We already knew the Climate Academy, now well established in the Parisian landscape for events linked to ecological and social transformation, but since the start of the school year, new places have opened up more particularly to companies to support them in their transition, with coworking but also programming allowing exchanges between peers and/or stakeholders. We make the presentations!
The Climate House
This 2,000 m2 location has just taken up residence in the heart of the trail, in Paris, in place of the former coworking site dedicated to tech, Numa. Created by 80 entrepreneurs (including Maud Caillaux from Green Got; Féris Barkat from Banlieues Climat, Mamadou Dembele from Impact Story; Eva Sadoun, from Lita and Rift; Alizée Lozac’hmeur from Makesense; and the CEO of Youmatter, Pierre-Yves Sanchis) and chaired by the co-founder of To Good To Go, Lucie Bash, its ambition “to accelerate the ecological and social transition of our economy”. And to ensure that the “architects of tomorrow”inspire each other to overcome the obstacles (financial, visibility, technological or regulatory) that they face to “maximize” their impact.
How ? By banking on “collective energy!”“, assures Maïka Nuti, the co-director of the place which will be structured in an ESUS mode. And with a goal: “joining diverse forces to pave the way for the bold, transformative solutions the world needs”hopes Greg de Temmerman, deputy director of the Quadrature Climate Foundation which supports the project.
Paving the way for “bold solutions”
A coworking structure “diverse” will bring together 300 roommates from around fifty structures. These were selected from among a large number of candidates for their diversity (in size, profession, maturity, territory), their actions on the 6 themes carried by the place (biodiversity and oceans; agriculture and sustainable food; energy; responsible infrastructure; responsible finance; model & culture) but also their ability to pay rent, explains Maïka Nuti. Among the roommates we will find committed structures such as the Institute of Desirable Futures, Ashoka or Omie&Co; collectives like Quota Climat; but also companies in transformation like LCL, which will have its engagement department based there. These will be placed in “islands of cooperation” around 6 themes to encourage interactions and emulation.
Faced with the influx of requests, companies will also be “nomadic” on the site and others will have “member” status with an annual subscription which will allow them to participate in a program which aims to be rich with workshops, working groups, etc., intra- or inter-company. 150 events are planned each year in the logic of an “impact factory”, always around 6 themes. They will be co-constructed with the Climate House ecosystem, which includes transformation partners such as the Impact France Movement, the Business Convention for the Climate and the University of Paris-Saclay.
The place could also be privatized, primarily by the members and founders at least for the moment, with the eventual idea that companies who want to use the place will be supported by the experts of the Climate House and its ecosystem. What ” to guarantee “ the seriousness of these events by placing oneself as a “trusted third party”underlines Maïka Nuti. And accelerators could emerge, like the one already underway for sustainable buildings.
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Terra Academia
It is a new kind of academy which is being deployed in Paris but also in Arras (since March 2024) and Deauville (July), before gradually establishing itself in each region of France and abroad. Initiated by Véolia with other companies (ManpowerGroup, EDF, Adeo, etc.) and in partnership with academic institutions, and chaired by the former Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer, Terra Academia aims to be both a school and an accelerator of ecological and social transformation for young people, people undergoing retraining (alone or as part of a business plan) but also elected officials, with the idea of operating as close as possible to the needs of the territories.
Through its initial and continuing training, Terra Académia intends to train 60,000 people and raise awareness among 100,000 young people about ecological transformation professions by 2030, knowing that these “green” professions in industry in particular (maintenance, etc.) are far away. to be attractive today. The objective is, “to make a diagnosis of the missing skills and jobs in the territories where we are setting up and to offer training to deal with them, in partnership with existing local and academic structures”assures Jean-Michel Blanquer. Beyond training, it is also the knowledge and recognition of transition professions that are at stake as well as the low-carbon reindustrialization of the territory with a just transition perspective, underline the leaders of Terra Academia.
Create “synergy effects”
Its 1,400 m² Parisian campus, located in the 18th arrondissement, opened its doors at the start of the school year. It houses the premises of the school, the Institute of Advanced Studies of Ecological Transformation which supports its scientific council (François Gemenne, Françoise Gail, Guillaume Sainteny, etc.) but also resident companies (Mylight150 which sells self-consumption solutions solar and intelligent energy management; Moulins Demain which wants to rehabilitate the 35,000 French water mills or KFAD Consulting specializing in recruitment in cutting-edge technologies). Enough to create a “synergy effect”according to Jean-Michel Blanquer.
Each of the campuses is designed as a place of life and meetings with the possibility of organizing seminars, workshops and boards of directors for companies… An immersive experience is also intended to discover the professions of the sustainable city and to make it attractive to young people in particular. Scientific conferences, prospective conference cycles on transition professions and impact innovation meetings will be organized throughout the year. Finally, an accelerator is intended to support elected officials and intercommunity teams to accelerate the ecological transformation of territories.
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Find climate
This time we go to the other side of the ring road, to Nanterre, to discover Find Climate, a unique place in Ile-de-France dedicated to the green industry. It will welcome start-ups, SMEs, ETIs or even large group projects to support them in their pre-industrialization phase. A “particularly long and dangerous stage from which many companies do not recover”underlines Sonia Artinian-Fredou, co-founder of Find Climate and a keen expert in the sector.
Objective: to give them a place to build and experiment with prototypes or even small series and create a friendly ecosystem where engineering solutions firms, investors but also schools, laboratories or communities are welcome to create cooperation of all kinds , de-risk the investment in this stage which is similar to a “death valley of industrialization” and bring projects to scale. For this, the idea is to create coalitions of committed actors – public and private –, using « l’intelligence collective » and in “exceeding the logic of sectoral sector”assures the manager.
Objective: help the success of 100 industrial startups within 10 years
Concretely, companies will find at Find Climate a 3,500 m2 playground, which will gradually grow to around 10,000 m2 over 3 floors, in the former quarters of an Alcatel R&D lab, renovated to ecological and thermal. They will be able to install industrial equipment there, benefit from a suitable delivery platform, experiment with container factories but also attend workshops and conferences around themes linked to their development or planetary limits. “As a member of the Business Climate Industry Convention, we promote a regenerative approach to business, without techno-solutionism”says Sonia Artinian-Fredou.
The companies were selected for their ability to find solutions to resolve ecological problems and to be able to deploy them in the territories. Since the official opening in September, several of them have already been established, such as Ecklo, which manufactures reusable covers for packaging goods on pallets, or Ever Dye, which invented a depollution process for the textile industry. The objective is to reach ten by the end of the year and a hundred over the next ten years, knowing that Find Climate expects rotations of around two years. Collaborations are planned with other more general places.
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Techstar
Another accelerator opened for a time to greentechs in the Sentier district, in the premises of the American accelerator Techstars, reports Les Echos. The Hub welcomes start-ups, investors, researchers and all those interested in the tech and climate sector from an international development perspective. “The objective is to grow the greentech ecosystem. France is dynamic on the subject, but it tends to remain Franco-French”explains Raphaele Leyendecker, general director of Techstars, to the economic daily. The accelerator is expected to close at the end of 2024 but be reborn in one of the other countries where the accelerator has a similar location.
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The House of Sustainable Development
Still in Paris, Le Pacte Mondial-Réseau France (PMFR) is also opening a space dedicated to the ecological and social transition shared by several UN entities in a “home” spirit. “The idea is both to create synergies with the United Nations family from which we welcome emanations and other entities which carry the same values but which may have a different base such as Committee 21 which is very turned towards the territories. It is also to say, in particular to our members, 50% of whom are in the region, and to our broader ecosystem: come home, come and meet us! “, explains Nils Pedersen, general delegate of the PMFR.
The location must also allow “create an emulation of ideas around sustainable development as well as creating sparks and new connections between stakeholders”, he adds. This should notably take place through conferences, meetings with members, managers of the various European networks of the Global Compact for example (e.g. Regional meeting).
A place that connects and unites the United Nations family and its ecosystem
If the PMFR took up residence in May in this house in the 17th arrondissement of Paris to accommodate its growing team (25 employees), the next co-workers like Committee 21 will arrive in November and join UN Women France and the French Association for United Nations (AFNU). For those interested, there are still 6 places to fill. Rooms are also available for rental (approximately 50/60 places), primarily for members of the Global Compact and non-profit organizations that address the issues of the 2030 Agenda.
Eco-designed, the House is BREEAM (sustainable energy management) and Circolab level 4 certified (reduced environmental impact thanks to the use of sustainable materials). Essential consistency for Nils Pedersen for whom it is important “to embody in places what the Global Compact is about”.
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It remains to spread this type of place in the different regions!
Illustration : The Climate House
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