Biodiversity and DECATHLON

To assess biodiversity, one of the units of measurement is the MSA.km210. This represents the average abundance of plant and animal species characterising the intactness of ecosystems.
DECATHLON has chosen the Global Biodiversity Score® (GBS®) tool backed by CDC Biodiversity11 until an international standard for biodiversity footprint measurement is established.
The GBS® calculation methodology is applied to the company’s various activities to generate a measurable result that can be used to develop  improvement scenarios.
It offers the advantage of being adaptable to various levels of accuracy: as more data is added, the results become increasingly reliable.
To make the results easier to understand, DECATHLON has chosen to use the term "artificialised square kilometre
equivalent” based on the following conversion: 1 MSA.km2 = 1 artificialised km2 eq.12.

DECATHLON now wants to design layouts with a positive biodiversity impact. So before starting the construction of any new building, a site or a car park refurbishment, we carry out a diagnosis based on 74 biodiversity criteria.

The following, in particular, are taken into account:
- ecological continuity,
- water resources,
- plant-based density,
- light pollution,
- the climate,
- quality of life.

At the end of this assessment, the diagnosis lets us determine a rating ranging from 0 to 100. The minimum acceptable standard is 50/100 because we estimate that at this threshold the requirements are met to let wildlife move around, feed and reproduce freely. 

On the first experimental site of Saint-Malo (France), the initial diagnosis before the works was 42/100, 3 years later it is 79/100. These adjustments, therefore, met the conditions allowing wildlife to flourish properly.

The Saint-Jouan-des-Guérêts pilot site, close to Saint-Malo (France), enables us to put a certain number of replicable principles in place to support biodiversity for any future store.

The first principle: limit the damage of urbanisation by investing, for example, in uncultivated land or monoculture farmland. Followed then by these other objectives: transform, prevent, reduce and compensate.

The founding principle is to support ecological corridors along the lines of 4 strategies:
The green template: it promotes the movement and habitats of species, with unfenced land, late summer cutting, as well as a density and variety of flora. In this way, animals are free to move around, feed, reproduce and hide among the vegetation, nest boxes or bug hotels placed around the plot of land. The vegetation helps to filter pollutants (carbon sequestration) and create cooling island effects. 175 plant species (trees, fruit trees, shrubs) were planted in Saint-Jouan, compared to 20 previously.
The blue template: here, it is a case of combating soil surface sealing and reducing the speed of surface water runoff, which improves rainwater management. The vegetated ditch and infiltration basin are actual wetland habitat area, allowing aquatic wildlife to flourish. They also limit the risk of flooding and help to contribute to groundwater recharge.
The brown template: 25 % of diversity is found in the soils. In the same vein, the challenge was to preserve continuity in the subsoil to support the development of fungus and bacteria. If the soil is not aerated, the green template can't be in good condition either. It is why we maintain the area with conservation grazing. A herd of sheep grazing on the plot of land is preferable to using a heavy-duty lawn mower that packs down the earth.
The black template: this is about preserving nocturnal fauna. We revamped the lighting to cause the least possible hindrance. It translates into downward-facing lighting, equipped with sensors that turn on when there is traffic.We have also thought of bat boxes

Lastly, we installed 2 beehives, meaning a population of 120,000 bees. They are a good indicator of the naturalness of the site and its surroundings. In Saint-Jouan, they produced 22 kg of honey, when, on average, 3.5 kg is expected elsewhere. It not only means that no phytosanitary products are used in the surrounding area but on top of that, their ecosystem is sufficiently varied because they have very little distance to cover, enabling them to retrieve more pollen and subsequently produce more honey.

We carried out similar adjustments on the site in Lorient (France), and 14 projects are in progress in line with this same approach. The objective, just like the first two projects, is to get the "Signature Biodiversité" label, environmental certification for 100 % of our future new property construction projects in France. This landscaping company provides guidance and supervises companies wanting to facilitate environmental performance in their project, from the programme's initial inception to the implementation of measures.

In 2024, DECATHLON reinforced its commitment to biodiversity through a variety of actions such as the publication of a position paper86, defining the company’s needs and expectations in the run-up to COP16, and its participation in the It’s Now For Nature campaign.
Launched by Business for Nature88, this campaign encourages companies and financial institutions to develop and publish a biodiversity strategy.