For a sustainable city

We make every effort to limit our environmental footprint, by saving resources and limiting all forms of pollution associated with our business activities, from infrastructure design to network operations. Within this framework, we are developing innovative and ambitious approaches to meeting the challenges being faced by major metropolitan areas, in terms of air and noise pollution as well as climate change.

We are engaged in accelerating the “decarbonisation” of public transport modes being currently operated around the world, including bus and rail rolling stock, infrastructure and operating systems. We have launched an ambitious plan to convert all of our 25 bus depots to electricity and biogas by 2025.

See also our Bus2025 plan

In the Île-de-France region, the new metro trains ordered for line 14 are equipped with an all-electric braking system that allows us to recuperate energy and reinject it into the network. Energy savings could amount to 20%, compared to the most recent trains being used in our Paris metro network.

We are also paying rigorous attention to our property assets in the Île-de-France region, and our target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2025.

We integrate a circular economy in the heart of our business, with ambitious action plans ranging from eco-design to recycling and responsible procurement. In addition to fossil fuels, our policy of optimising natural resources also covers other precious assets, such as water and soil.

We regularly conduct awareness campaigns with the employees of our industrial and services sites concerning the responsible use of natural resources. Our bus driver training programmes highlight the link that exists between their behaviour, fuel consumption rates, and the premature wear and tear of equipment.

Reducing water consumption is another core challenge for the entire Group. In the UK, our London bus subsidiary has equipped all of its bus washing machines with water recycling systems. In the Île-de-France region, since 2012, the new tramway maintenance and garage sites have also been equipped with recycling systems that significantly reduce water consumption.

Operations to restructure our industrial sites allow us to better integrate them within the urban fabric, to fight urban sprawl and to promote social diversity and functional mixing. Our garage and maintenance sites are being rethought and incorporated within bold architectural entities that accommodate a combination of low-income and private housing, public facilities (middle schools, kindergartens, cultural centres, etc.) that create social bonds, and office spaces. Inaugurated in 2016, the new Lagny-Pyrénées bus depot is now semi-underground and is emblematic of this approach, which has contributed to the revitalisation of an entire district.

• Click here to view the English version of the following chart

Heating of a building in Paris using heat from metro line 11!

Heat from the metro tunnel is recovered and sent to a heat pump in the building. The energy produced is used to heat the building’s 20 housing units. The results are very satisfactory, with the system covering 35% of the building’s heating needs on average.

More information in the video below!

We imagine solutions and invest in systems that help reduce air and noise pollution, notably by improving air quality both inside and outside of our transport spaces.

Air quality in our underground environments is continuously monitored throughout our extensive rail network in the Île-de-France region. Since 2008, the results of these measurements and our annual monitoring report have been made available on our website.

In the Île-de-France region, we are replacing existing rolling stock with quieter equipment to reduce noise pollution and vibrations. As part of the track and ballast replacement project for the central section of the RER A in Paris (2015-2022), anti-vibration pads will be installed in particularly sensitive areas.

Committed to the protection of bio-diversity, we have launched a systematic analysis of our property assets in the Île-de-France region (infrastructure and buildings) to explore the possibility of adding vegetation and integrating urban farming, as a complement to existing green belts.

By developing and improving public transport, we make an effective contribution to the economic and social development of local areas. Our procurements are thus an important lever for achieving our corporate social responsibility objectives. Our CSR policy aims to build and develop balanced relationships with our suppliers, especially SMEs.

The RATP Group Foundation develops close ties in France and internationally with the local residents in the communities in which we operate, with actions to promote access to employment, education and culture. By supporting local associations, the foundation encourages digital education, fosters entrepreneurial projects, and contributes to the development of new forms of culture, such as urban art.