Launch of the Project

When the Life-SMIGIN project of the UWE was presented to the business association of the Park of economic activity in Saintes in June, 2006, it found at once a positive echo with 14 companies then constituting this association (so called the Commission of the Park of economic activity of Saintes). The member companies of this Commission had already developed a group mind during the implementation of projects such as common guarding service or installation of road signs at the entrance of the park.

At the beginning of 2007 the report of the needs of each of the participating companies began. The meeting of local actors such as the municipality of Tubize and the IBW (Intermunicipality of Walloon Brabant) allowed then to finish with the writing of the global report which was presented in September, 2007 to the business managers. Then the business managers were met again individually (in October-November 2007) in order to present them their diagnosis and to raise their interest for the proposed collective actions. The implementation of actions followed directly.

Actions implemented on the Park

Actions "Energy"

• Energy training
  An "energy" training was organized in February, 2008. All the business managers of the park were invited. The purpose of this training was to approach 4 subjects in which the business managers of the diagnosed companies had shown their interest. It concerns the analysis of the mismanagement indicators of the energy consumptions by understanding energy bills, by knowing the potential of improvement of the lighting, of the heating of big spaces and administrative buildings.
  This session was characterized by many interactions between the business managers and with the trainer. It led quite logically to the request of individual energy diagnoses.
• Individual energy diagnoses
  Further to the energy training energy, two companies wished to deepen this problem by the realization of an energy diagnoses. The purpose of these diagnosis is to allow companies to know their energy consumptions better and if necessary to reveal the abnormalities there. One of them wished to pursue her energy approach by the installation of photovoltaic panels whereas another company wished that we realize a raising awareness session of her staff so that this one is associated to the energy savings of the company.

• Raising awareness of the staff
  Further to the individual diagnosis a raising awareness session of the staff took place in June, 2008 in a company. The purpose of this sensitization session was to give responsibilities to the company staff so that he could be associated to the approach of energy saving. This company also started the monitoring of its energy consumptions.
• Installation of photovoltaic solar panels
  In April 2009 business managers of companies of the Commission embarked on a collective project of installation of photovoltaic panels. With the aim of realizing a grouped purchase, three providers made a price offer. These three offers were compared during an information session to the members of the Commission on photovoltaic.
  At present, a cost benefit analysis is realized in the interested companies. Besides two companies started an individual project.
• Information on photovoltaic solar panels
  Further to the starting up of the action for the cluster of companies of the Commission, an information session for all the business managers of the park is planned.

Actions "Waste"

• Collective waste management
  The collective waste management is effective on the park since the end of 2006. Practically, the companies of the Commission, through a common call for tender, chose a unique provider for their waste collection following various criteria (adaptability and quality of the service, rate, etc.). The participating companies adhere gradually to the project depending on the end of their previous contract.
  The grouping of streams and the singular economy of scale make the sorting profitable for most small firms. Furthermore, the chosen service provider was able to group together the passage of all its waste collection trucks on 2 days instead of 4.
• Valuation of palettes on the park
  Two companies, the one trying to evacuate out of the ordinary palettes, the other one in need of the same type of palette, came in contact to take advantage of this opportunity of palettes transfer.
• Sensitization: visit of a waste sorting center
  In June 2008 the companies of the Commission visited the waste sorting office of the chosen provider for the collective management. Besides meeting the responsible person of the company, this visit allowed the future of the waste to become known to companies and to give more sense to the action.
• Cleanliness of the park
  A mail drafted by the Commission was sent to all the business managers of the park in order to make them accountable for the cleanliness of their plot of land and its neighborhood. This action was followed by a field report by members of the Commission. This report was reported during a meeting of the Commission. A request was also made at the Municipality to have the receive help of the municipal workers to make the park cleaner.

Actions "Mobility"

• Integration of the Park of Economic Activity to the so-called “Plan Communal de Mobilité” of the municipality of Tubize
  The purpose of this action is to integrate the problem of mobility on the park (infrastructures, heavy goods vehicles, mobility of the workers) into the Municipal Mobility Plan (PCM) by the participation to the technical committees and to the citizens meetings. The Commission also appointed two mobility coordinators within their group.
• Access to the park in public transport: creation of a bus shuttle between the station of Tubize and the Park of economic activity of Saintes
  In April 2007 a preliminary investigation within the framework of the diagnoses revealed potential users of public transport among workers in the park if they received adequate supply.
  A survey targeted towards the creation of a bus shuttle between the park and the station of Tubize was then realized in January-February 2008. Besides a workgroup constituted by representatives of companies, TEC, a representative of the Minister's personal staff, the administration, representatives of the UWE and of the Municipality of Tubize was set up. Thanks to the convincing results of the second survey, several meetings of this workgroup allowed to set up a project of shuttle between the station of Tubize and Saintes’ park.
  Further to an signed agreement between the Walloon Region, the TEC and the companies of the park, the bus shuttle covered its first kilometers in February 2009. During the course of the year 2009 a follow-up has been realized. The results will be used to improve the schedules of the shuttle, even split in two.
• Infrastructures of the park (problem of retrocession of public road networks)
  The Municipality of Tubize and Intermunicipality IBW met in December 2007. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the retrocession of the public road networks of the PAE from the IBW towards the municipality and of various problems of public road networks in the park. Further to the discussions, the IBW planned to make plans for the creation of a pavement on the main street of the park as well as to re-size the roundabout at the entrance (currently not adapted to the passage of the lorries). At present, the retrocession and the works did not still take place.
• GPS Referencing
  The streets of the park were covered to verify their GPS referencing. Errors as regards the name of certain streets and the absence of certain public road networks were noticed and communicated to the GPS referencing companies TéléAtlas and Navteq.

Actions "Landscaping"

• Ecological Management of the private plots of land
  In February 2008 further to the interest marked for the action of collective and ecological maintenance of the private plots of land, a visit of the park by various providers was organized. The purpose of this action was to choose a unique service provider to maintain the plots of land of the interested companies in an ecological way (by reducing the use of pesticides and facilitating the flowery meadows). However, during this visit, it turned out that the objective of this action had not been understood by the business managers. An information session in the differentiated maintenance was thus organized.
• Sensitization
  An information session about the biodiversity surrounding enterprises and the differentiated maintenance took place in May 2008 for business managers. This action was created in order to increase enterprises awareness of this way of management and to set up a concrete action on their own plot of land. The 10 attending enterprises asked many questions to the speaker. Further to this raising awareness, a business manager who planned to extend his car park, decided to install a green car park rather than a classic car park.

Feed-back of the project leader

The key point of the park of economic activity of Saintes

Dans le cadre du projet Life, le point fort du PAE de Saintes est sans conteste la présence de son association d’entreprises, la Commission. Cette dernière est une association structurée où l’esprit du collectif existait déjà grâce à la mise en place d’actions antérieures.

We shall also note that for each of the actions approved by a large majority of the active members of the Commission one or several business managers are designated as coordinators and a report of the evolution of the actions is realized at each meeting (the meetings taking place bimonthly). All these elements bring a definite dynamics to the good progress of projects and thus to their success.

Implemented actions

Actions as the implementation of a bus shuttle and the collective waste management were large-scale and long-term projects. These projects were born because a strong collective mind was already present on the park.

The actions concerning the energy theme aroused a lot of interest. Indeed the approached subjects were very concrete and totally adapted to companies. The various actions were also approached and organized according to a specific logic.

Regarding the landscape the collective and ecological management of the plots of land of companies was, partially, victim of a "youth disease" of the beginning of the LIFE methodology (this action began at the end of the display of the individual reports). This type of action which is, at first, not the priority of the business managers needs a time of maturation before being concretized. Nevertheless, the raising awareness session was very positively welcomed and ended in more individual actions.

Finally, the visits and reports realized in a short lapse of time as well as the implementation of punctual actions allowed not to lose the thread of the project. It is also indisputable that the other actions will be born on the PAE of Saintes…

[Hélène DUPLAT, Life-SMIGIN adviser, responsible of the business park of Saintes]