decision-making tool for political arbitration. between Grenoble investment projects.
A few kilometers further west, the community of municipalities of Valence-Romans Agglo also used the donut as a tool for analyzing around fifteen projects included in its multi-year investment plan.
On the other side of the world, Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is engaged in a similar approach.
“We didn't have a coherent strategic framework to balance the city's goals with the investments we were making,” said Laurie Foon, Wellington's deputy mayor, during a webinar in November in the occasion of world donut days.
“I think the donut will help us define what is good,” she added.
– “Organize renunciation” –
“Often, there are projects which were voted on a certain number of years ago, which are validated, but which have absolutely not been reviewed in light of the new challenges”, deplores Camille Waintrop Boyon, responsible for the works for the France Sustainable Cities and Territories association.
Behind the donut, “there is therefore the idea of organizing the renunciation of projects which are no longer compatible with the physical limits of habitability of the territory and which do not necessarily meet the first essential needs of the population”, continues -She.
The decision of the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture this summer to refuse requests for building permits in the event of a risk of water shortage, after similar measures taken by several Var city councilors, is an illustration of this.
“If we don’t want the limits to impose themselves on us, we have to anticipate,” concludes Ms. Waintrop Boyon.
