Cutting the expenditures of low-income families by training them in "eco-acts"

For a large share of the population, the need to conserve the environment and to consume fewer resources goes without saying. There is a genuine awareness, and behavior patterns are evolving in areas of waste source-separation, the choice of soft public transit systems, and energy saving equipment. Yet the most destitute families, faced with more pressing priorities, are generally the least equipped to alter their habits in this way. Sometimes, lacking resources or alternatives, usually without counseling, they spend a larger proportion of their budget on energy, compared to more affluent households. It is around this issue that Unis-Cité launched its "Media Terre" experimental project in 2009. The aim was to help every citizen, particularly the most vulnerable, to go into action by mobilizing the potential of Unis-Cités, in other words, the youngsters who pitch into voluntary civil service for six to nine months.

On the eight pilot sites selected in 2009 in the Paris region and in Northern France, thesegenuine ambassadors of eco-acts have demonstrated everything they could bring to this community service mission, at the crossroads of social welfare and environmental conservation. In light of this achievement, Unis-Cité plans to extend the project to other regions.

As partners of Unis-Cité from the outset, the operational staff of the two Veolia Environnement regional branches of Ile-de-France and Nord Pas-de-Calais are prolonging and intensifying their support for this initiative for the 2010-2011period.

For this second campaign scheduled from October 2010 to June 2011, 48 volunteers will work with 190 to 240 families of three towns in the Paris suburbs, and another 70 will accompany 280 to 350 households in nine communes of the Nord Pas-de-Calais.

Aid to recruitment and supervising families alongside the social backers, initial and further training of the youngsters of Unis-Cité and their staff, particularly on the Veolia Campus, field trips, answers to technical questions on water, energy and environmental services ... over and above the financial backing of the Veolia Environnement Foundation, the support of the group teams will assume many forms, thanks to the experience gained in the first year.

While the appropriation of eco-civic acts by the families and the real reduction of their energy bills remain the main results anticipated, the whole system is also designed to reinforce the skills and motivation of the young people, and even to encourage them to set an example for a still broader public, including in their own entourage.