Audit Biodiversité® of PDL: the site committee action plan

The findings of the Audit Biodiversité® conducted by Gondwana in Q1 2012 were presented in June to the Papeteries du Léman committee. After reviewing its recommendations, the agency agreed to examine an initiative programme to achieve more eco-friendly management of the site's natural areas (accounting for 75%) and to eliminate all abnormal practices, in a spirit of conciliation between biodiversity, safety and corporate image vis-à-vis its clients and partners.

Among the planned actions, conducting qualitative and quantitative inventories, fauna and flora studies to identify and classify species found onsite - those that are protected, threatened, rare, invasive, etc., and to define a point of reference for evaluating improvements resulting from our policy.

Some actions advocated by Gondwana, however, cannot be carried out, mainly for safety reasons. The agency has therefore recommended that a damaged hedgerow be renewed; it was decided that it would be replaced by a fence, a greater deterrent against possible incursions on the site. Gondwana also recommended that the frequency of maintaining the fields and lawns be reduced through delayed mowing. That would not be possible in areas that must remain easily accessible to our visitors; for example, the areas adjacent to the treatment plant or to the PCC satellite.

 Above all, PDL remains an industrial site, with its constraints and requirements relating especially to safety and image issues. Our goal will therefore be preservation; that is, efforts will be taken to not degrade the biodiversity on-site, by eliminating any practices that could harm it.