SUEZ and Bouygues Construction have signed a worldwide Memorandum of Understanding for an initial period of three years, covering the design and development of new solutions to optimise resource management and to favour more sustainable building and the circular economy.

By 2030, the planet will have 9 billion inhabitants, 60% of whom will live in urban environments and about 40 mega-cities with more than 10 million inhabitants. In a world where resources are becoming increasingly scarce, their sustainable management is one of the key challenges of the 21st century.

The city needs to be reinvented to reduce its energy and water consumption, to establish a virtuous circular economy particularly with regard to the recovery of waste, to improve transportation, to integrate more and more connected buildings and neighbourhoods, and to give a greater place to nature in order to ensure a better quality of life and a lower ecological footprint.

Drawing on the expertise of both groups for more sustainable construction

Faced with these challenges and issues, SUEZ is providing know-how in water supply, water treatment, construction, recycling and recovery to develop urban projects.

Environment and sustainable building are at the heart of Bouygues Construction’s strategy. It is an expert in the development of eco-neighbourhoods, from the design phase to assistance for users and residents, through new services introduced in France and internationally.

The two groups are already working together on a number of projects, including the construction of the Fort d’Issy-Vanves-Clamart metro station forming part of the Grand Paris Express. In collaboration, they have devised innovative solutions intended to optimise the management and traceability of excavated site materials.

A worldwide partnership that will promote the circular economy for the benefit of the city

The worldwide partnership signed between SUEZ and Bouygues Construction will take this collaborative approach further, sharing the expertise and the forward-looking vision of the two groups to ensure the development of innovative solutions through new joint offers, in line especially with the circular economy.

In particular, this collaboration will cover waste recovery and recycled materials, water treatment and management, the development of on-site logistics solutions, local resource circuits, decentralised solutions for cities and eco-neighbourhoods and the development of public-private partnerships.

Jean-Louis Chaussade, CEO of SUEZ, commented: “This agreement represents a new chapter in the history of the two groups. We have already pooled our expertise in some emblematic projects, such as the recovery of construction waste from the first construction site of the Grand Paris Express, or the design of the first connected protective equipment that improves the safety of operators. Today, we are rising to the challenges of urbanisation and the circular economy by stepping up our efforts in favour of a virtuous construction industry and the development of resourceful cities.”

Philippe Bonnave, Chairman and CEO of Bouygues Construction, added: “Meeting the environmental challenge of more virtuous resource management will be the priority of the partnership between our two groups. We will achieve this through our long experience of successful collaborations, both in France and internationally, which have enabled us to co-construct innovative solutions to serve our customers. The environmental emergency we all face today is now urging us to go further and draw on our respective expertise so that we can jointly propose disruptive solutions to achieve better recovery of resources.”