Corporate life

CSR at Gaeau: from commitment to action — a 2025–2026 review

For over 30 years, the Gaeau Group has been designing innovative solutions for stormwater management. But being a responsible industrial player goes beyond the quality of our products: it also involves fundamentally rethinking the way we produce, consume and operate within our local area. Here’s how we put this commitment into practice, day in, day out.

Key figures for 2024 :
▸ 172 employees
▸ Turnover: €44.5 million
▸ Scope 1 emissions: 1,279 tCO₂e
▸ Scope 2: 36 tCO₂e
▸ Scope 3: 13,209 tCO₂e
▸ 218 tonnes of non-hazardous waste recycled or reused
▸ 100% of hazardous waste recovered (zero landfill)
▸ Workplace accidents down by 37.5% compared with 2023

A structured CSR governance framework to ensure effective action

In 2025, the Gaeau Group reached a decisive milestone: the creation of a dedicated CSR committee, bringing together staff from all the Group’s entities (Gaeau Développement, Techneau, Plasteau, Chaudreau). This committee oversees five thematic working groups and meets regularly to monitor the progress of the initiatives undertaken.

This structure is based on two leading regional programmes:

Evol’up, developed by NEODD2030 and SustainSoft, which enables us to measure our CSR performance against the CSRD’s VSME framework, tailored to SMEs.

AD Normandie’s Impulsion Conseil programme, which has provided us with expert support in structuring our decarbonisation plan, launched as part of Bpifrance’s Diag Décarbon’Action scheme.

The group also holds ISO 9001 (quality management), ISO 14001 (environmental management) and ISO 45001(occupational health and safety) certifications.

Environment: reducing our environmental footprint, preserving our local area

Renewable energy and energy efficiency

Solar panels on Plasteau’s new assembly workshop — they cover 45 per cent of the site’s annual electricity requirements.

The installation of solar panels on Plasteau’s new assembly workshop now covers 45 per cent of the site’s annual electricity requirements. At the same time, the rotational moulding ovens are fitted with a heat recovery system, with the recovered heat being reused to heat non-production buildings: less fossil fuel, fewer indirect emissions.

Beyond our own premises, we have signed a 10-year cooperation agreement with a neighbouring local authority to fit its municipal buildings with solar panels, with a commitment to purchase the electricity generated. Work will begin in 2026.

Reduction in GHG emissions

Our carbon footprint assessment, carried out in 2024, enabled us to draw up an ambitious decarbonisation roadmap:

Scopes 1 and 2: a reduction target of 4.2% per year from 2023 onwards

Scope 3: a targeted reduction of 2.5% per year, covering 100% of upstream and downstream emissions (i.e. 13,209 tCO₂e)

Water saving

Installation of a rainwater harvesting tank — saving nearly 60,000 litres of drinking water a year.

In line with our core business — water management — we have installed rainwater harvesting tanks which supply water to the toilets in our extension. The result: a saving of nearly 60,000 litres of drinking water per year.

Biodiversity and reforestation

Restoration of 225 metres of hedgerows
Green spaces integrated into the industrial site

Our site in Marigny-Le-Lozon is undergoing an extensive greening programme: the creation of green spaces, the restoration of 225 metres of hedgerows, and the planting of 150 trees. A hedgerow project, initiated by an employee and supported by the company, has also been praised by the local press.

We are also taking action across our supply chain: through our partnership with Transport Jourdan and the ‘10 pallets for the planet’ initiative run by the FLO Palettes network, we contributed in 2025 to the transport of 515 pallets and the replanting of 52 trees.

Social: the wellbeing of our staff is at the heart of our project

A responsible company is, above all, one that looks after the men and women who keep it going.

Quality of life at work

Introducing plants into workspaces as part of Green Week.
  • Weekly distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables
  • Creation of a 60 m² fitness centre, accessible to all the group’s employees
  • Launch of a running group
  • Participation in team sporting events such as the Trail des Roches du Ham (22 km) or the Rock & Trail, a 24-hour team endurance race

Inclusion and diversity

The group employs 12 people with disabilities, representing around 7 per cent of the total workforce, and works with two local ESATs. We are also committed to equality in the workplace and continuous professional development: in 2024, employees received an average of 15 hours of training per year for men and 11 hours for women — an area for improvement that we are continuing to work on.

Local solidarity and citizenship

  • Support for L’Outil en Main (introducing young people to manual trades in Périers)
  • Support for the WMLLL charity, which sends aid parcels to children in Kharkiv and Lyman, Ukraine
  • Partnership with Roses en Baie, which supports people affected by cancer
  • Support for Esprit Voile Lymphomes, which uses sailing as a means of rehabilitation for patients with lymphoma

Green Week: when raising awareness becomes a collective effort

From 1 to 5 June 2026, the Gaeau Group organised its first Green Week, devised by the CSR committee to engage all staff in environmental issues.

Distribution of aromatic plants
The self-service smoothie bike in the canteen
  • Artificial intelligence and digital minimalism
  • Sustainable transport and car-sharing
  • Going green: biodiversity, plant-based diets, free herbs
  • Spring cleaning: sorting, recycling, on-site litter picking
  • The role of digital technology: the carbon footprint of emails, digital hygiene
“‘Deforestation involves cutting down or burning trees at a rate that exceeds the forest’s capacity to regenerate. 80 per cent of it is linked to agriculture.’” Climate change awareness workshop — interactive sessions organised as part of the CSR initiative.

Daily challenges, themed videos, a fitness challenge and even a smoothie bike were the highlights of the week.

This is just the beginning

Our first CSR report, published in 2025, marks an important milestone: one of formalisation and transparency. But above all, it marks the starting point of a long-term commitment.

Because we are convinced that industrial performance and sustainable responsibility are not mutually exclusive, we will continue to take action, measure our progress and move forward — alongside our teams, our partners and our local community.

‘Together, let’s build a more sustainable, more inclusive and more respectful future for our region and for future generations.’
— David Lesecq, Chairman of the Gaeau Group