Experiences from regions in transition: the Erdre and Gesvres Community of Municipalities

May 2021

Territoires à Energie Positive (TEPOS)

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A peri-urban area located on the outskirts of the Nantes metropolitan area, the Erdre and Gesvres Community of Municipalities (CCEG) has a population of 63,000 spread across 12 municipalities and has experienced very strong population growth since the 1990s. Its population is relatively young, and jobs are primarily in the service sector. Two-thirds of its 55,000 hectares are occupied by natural and agricultural areas. Preserving quality of life is paramount in this dynamic and close-knit region.

An Energy and Climate Policy Grounded in a Broader Sustainable Development Strategy

The local government took its first steps toward transition by launching the development of an Agenda 21, which was adopted in 2013. This document defines the shared objectives across the region to address the challenges of sustainable development. It is implemented through concrete action plans carried out by the CCEG and within its member municipalities. In response to the regulatory requirement under the Grenelle Act, the community adopted its first territorial climate and energy plan a few months later. The CCEG was awarded TEPCV funding in 2017. While this program does not directly contribute to consolidating the strategy, by co-financing one-time investments with significant amounts, it validates the political importance of pursuing sustainable development initiatives. In 2017, new regulatory requirements mandated an update to the climate plan, particularly to incorporate issues related to air quality. The community council seized this opportunity to redefine its sustainable development strategy.

Leveraging Key Stakeholders to Build a Regional Strategy

A broad consultation process was launched in accordance with the values and principles of the national charter on public participation to define a strategy that takes into account the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this initiative, the local government received financial support from the DREAL and relied on its highly active development council. Founded in 2006 at the initiative of the local government, the development council is a nonprofit association under the 1901 law with 66 members and a coordinator provided by the community of communes. Its goal? To co-create a desirable, inclusive, and sustainable future by facilitating transitions. Since 2017, the association has maintained an initiatives committee that identifies and promotes local collective initiatives and links them to public policies supporting societal transitions. To successfully carry out the consultation process on its strategy, the CCEG was able to draw on this pool of initiative leaders, who enriched the discussions during the 11 workshops held (one workshop per identified issue). The strategic directions were then analyzed in light of the SDGs and the expected objectives of a PCAET, before being approved by elected officials. The action plan was also the subject of co-creation workshops with residents and local stakeholders, each of whom was asked how they could contribute to the successful implementation of the proposed actions.

This collective reflection, carried out with a diverse range of local stakeholders (citizens, associations, socio-economic and institutional actors, businesses, the agricultural sector, etc.), has enabled the local government to recognize the added value of this collective effort. Thus, after having focused primarily on adapting its public policies to support sustainable development, the local government is gradually shifting its role to that of a facilitator and catalyst for these transitions.

Building the Local Government’s Capacity to Act Through Human Resources

In 2011, the local government hired Marion Richarté as the Agenda 21 and Contractual Policy Project Manager. This hybrid role proved to be a real asset in fostering innovative and experimental projects, enabling the local government to gain recognition from partners such as ADEME, the regional government, and DREAL, and facilitating the acquisition of funding. Over the past ten years, several partnership agreements—particularly with ADEME—have provided the co-funding needed to create new positions: the Territorial Objectives Contract, the Shared Energy Advisory Service, the Territorial Energy Renovation Platform, and the Territorial Food Project, among others. Today, Marion Richarté heads the Department of Public Policy Improvement and Sustainable Development. She coordinates an expanded team that drives initiatives on new topics, supports municipal departments and local communities, and facilitates cooperation efforts and the implementation of transition projects. After a few years in operation, the value of the various positions was confirmed, and elected officials decided to retain them despite the loss of co-funding. For example, after six years of the shared energy advisory service, the community of municipalities assumed responsibility for energy management and permanently incorporated the advisor into its staff.

Fostering Collaboration to Transform Lifestyles

In 2018, ADEME suggested to the coordinators of the Energy and Societal Transition (TES) program in the Pays de la Loire region—led by the College of Societal Transitions—that they select the Erdre and Gesvres Community of Municipalities as a pilot area. This partnership-based action-research program works to identify ways to strengthen regional cooperation in support of the energy transition and the transformation of lifestyles. Marion Richarté and her colleague, a facilitator with the development council, are gaining real-world experience in cooperation by participating in the program’s stakeholder cooperative. This work is leading them to change their own approaches, view their profession differently, and recognize the role the local government must play in facilitating these transitions.

The region’s sustainable development strategy has been scrutinized using the “lifestyle wheel” developed by the TES program. This simplified methodological tool identifies the six levers (ranging from value systems and perceptions to infrastructure, including institutions…) that must be addressed to foster a change in lifestyles. From now on, rather than reviewing the 22 objectives divided into seven thematic areas and one cross-cutting area, the strategy is presented through a “lifestyle” framework (living, working, commuting, etc.) that speaks to everyone and makes it easier to identify and take ownership of the planned actions. This framework also highlights the diversity of stakeholders to be mobilized and the partnerships to be sought.

The Ecological Transition Contract as an Opportunity to Boost Collaboration

Shortly after adopting its strategy, the local government committed to signing an Ecological Transition Contract (ETC). Over the course of three months, five workshops were organized around five major challenges, involving not only local stakeholders but also potential partners (federal agencies, the Banque des Territoires, the regional council, etc.). The goal is to make progress on the operational implementation of the planned actions and even to launch a few new initiatives proposed by the participants. In this way, the ETC helps broaden the range of stakeholders involved and intensify cooperation efforts around projects initiated in the region.

The local government is now focusing on two new challenges: clarifying its internal organization to ensure synergies and consistency among its various public policies and the departments that implement them; and strengthening its role as a facilitator of transitions by creating a “Transition Factory” foundation capable of securing both public and private funding to enable the implementation of local initiatives.

Highlights of the Experience

• A dedicated Agenda 21 project manager responsible for contractual agreements: instrumental in securing the funding needed to realize the region’s ambitions.

• A strong partnership with ADEME.

• A highly dynamic development council that has mapped local initiatives supporting transitions.

• Commitment to the pilot project proposed by the College of Societal Transitions on the lifestyle-based approach.

Sources

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