At the start of this new decade, environmental challenges for the world’s major cities are increasing, such as air quality (linked in particular to transport and the energy consumption of buildings) and combating urban sprawl, with the redevelopment of city centre brownfield sites such as the Linkcity project in Ivry which involves the redevelopment of the former ‘Le Monde’ printing works. Here, the work is being carried out by Bouygues Bâtiment Île-de-France Habitat Social, Bouygues Bâtiment Île-de-France Habitat Résidentiel and Brézillon. These challenges require changes to infrastructure and inevitably entail a great deal of work.

Significant impacts on the environment – a problem to be solved by whatever means possible

The construction sector is currently the largest consumer of non-renewable raw materials, for example aggregates, which we consume 10 times more of than oil, with 450 million tonnes per year in France. We are also the largest producers of waste, with 220 million tonnes, of which 150 million tonnes is soil. These are not figures to be proud of and we must try to reduce them using all the means at our disposal. This is the goal at Hésus. They want to help construction companies manage their waste by reusing it from one site to another, thereby avoiding 80% of the carbon cost associated with waste management. Companies can now optimise their waste management thanks to better recovery solutions combined with logistical expertise. The potential was quickly spotted by Gérald Gallego, Director of Brézillon Environnement, which includes earthmoving, decontamination and roads and utility service activities.

‘We enlist the help of teams from Hésus to help with the processing of inert soil. This innovative SME offers us turnkey solutions for transporting and processing inert soil from our construction sites in the Ile-de-France region. As for contaminated soil, this is dealt with at Brézillon Environnement’s processing and treatment facility located in Longueil-sainte-Marie (60). ‘ Gérald Gallego, Director of Brézillon Environnement

 

A give-and-take relationship

The relationship is give and take as Hésus also frequently enlists the help of Brézillon Environnement by calling upon the teams at the Longueil facility to help process and treat other customers’ contaminated soil. ‘It is a wonderful collaboration where we are Hésus’ customer for inert soil and Hésus is our customer for contaminated soil’, Gérald Gallego explains. The success of the SME lies in the different groups it brings together, such as hauliers, construction sites and treatment centres, etc. ‘As we are exchanging soil between construction sites, the community must be as large as possible for this to work at its best!’, explains Emmanuel Cazeneuve, the CEO. ‘The larger the network, the more soil we can move and reuse from one construction site to another.’ The collaboration with Bouygues Construction has also brought about new innovations at Hésus. While in the past the digital platform was mainly used to facilitate the exchange of soil between construction sites and excavations, the Group’s feedback has been invaluable in helping to redesign the tool. Hésus Store is a much more extensive platform which now offers all of the company’s solutions.  

And for the future?

‘I would like to strengthen the partnership with Hésus’, explains Gérald Gallego. ‘Consulting them must become routine for my teams on all operations! I would like us to make a greater contribution to the processing of inert soils between construction sites using Hésus’ solutions and also give them at least 30% of our inert soil to handle. It is also planned to strengthen the partnership with the Longueil facility by offering Hésus a competitive price for the treatment of non-hazardous contaminated soil. Lastly, we would like to develop new innovations with them, if applicable!’ This ambition is shared, as Emmanuel Cazeneuve has told us that he would like closer ties with Bouygues Construction – and not just in France, but also Britain and Poland, etc. We would like our partnership to become Europe-wide!’, he concludes.