For Petit Forestier, "Taking action for the environment" means "Adopting a responsible approach at all levels of its business".

For the Group, offering refrigerating products and services which strive towards the best possible balance in terms of sustainable development is only the beginning, the tip of the iceberg!

An "ecological and responsible" approach implies that even more broadly, at the very heart of the organisation, clearly defined practices and protocols are implemented and present at all levels of the business. Infrastructure, workshops, human resources management, training, preventive action, purchasing policy, waste recycling… each component of the business is affected by the Group's sustainable development policy.

The partnerships developed with the different manufacturers and institutions are also part of Petit Forestier’s commitment. They are not always visible to the public, but it's at this level that the Group's investment is most strongly involved in social responsibility, by initiating or taking part in long term projects which may benefit the entire community.

The partnership which has been developed today with the Office National des Forêts (French National Forest Office) takes Petit Forestier’s commitment even further.

The Petit Forestier Group gets involved in the fight against the greenhouse effect alongside the ONF.

In Partnership with the Office National des Forêts, Petit Forestier has signed a sponsorship agreement over 3 years in an aim to manage carbon emissions.

Through this commitment, Petit Forestier is helping to finance a "carbon demonstration" project launched by the ONF in the Trois Fontaines state forest in the Marne region. This pilot project will enable us to precisely analyse diverse species of trees capacity for carbon absorption in a given latitude, and to establish methodology for future installations of biological carbon sinks.

This experiment, which involves planting a carbon sink, is one of the rare operations currently underway in Europe. The results should enable us to further our methodological understanding to promote the integration of European carbon sinks through planting forests, as part of the international carbon credit system which is to succeed the Kyoto protocol in 2012.

This project is also part of the "Plant for the planet" initiative led by the United Nations Environment Programme with an aim to plant 6.7 billion trees in 2009/2010.
Through this sponsorship, Petit Forestier is financing the planting of 15,000 trees across approximately 10 ha, as well as the related nature studies.

The Trois Fontaines site is the third pilot site in France, after Monaco and Narbonne.

Petit Forestier is making its commitment known to the public and getting its clients involved in the initiative.

For any rental contract signed in the long term, either for a vehicle, a container or a refrigerating cabinet, Petit Forestier will commit to planting a tree on the Trois Fontaines site to measure the effects of the forest in absorbing carbon. The Office National des Forêt will issue Petit Forestier's clients with a planting certificate in their name, certified with the ONF's stamp and signature.

The "Protect our planet" logo, which was created to mark the event, will appear on the range of Petit Forestier products, involving users in the initiative and reminding us that when it comes to environmental protection, every gesture counts.

Thanks to the partnership signed with Petit Forestier, the ONF has put in place an experimental "carbon demonstration" site in the Trois Fontaines state forest.

The operation consists in the afforestation of part of the land by planting 15,000 trees, in an aim to gain new understanding of greenhouse gas sequestration. By sequestrating CO2 from the atmosphere via photosynthesis, forest ecosystems are a major part of the fight against climate change today.

At present, French forests absorb 65 million tonnes of CO2 annually, or more than 12% of national greenhouse gas emissions.

The works schedule spreads over 3 years:

• initial inventory before planting
• soil preparation
• planting of various species, durmast oaks, white beeches, copper beeches, plane maples, rowan trees…
• monitoring biodiversity with regular inventory reports on flora and fauna
• monitoring carbon sequestration

In this section you can regularly obtain information on the works progress on the Trois Fontaines site and find out all the initiatives organised by Petit Forestier and ONF surrounding "one contract signed, one tree planted".

First event:

• Inauguration of the carbon demonstration area in the Trois Fontaines in spring 2010.

If you would like to become true experts in the fight against climate change, please see the many documents online on the Office National des Forêts website, in particular all the information relating to the "Petit Forestier" area:

• site creation
• aims of the approach
• ecological monitoring, initial status report for each discipline
• assessment of carbon absorbed in the sample area…