France (Partner 5)

The Pays d'Aubagne et de l'Etoile urban communities has squared, since 2006, a local environment and energy plan, based on the development of the environmental quality concerning building and arrangement, control of energy consuming, development of renewed energies; management of garbage: decrease at the source, assort and valorization; and development of alternative ways of transportation instead of "cars in any way". This plan has other versions, including consciousness-actions of several publics. Now, our local authority is working on the making of a climate plan, working along the inhabitants of the territory. In order to elaborate this plan, diagnostics studies are about to be made in 2008: carbon balance -sheet, aerial thermograph of the roofs, and experimentation with voluntary families in order to measure the expected profits in terms of energy economy, of garbage decrease and of changing their ways of transportation, simply by changing their behaviors daily.

Our local authority has experience concerning working along with the inhabitants. This experience has several forms such as visits, journeys, workshops, forums, groups. All these meetings have been regularly organized for several years. Some exchanges between participating people of different regions could be interesting to be put in place. Our local authority has put in place an observatory based on environmental criterions. These displays can make an interesting base of comparison with other regions, implicated in the same attempt. These displays will inform the inhabitants regularly and will measure the evolution. They will be used in order to think about the effects of the actions made on our territory and to reorient these actions, if needed.

We have never had any European funding but we have participated to the South Urban ENVIPLANS European project, made in 2006 with the 21 Committee (Comité 21) as advisory group. In addition, the French Ministry recognized the step sustainable development of our local authority in 2007 and Agenda 21 qualified us.