Company: Lafarge Location: Rivecourt, France Granulats Nord, Rivecourt, Oise, France Local Community Partnership Award 2010 for Outstanding Paleontological Research

UEPG Sustainable Development Awards 2010 Company: Lafarge Location: Rivecourt, France Granulats Nord, Rivecourt, Oise, France Local Community Partnership Award 2010 for outstanding paleontological research UEPG Sustainable Development Awards 2010 Learning about the past as a foundation for the future; the partnership between the Lafarge and CPIE of the Oise region Lafarge is the world leader in building materials. Lafarge Granulats Nord extracts fine and course aggregates from a number of quarries in the Oise Valley, including Rivecourt. These operations are conducted in line with a comprehensive awareness of societal imperatives and sustainable development. The Lafarge quarries in the Lower Oise Valley between Creil and Compiègne are the main source of alluvial aggregates for the Oise department. They have attracted international attention due to the company’s partnership with a local entity. Lafarge and the Centre Permanent d’Initiatives pour l’Environnement (CPIE) of the Oise department have been collaborating since 2000. CPIEs work to promote sustainable development through programmes in environmental education and support for regional initiatives. The CPIE is based in Verberie (Oise department) not far from our quarries. It first worked with Lafarge on ecological restoration projects in wet quarries. On the strength of this experience, when the CPIE underwent a period of financial difficulty, it was able to restructure by mobilizing its biological expertise on behalf of the quarrying industry. Subsequently, as paleontological treasures were gradually brought to light at the Rivecourt quarry, the CPIE broadened its scope to include paleontology by hiring an expert within the framework of the partnership agreement signed with Lafarge in 2007, under which Lafarge covers the cost of the position. This fertile cooperation has seen the development of numerous educational and environmental communication initiatives while giving the public greater awareness of the economic and social benefits of our industrial operations. In 2008-2009, programmes on geology and paleontology were introduced after Lafarge opened the Rivecourt quarry to scientists. The Rivecourt quarry contains amber and fossils dating from the Paleocene/Eocene boundary, a period marked by a catastrophic climate event that entailed a sharp rise in temperatures and CO2 concentrations. The hyperthermal conditions of the so-called PETM (Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum) coincided with a major greenhouse effect that is considered to be the best analogue of the current warming episode. A steering committee headed by a scientist (who is also a director of research at the CNRS) coordinates research on site in partnership with Lafarge’s teams, manages the fossils brought to light and coordinates investigations. Research programmes conducted at the international level will predict and evaluate the consequences of current climate change phenomena. For schools, the quarry is a resource that provides plant and animal fossils based on which pupils can reconstruct the paleoenvironment of the valley, discuss differences in the major flora and fauna observed on either side of the Paleocene/Eocene boundary, and finally, learn about the causes of this biotic disruption. These scientific findings will be published in the literature. The various fossils will be exposed in the permanent collection of the museums in Verberie and Compiègne, where exhibits will also be devoted to the geology and paleontology of the Oise department in the Paleocene, Eocene and Quaternary. Lafarge creates wealth and transforms the sand and aggregate resources into value. In addition, through this successful example of partnership, the company demonstrates its commitment to recognizing the cultural, social and economic value of life on Earth. .

Load more