In recognition of the World Environment 2021 our Chairman & CEO Thierry Mallet has issued a statement. As we recognize the World Environment Day today, June 5th and think about this year’s theme “Ecosystem Restoration” we still must acknowledge the profound effect the COVID-19 global pandemic has had on our way of life and its consequences which we live with every day.
We and the planet are only as healthy as the ecosystems we all depend on. Bringing damaged ecosystems back to life by planting trees, cleaning up beaches, or simply giving nature space to recover, increases their benefits to society and biodiversity. Without reviving ecosystems, we cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals or the Paris Climate Agreement.
As a global mobility integrator and trusted partner of local communities Transdev Group not only enables freedom to move through our safe, innovative and sustainable mobility solutions, we are involved in the communities we serve to reach their environmental goals. In addition to operating a continuously growing zero emission fleet, we partner with our clients and customers to revive local ecosystems. Many of these actions are very local and small in scope, but they represent a first and very important step in our clients’ and our Group’s sustainability journey.
For example, in Germany at the Bayerische Regio Bahn seed mixes are given away to the passengers on its four rail networks whose flowers can serve as a food source for bees in midsummer. Under the motto « Let it rain colorful flowers for you” we want to thank our passengers for their loyalty and trust in us and at the same time we are making a contribution to the protection of bees.
In the Netherlands, at our bus depot in Haarlem we have installed a “Green Wall” partnering with the local community with the ambition to remove air pollutants, improve biodiversity and to put rainwater to use.
In France in the Paris region we partner with Reforest’action, in the Assisted Natural Regeneration Project. Our first project consists of planting 20,250 trees to support and accelerate the regeneration of the forest of the Domaine de Grangemenant Beautheil, in the south-east of Paris.
Since 2016 we are a partner of CDC Biodiversité, the subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts Group, through the « Nature 2050 » program entirely dedicated to actions in favor of biodiversity. This partnership was renewed in early 2021 and one of the first biodiversity projects will be launched in January 2022 in Vitrolles.
In the USA, we work closely with the local transit authorities implementing strong anti-idling policies in all our locations to ensure that we minimize our environmental footprint in the local community by reducing air pollution.
In Chile, where like in many of our locations, infrastructure is composed mostly of concrete, asphalt and rolling stock we created small gardens in the outdoor common areas to improve the urban ecology and biodiversity.
In Portugal, we partnered up with Quercus (a national environmental organization) for a comprehensive project that included installing 50 birdboxes in Guarda as conservation tools for endangered species, water level control and cleansing of 3 river banks, in a total of 4.5 km in Braga, maintenance of 2 hectare of forest and planting of 400 trees in Aveiro), and sponsoring of the rehabilitation and release of two endangered Black Vultures into their natural habitat in Castelo Branco.
And in Australia, we partnered with Inner West Council in Sydney because our light rail stops are within the GreenWay corridor, we work very closely with the Council to help preserve the natural environment and the wildlife along our network. We have assisted Council in their understanding of local habitat along the corridor by facilitating the placement of cameras in areas where there have been sightings of the threatened Long-nosed bandicoot. We also collected seeds from remnant shrubs and grasses along the light rail corridor, which are locally rare. These seed are used to grow local provenance plants for bush regeneration.
As an operator and global integrator of daily mobility and a trusted partner we – at Transdev – are committed to doing whatever it takes with our teams and clients to provide a reliable, enhanced, safe, sustainable and modern travel experience while minimizing our environmental footprint and support local sustainable development. We are convinced this is what populations globally expect from us, and which our teams are eager to contribute building.
As we look to building a better future, it is obvious that green, clean, sustainable public transportation is essential for improving quality of life and health while protecting our environment and restoring ecosystems. On this #WorldEnvironmentDay, we at Transdev Group commit that together we are part of the #GenerationRestoration.