As part of the event this year, ENGIE, in its capacity as an official partner of the Fédération Française de Voile, is supporting a concrete awareness-raising initiative about protecting the environment and planet's biodiversity. It involves distributing 1000 copies of the “Responsible sailor’s charter”, specially designed for young people in this age group. This is a fun and educational document, 4000 copies of which have also been sent out to 200 sailing schools, so people are more familiar with and have a better understanding of the marine environment. This way, they are better able to protect it. A version for sailors over the age of 15 will also be sent out to the 1500 people taking part in the Young French Championships (young hopefuls, sliding/gliding sports and Kite & Wing enthusiasts in Martigues, Quiberon and Leucate) over the course of the summer.
This partnership between ENGIE and the Fédération Française de Voile embodies a powerful aim: turn sport into a lever for educating people about ecology, as well as an engine driving the environmental transition. It illustrates the “environment” pillar of Impact Together, the Group’s sponsorship and philanthropy programme. ENGIE is helping sailing to become more sustainable, and is also helping to create the cahiers d’été biodiversité, summer activity booklets designed to help children explore and understand biodiversity through playful, educational experiences in nature. 55,000 copies will be distributed to all 360 of the Fédération Française’s sailing schools. It is also supporting a call for proposals to stage eco-friendly events. This has resulted in three projects being selected (the Roca Cup, the Eurocat and the Occitania Cup), as well as 12 others selected directly by the Fédération Française de Voile. And it is supporting the installation of GPS-guided buoys. This is so much more than just straightforward logistics support: it is a deep-rooted commitment to making young people more aware and curious, so they can play a part in protecting coastal ecosystems.
Through these initiatives, ENGIE is confirming its determination to take action in places where ecological and climate-related challenges are the most in evidence: at sea, on coastlines, and where there is direct contact with the living environment. By combining knowledge-sharing, sport and ecology, the Group is making the alliance between energy and nature as meaningful as possible, for people and for the regions it serves.