Eco-developing our global network

To help bring sport within everyone’s reach, Decathlon is developing infrastructure all over the world. In 2018 we opened 1,151 stores worldwide, bringing the number of countries with Decathlon locations to 51.

Recognising the impact new buildings have on the environment, Decathlon gives priority to eco-construction approaches for the sites we own, using international certification standards (HQE, BREEAM, LEAD, etc.) to help limit our impact.

To date, we have 91 eco-built stores, including 23 in France, which has been a pioneer in this approach, accounting for 20% of our company-owned premises. This expertise is also applied to renovations of our leased sites in terms of lighting, heating, air conditioning and building management.

In addition to commitments that apply to the buildings themselves, our aim is now to expand our efforts by improving landscaping practices at our properties to better protect biodiversity.

At the same time, Decathlon is embarking on a digital transformation to promote access to sporting equipment. This change impacts our entire network. It involves buying new computer equipment and making more extensive use of it, as well as increasing new technology resources. This will have a significant environmental impact. For this reason, the Decathlon teams are carefully studying the consequences of expanding our digital activity, measuring and implementing strategies to reduce our environmental impact.

2018 ESSENTIALS

Around the world, local realities are taken into account to integrate eco-construction methods at new sites: weather conditions, regulations, standards, etc.

In France, Decathlon co-developed a tool to measure environmental performance in an effort to accelerate the roll-out of our biodiversity approach.

The environmental performance of our digital technology was made a strategic priority for our it department.

Focus

« SOUTH AFRICA : TAKING ADVANTAGE OF LOCAL CONDITIONS TO SAVE ENERGY »

We opened our first two Decathlon stores in South Africa in 2017 and, in an effort to capitalise on local conditions, the teams worked to integrate energy-saving features into the project. The Johannesburg store provides a good example.

The idea was to use skylights to let natural light into the store. The building’s height was lowered by one metre to reduce heating and cooling costs, and the air conditioning system that was chosen employs an energy-saving evaporated cooling method that uses ambient humidity to cool the air.

These changes helped our teams reduce energy use and keep construction and operations costs down. They were able to pass on these savings to South African consumers, thereby making sport more affordable.

“By improving biodiversity at the site compared with the previous ecosystem, the wild dream of having our development activities yield a net positive impact became possible. Thanks to the tool we developed, we can feel proud to continue our growth in a way that aligns with our values, by teaming up with nature.”

CHRISTOPHE CHENEVIÈRE

PROPERTY TEAM