Issues
To deal with the climate emergency and adapt to it in a sustainable way, society as a whole – citizens, businesses and public authorities – must adopt a new, more resilient model. The French Energy-Climate Act aims to reduce fossil fuel consumption by 40% by 2030. This objective of energy sobriety hinges on two principles: combating waste, and moving to sustainable, high-quality consumption.
In a challenging environment combining a crisis of confidence, an international crisis and inflation, 58% of French people say they are in favour of reducing their energy consumption*. By mobilising the public on this issue, imagining new ways of using energy becomes an opportunity to innovate and collectively transform economic models.
* Elabe survey, August 2022
Actions
Make.org is a neutral, independent organisation that uses citizen involvement as a driver for positive change. Its unique method, based on participatory democracy, leads to the design of impact projects as part of its ‘Grandes Causes’.
Eleven institutions and companies, including the Mirova Foundation, joined forces with Make.org at the end of 2022 to carry out a large-scale citizens’ consultation entitled ‘Cause Urgence Sobriété Énergétique’, based on an open question: ‘How can we all reduce our energy consumption?’
This consultation identified concrete solutions to promote energy sobriety. The partner companies and organisations – Crédit Agricole, EDF, Engie, Eurogroup Consulting, Lidl, Mirova Foundation, Orange, Schneider Electric, Transdev, CCI France and France Digitale – then jointly developed courses of action directly inspired by citizens’ ideas. This collaborative effort applies not only at the level of individual companies, but also at the national level: in addition to their individual commitments, the partners have pledged to take coordinated national action based on the will of the people.
On 22 March 2023, the eleven partner organisations presented their joint and specific initiatives in the presence of the French Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
Key figures
Our support
- One-year partnership
- Specific financial support as part of our awareness-raising initiatives
- Skills sponsorship: 30 Mirova employees mobilised in early January 2023 collaborative workshop: ‘How can we all reduce our energy consumption at Mirova?’
- Advocacy public authorities to support society’s move towards sustainable sobriety