Rochefort, France
The City Life Charter, "Target Nature, Energy-Environment”
Summary
Since the mid-eighties, Rochefort has made a mark by putting into place an ambitious energy management policy which started bearing fruit in the early nineties. In 1991, the City chose to sign one of the first City Life Charters set up by Ademe (Agency for the Environment and Energy Control) in order to develop an overall approach to energy and environmental issues. The diagnoses and global thinking that were initiated concerning transport, waste, city planning, energy efficiency and saving of resources have led to over 40 projects. The results thus obtained were encouraging and have led to the continuation of the operations under way and to the examination of new projects.
Objectives
The objectives of the City Life operation are as follows:
- to encourage public and private initiatives to improve resource management, rational energy use, prevention of pollution, waste treatment and valorisation;
- to prepare and implement a municipal intervention programme;
- to test a number of awareness raising actions to involve the public and social and economic actors.
State of the project
Rochefort is planning new projects concerning energy and the environment. The measures already set up are still working.
Context
Rochefort is a town with 27,000 inhabitants situated on the Charente estuary between Nantes and Bordeaux. Its main assets are a commercial port and a sailing harbour and its spa. Very early on the town integrated energy and environmental issues into its policies. The energy control policy initiated in 1984 put it among the first French towns in terms of energy efficiency :
- consumption linked to heating buildings was reduced by 52 % ;
- savings made represent FFr 10 to 15 million in the 1984-1990 period ;
- the energy budget is now only FFr 157 per inhabitant per year.
In terms of water management, important work was done on reducing losses in the drinking water supply network and on a more rational use of the resource. Use of water meters has been extended. For waste water treatment, the town built a lagoon plant, one of the most extensive in Europe. The facility now welcomes visitors, making them aware of water management issues and letting them discover the wealth of the sea marshes.
Strategy
The town of Rochefort signed the City Life Charter, "Target Nature, Energy Environment” in 1990. This is an agreement made with the Ademe and the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council for the period 1991-1994.
The town has organised its action around four themes:
- the town as consumer : management by the town authorities of water, electricity , heating, fuel, etc.
- the town as developer: transport and town-planning policies
- the town responsible for its own waste
- the town as promoter : environmental awareness, training, information, advice to householders, etc.
Activities
On the theme of the town as consumer, the town council has extended its effort on controlling energy and water consumption. In this way, it has:
- assured rigorous management and follow-up of its installations (1990),
- set up a remote management system for heating plants and replaced incandescent with fluorescent lighting in school premises and carried out a survey of public lighting consumption (1991),
- installed a computerised management system for the council vehicle fleet (1992),
- installed a high performance heating plant at the swimming pool (1993),
- produced electricity from the lagoon plant (1994).
On the theme of the city as developer, Rochefort opted for a reduction in private car traffic and to encourage alternative modes of transport by providing pedestrian and semi-pedestrian walkways (zone 30), shared traffic ways, and by providing bike shelters in the town centre and by running a mini-bus service. It has also launched a study on improving travelling conditions in Rochefort and the surrounding area in order to arrive at solutions for reaching the low density areas. Another survey on the cost and environmental impact of various forms of housing in Rochefort has been carried out.
In terms of waste, a set of initiatives involved limiting the production of waste and encouraging recycling, reclaiming CFCs, reclaiming and treating solvent substances (cooking oil from institutions), and distributing individual composting equipment. A project for a sorting unit and the burying of non-hazardous industrial waste in partnership with La Rochelle is currently being examined.
Finally, in terms of incentives, Rochefort opened an information centre in the town centre on the environment and energy in partnership with the LPO (Bird Protection League): the "Espace Objectif Nature [Nature Focus Centre]”. Other operations to raise public awareness, advise private citizens and companies have been carried out, such as the free diagnoses of private boiler units, anti-pollution tests for cars, training courses for teachers on waste and energy management.
Partners
Each operation was run in partnership with local stakeholders in the town : voluntary bodies such as the LPO or the Automobile Club, teachers, inhabitants, schoolchildren, businesses etc.
Financing and resources
The total cost of the operation Target Nature Energy-Environment over the 1991-1994 period came to FFr 2.507 million. 50% of the operation was financed by the Ademe (FFr 1.251 million), 39% by the Town (FFr 971 000) and 11% by the region (FFr 285 000).
Expenditure can be broken down as follows: 1.28 million on running costs (setting up actions, communications/publishing, general expenditure); FFr 727 000 for staff costs (representative, technical department director and secretary); FFr 133 000 for the "waste" study; FFr 140 000 for the travel survey; FFr 60 000 for the management software for the car fleet; FFr 47 000 for training an eco-advisor; FFr 120 000 for the "town-planning/energy” study.
Overall, the operation involved the following people:
- an environment advisor (financing: City 40% and the Joint Local Authorities for the Rochefort Area 60%)
- a full-time officer at the lagoon plant (40% revenue, 30% LPO, 30% City)
- 2 people at the Nature Space (1 LPO-funded job and one funded by the General Council)
In 1998, three young people's jobs were created by the City.
Outcomes and impact
As the programme ends, it seems that the projects undertaken were numerous and varied with more than 40 completed projects. The city council has concentrated its efforts on raising the awareness of the local stakeholders on environment and energy issues. All the studies and diagnoses led to action or to pushing the thinking process ahead. For instance, the study on travel led to an original public transport solution with a minibus service being put into operation. Thinking on waste has meant the setting up of several collection and treatment systems and should eventually lead to the setting up of a sorting unit and a land burial site to answer the needs of the Rochefort area and the La Rochelle Joint local Authorities. City management of energy has meant significant savings for the Authority.
Obstacles and difficulties
The Town has encountered difficulties in mobilising local units. Only educational circles have subscribed to the projects and are following them up. It seems difficult to maintain a strong political will that would mean that the environment continues to be taken into account in all council actions and projects on a daily basis.
Transferability
The methods used in the Rochefort experience can well be reproduced. Before undertaking any action, diagnoses were made and overall reflections conducted. The town endeavoured to tackle environment and energy issues based on the realities and with actions. It proposed a set of measures – not necessarily of wide scope – whose strength is to endure. The City has succeeded in combining projects that might have seemed disparate by establishing an overall coherent scheme.
Essential points
An impetus was given and now the environment-energy reflex is nearly automatic in any new town project. Actions will continue and extend, especially to the Joint Authorities for the Rochefort Area. Rochefort reckons that the conditions of success for the City Life operation owe a lot the Mayor's strong determination; to a strong involvement from the Director of Technical Services; to the appointment of a person solely responsible for coordinating and driving the operation; to the motivation of all council departments; to working on a partnership with the local actors; to the Ademe following the project; and to the setting up of an information centre to welcome the public.
Additional information
Mme Catherine Jourdy, Ecoconseillère
Mairie de Rochefort
B. P. 130
17306 Rochefort
Telephone : 33 05 46 83 91 68
Fax : 33 05 46 83 24 59
Mr Alain Papillon, Directeur des services techniques
Mairie de Rochefort
Telephone : 33 05 46 84 30 62
Fax : 33 05 46 84 30 99
This case study was drawn from a summary report produced by the 'Association 4D' (Dossiers et Débats pour le Développement Durable [Issues and Debates on Sustainable Development]) dated March 1996: "Les villes françaises et le développement durable [French cities and sustainable development]" Summary report, case studies and data sheets. B. Duhamel, C. Emelianoff, L. Héland, C. Menneghin and J. P. Piéchaud. pp. 101-106
This study was published in the book Les villes françaises pour le développement durable [French cities for sustainable development]. United Nations Conference on human settlements. Habitat II. City summit, Istanbul, 3-14 June 1996. Book published by the Ministry for the Environment in June 1996. pp.44-47
Acknowledgements
The text for this project summary was developed by
l'association 4D (Dossiers et débats pour le
développement durable), Paris - E-mail:association4d@globenet.org, 1999.
© ICLEI, 1999. See Impressum.