Cities are among the highest emitters of greenhouse gas. By 2050, the world’s cities will have to accommodate more than 6 billion people, roughly double the number of city-dwellers today, which is estimated at 3 billion.

Faced with this global challenge, cities will need to reinvent themselves if they are to reduce their energy and water consumption, set up a circular economy, improve their transport management, construct increasingly connected buildings, and integrate nature in the city to provide inhabitants with a better quality of living.

This partnership will make it possible to carry out a forward-looking international research on issues such as these, which are essential for our common future. A leading French construction company will be associated with the work on these topics currently being undertaken by WWF platforms in Sweden and China.

Functioning along similar lines to the links already in place between WWF France and the Lyon Confluence eco-neighbourhood, the purpose of the partnership with Bouygues Construction is to develop demonstrators of sustainable neighbourhoods in France and to communicate a vision of sustainable cities around the world.  

The partnership is part of the positive solutions agenda for the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015, which is supported by WWF France. It is designed to enable WWF and Bouygues Construction to pool their efforts and research findings on new urban lifestyles, which combine energy conservation, shared services, efficient management of environmental services such as water and waste, local and circular economies, sustainable and responsible new technology applications, incorporating and enhancing nature in the city, the fight against urban sprawl, the well-being of residents, etc.

Meanwhile, Bouygues Construction is renewing its membership of WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network, which aims to eliminate illegal logging and to improve the management of forests. By encouraging trade links between companies committed to responsible forestry management, the Forest and Trade Network creates market conditions that are favourable to the conservation of threatened forests around the world while providing economic and social benefits for the businesses and people that depend on them.

About Lyon Confluence
Lyon Confluence is the first WWF Sustainable Neighbourhood in France.
In 2010, Greater Lyon signed an agreement with WWF to implement the “One Planet Living” programme on the scale of Lyon Confluence. The urban project undertook to respect the principles of the programme, which has been adapted for the local context. One of the most ambitious principles is a zero carbon target: there will be no additional greenhouse gas emissions between the level prior to the new development and that after completion of the construction of the neighbourhood.

About Bouygues Construction
As a global player in construction and services, Bouygues Construction designs, builds and operates buildings and structures which improve the quality of people’s living and working environment: public and private buildings, transport infrastructures and energy and communications networks. A leader in sustainable construction, the Group and its 52,200 employees have a long-term commitment to helping their customers shape a better life. In 2013, Bouygues Construction generated sales of €11.1 billion.
With its LinkCity policy, Bouygues Construction combines its strengths as a global player in construction and services to help local authorities in their projects for creating sustainable neighbourhoods.

About WWF France
The WWF is one of the very first independent environmental-protection organizations in the world. With an active network in more than 100 countries and the support of 5 million members worldwide, the WWF works to halt the destruction of the planet's natural environment and to build a future where people live in harmony with nature by protecting global biological diversity, ensuring sustainable use of renewable natural resources and encouraging the reduction of pollution and waste.
Since 1973, WWF France has worked every day to ensure future generations enjoy a living planet. With the support of its volunteers and its 170,000 donors, WWF France organizes concrete actions to save natural ecosystems and their species, ensure the promotion of sustainable lifestyles, train decision-makers, help businesses reduce their environmental footprint and educate the young. But for change to be accepted, it must take place in a manner that respects each individual. That is why the philosophy of the WWF is based on dialogue and action.