This Sunday, December 8, we are celebrating International Climate Day: an opportunity to remind ourselves of the urgent need to take action in the face of climate change.
The mechanisms of climate change
What is climate?
Climate refers to the average weather conditions observed over a long period (about 30 years) in a specific region. Unlike the weather, which changes from day to day, climate changes slowly.
What is the greenhouse effect?
The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon. Certain gases in Earth’s atmosphere act like the walls of a greenhouse: they allow solar energy to enter the atmosphere but prevent it from escaping, causing global warming. This is the case with CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide: these are called greenhouse gases (GHGs).
What is climate change?
The increase in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) due to human activities (primarily the burning of fossil fuels) is disrupting long-term climate balances on a global scale. In France and around the world, the effects of climate change are already noticeable: more frequent and intense heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones, hurricanes, and severe wildfires.
According to this latest IPCC report, in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C (Paris Agreement, 2016), global emissions would need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 compared to 2010.
Grands Moulins de Paris's Commitments to Partnering with VIVESCIA to Mitigate Global Warming
In mid-June 2024, the international organization Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) certified the VIVESCIA Group’s climate change mitigation targets for 2030, of which Grands Moulins de Paris is a part.
The VIVESCIA Group’s 2030 goals are as follows (base year: 2021):
At Grands Moulins de Paris, we are actively involved in this initiative and continue our efforts to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Our sustainability initiative, “Link by GMP,” is based on three main pillars. The “Earth” pillar focuses specifically on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions within our direct and indirect spheres of responsibility.
Learn more about Link by GMP’s sustainability initiative
The TRANSITIONS by VIVESCIA program,one of the solutions for effectively reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions involves, in particular, addressing the agricultural supply chain and the carbon footprint of our wheat, as this is our largest source of emissions. That is why Grands Moulins de Paris is participating in the TRANSITIONS program, launched in 2023 by the VIVESCIA Group.
This program aims to support farmers in northeastern France in transitioning to regenerative agriculture that benefits the climate, the planet, and biodiversity. Indeed, agricultural practices must adapt so that soils become resilient and store more carbon, so that fields emit as few greenhouse gases as possible, and so that farms remain profitable and sustainable. 420 VIVESCIA cooperative farmers are already participating in this initiative, and the goal is to support nearly 1,000 by 2026.
We are also taking action on our other major sources of emissions, such as freight and energy.
TRANSITIONS celebrated its first anniversary in November!
To celebrate the program’s first anniversary, an annual seminar was held on November 6, 2024. The event provided an opportunity to share initial results and feedback during a roundtable discussion moderated by Thomas Cornelis, Head of the TRANSITIONS program, with Pierre Garcia, CEO of Grands Moulins de Paris, in attendance.
We are proud to already have three partners working alongside us to supply flour made from TRANSITIONS wheat: Délifrance, Mademoiselle Desserts, and Puratos, all of whom actively support this responsible initiative. Together, we are reaffirming our commitment to the wheat-flour-ingredients supply chain.
“TRANSITIONS by VIVESCIA is about farmers who take risks and processors who support them on the path to a sustainable future,” Pierre Garcia.
