The IUCN Local Action Summit took place on 3 September 2021—the opening day of the IUCN World Conservation Congress—in Marseille, France. Leaders convened to showcase and galvanise conservation efforts in cities and regions, make the case for a nature-based recovery to COVID-19, and announce ambitious action pledges for nature. Here follows a translated transcript of the speech delivered by the CITEO Secretary-General, Nicolas Furet.
Thank you very much and good morning ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much to IUCN for trusting in us as partners, and giving us an opportunity to share our experiences from the last 38 years.
I have a few minutes to share with you the concept of a partnership between private and public entities involved in the management of packaging. There are hundreds of tons–that is to say, 90% of the paper that is recycled in France at present—thanks to this cooperation between the local communities, and companies such as CITEO, and the companies that consume paper, be they industrial companies, or private companies.
If we look at the origin of this particular measure, we look at the local level, which for a long time has been in charge of managing household waste, collecting it sometimes, putting it into landfills – that was way back at the beginning. And then we have the consumer society in the 1970s that resulted in a growth in waste to be managed. This is of course very difficult because the amount of waste is absolutely massive.
So then, a new concept was born within OECD which is the producers’ responsibility in the process. This points out the fact that the companies that produce and sell packaged products are involved in the amount and the composition of this packaging. So OECD invented the concept of the producer pays responsibility, making it mandatory for producers to contribute to the management of packaging at the end of its useful life here in France.
Many companies at the beginning of the 1990s established this on a legal basis, and also established a tax to finance the management of this packaging waste and paper. On behalf of the local community, this legal responsibility, represents a commitment as well as a partnership process.
The choice of tools that represent a close cooperation between companies and that are of course directly in touch with consumers and also the local communities which are in touch with the citizens, through a city organization such as CITEO, and this is what led to the result that I just pointed out at the beginning of my talk: today it is possible to have an eco-design programme to encourage lighter packaging and less abundant packaging and recyclable packaging, and then there is also selective waste organizing at local and regional level and this will force the respect for diversity. And then we have a series of participants, such as recognized companies as CITEO itself and also specifications that are jointly established for these companies to comply with. This represents a responsibility that is producing results and results in terms of biodiversity.
There is an obligation to prevent and to clean abandoned waste. It is also a responsibility that establishes responsibility and commitment, and thus in November last year, a new company was formed, precisely addressing the biodiversity challenge, way beyond the obligation of irresponsibility on the part of the producers. Our raison d’etre to answer this ecological urgent mission is something that involves working with other economic actors in order to produce, distribute and protect the planet, its resources and biodiversity, as well as the climate. So, as you can see, we have gone way beyond waste management which was at the beginning of our undertaking.
This means that regardless of what happens, there will be close cooperation throughout the entire chain – that is to say from production to consumer and the afterlife of the products. This model is not unique, but it is very important. We need to act quickly, we need commitment on the part of all those involved—be they companies, be they the territories, elected officials, associations or consumer. We need to establish the necessary mechanisms for cooperation and coordination, so as to work publicly and privately for the efficiency throughout the chain and ensuring a national and international linkage, so as to work closely with all the territories involved.
Thank you very much for your attention.