2022

Anne Girault

Anne Girault has led a consulting career for over 35 years working with local authorities and public sector in the field of energy, environment, and sustainable development. In 2010, at the initiative of the City of Paris, she created the Paris Climate Agency, which she managed until 2019.

Illustration : Anne Girault

Nominated by: Alexia Robin, Construction 21

DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVE ROLE TOWARDS ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN EUROPE

With a doctorate in International Economics and a degree in Political Science, Anne Girault has led a consulting career for over 35 years working with local authorities and public sector in the field of energy, environment, and sustainable development. In 2010, at the initiative of the City of Paris, she created the Paris Climate Agency, which she managed until 2019. Four main themes for her career:

Supporting energy transition strategies in cities
Management of Territorial Climate Plans and Sustainable Development strategies
Management of national and international projects
Training, coordination of consultations and partnership approaches

During all these years, Anne has carried out numerous international missions, particularly in the Mediterranean area and accompanied major European cities in their energy strategy. She created a group of European consultants “g.e.i.e RESET”. Within the framework of a European Thermie programme, she was leading a major European programme “RESTART”. 8 major cities were involved in this programme: Greater Lyon, Turin, Barcelona, Glasgow, Dublin, Porto, Copenhagen and Rotterdam with a dual objective, to build an ambitious energy strategy co-constructed with the stakeholders of the territory and to carry out significant work programmes in each of the cities.

In recent years, with the Paris Climate Agency, Anne has provided operational support for the energy transition in Paris. She has developed and led the Agency’s strategy and roadmap in order to contribute to the implementation of the Climate Plan in Paris. After 10 years of existence, APC has become a key player in the energy transition and is showing concrete results in terms of citizen mobilisation and support for professionals. Recognised in France and internationally, APC’s original model has proved its worth in accelerating the energy transition, particularly in the area of renovating private buildings and condominiums.

Anne was also an associate lecturer at the Institute of Public Management at the University of Aix-Marseille from 2003 to 2019.

Since 2020, Anne has been putting her experience and commitments at the service of public and private decision-makers. Anne is now president of the Association Bilan Carbone with the mission of developing and disseminating Bilan Carbone and of the Association Renaissance Ecologique.

CREATIVITY AND STRATEGIC VISION

Anne’s actions have always been aimed at the heart of decision-making processes, more particularly for public policies and commitments to energy transition and climate change. One of the main lines of her career has been to anticipate the key role of local authorities and territories:

In the Mediterranean area: with the “energy and environment in Mediterranean cities” programme conducted as part of a European programme to support Mediterranean cities in their energy strategies and policies.
With the RESTART programme, the Thermie programme and 8 major European cities, the aim was to work on two aspects at the same time: to build a collective and shared vision and to prove it by conducting major investment programmes in each of the cities.
With the Paris Climate Agency: The vision of the role of local and regional authorities’ keys called for the creation of an original mechanism to mobilise all the players, stakeholders, and citizens. It is in this spirit that APC was created to become an operational alliance for the implementation of the Paris Climate Plan. After its creation, the Agency has taken its place in Paris and shown the relevance of its model. It is one of the first major local agencies in France built on an original model of partnership between private and public actors to implement a local ecological transition policy. It is with this same determination that Anne chairs Association Bilan Carbone and Renaissance Ecologique.

IMPACT

Paris Climate Agency has been able to mark the acceleration of the transition in Paris with concrete actions. The latest activity report in 2019 bears witness to this with 3,500 advices for Parisians per year, the establishment of a climate kit for Climate Volunteers in Paris for 15,000 people, and the contribution of APC in International cooperation, in particular in the framework of the Ace-Retrofitting programme.
The programme dedicated to energy efficiency renovation in condominium with APC has had a major impact in a difficult sector that is essential to the success of the energy transition in urban areas.The CoachCopro platform has become the reference platform in France and in Europe. Significant results have been obtained and shown that acting in co-ownership, despite the obstacles, is possible. With the support of unprecedented resources devoted by the City of Paris to the renovation of the building stock, Anne has been able to build a strategy that effectively speeds up the renovation process: a web platform to support the project, the ” CoachCopro”, advice and support for co-owners, mobilization of professionals and an observatory for building renovation. At the beginning of 2020, more than 143,000 housing units are on board in Paris and 220 professionals are involved in the scheme. The CoachCopro web platform is being deployed throughout France in all local authorities with high stakes in co-ownership: 70% of the French territory is covered.
More recently with Renaissance Ecologique, 263 members and training sessions for around 1500 participants. Renaissance Ecologique is involved in the European programme BE YOU stands for Building Entrepreneurial mindset in YOUth for a sustainable society.

LEADERSHIP

Anne has been following the evolution of energy and climate issues for over 35 years and has seen the emergence of major ecological issues and awareness among stakeholders. Active in France and internationally, with strong initiatives such as the RESTART programme, UMET and the creation of the Paris Climate Agency, Anne has had many opportunities to bring projects to the forefront of the environmental agenda.

Anne participates in numerous networks and intervenes in many public policy spheres, particularly internationally to explain and share her convictions. She has been teaching for more than 15 years at the University and has always been committed to transmitting her values and vision. She thus participates in several stakeholder committees of companies or professional branches.

Since 2019, Anne has been making her expertise available to public and private decision-makers to help advance the ecological transition by co-founding the Cercle de l’Expertise à Mission. In addition to this commitment, Anne is also working with a non-profit organisation Vital Strategies to make the link between climate and public health. Anne also participates to the coalition of foundations on climate.

This expertise is now being made available to pass on and help grow two associations that aim to accelerate the transition. By becoming President of Renaissance Ecologique and Association Bilan Carbone*, Anne continues to contribute to accelerate the energy and climate transition and to share her experience and network.