The Grimaldi Forum has further reduced its impact on the environment. Since the award of its ISO 14001 certification in October 2008, the Forum has concentrated its efforts on sustainable water management, energy control, the sorting and recycling of waste, an eco-responsible purchasing policy, good risk management and active communication.
For 2016, on the water resource side, the consumption curve marked a new figure, passing for the first time under 8,000 m3 annually, or 13 percent less than in 2015. The maintenance of equipment is speedier, allowing faster intervention in the event of leaks. These gains have been added to by a proactive investment policy and other innovations.
In terms of energy efficiency, 2016 will remain the year of the best-ever ratio between gross electricity consumption and building occupancy. This result offsets a slightly upward consumption of three percent linked to the increase in activity.
The building is equipped with 20,000 data recovery points and is managed via centralised technical management, allowing an optimisation of energy consumption. The conversion to LED lighting continues, mainly with the re-equipment of the Ravel exhibition space, while improving the quality of the lighting and replacing the 834 classic lamps with 354 LED lamps. With a lifetime multiplied by 10, this has resulted in a reduction in power of 31 percent.
An energy performance contract was signed with SOGET, a maintenance provider of on-site hot-cold production equipment, which enabled the Forum to invest in the commissioning of a latest generation unit. Ultimately, this state-of-the-art equipment should reduce overall electricity consumption by eight to 10 percent, a saving close to one million Kwh.
The target of reducing the consumption of paper was once again achieved. With a drop of 2.7 percent, a result of the introduction of new procedures for paperless work in the administrative and accounting fields and also in the management and monitoring of event files.
Lastly, the sorting rate, which has been in decline since 2015 with the completion of the building restoration work, has again progressed towards the goal of 50 percent waste sorted and upgraded by 2018. The installation of a new brown cardboard compactor, made available last summer by the Monegasque Society of Sanitation, has given complete satisfaction.
The selective sorting of waste, which this year constitutes the new priority area of the ISO 14001 certification of the Grimaldi Forum, will be the subject of a new awareness campaign both internally and externally with exchanges of good practices with tourism partners.
The year 2016 resulted in concrete and very satisfactory environmental results. However, efforts must be ongoing and sustained in order to move towards continuous improvement. 2017 promises to be exciting, with many projects under consideration and actions being implemented, the Forum said.