Our innovation approach

ECT’s approach to innovation is designed toexpand and enrich the company’s offering.
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value proposition to our stakeholders. Its aim is to reinforce the company’s position as a leader in its field. player in the environmental transition. And also to optimize our work processes by integrating new technologies.

An open innovation approach

In 2021, ECT has set up an open innovation process to identify all the innovative avenues in the ECT ecosystem (more than 150 projects analyzed). Then select the most relevant ideas, test them and implement them on a large scale.

This approach is part of a collaborative approach whose success relies in particular on the involvement of ECT Group employees, as well as on the building of partnerships with innovation specialists such as Paris&Co.

To give impetus to this approach, ECT has set up an Innovative Projects Steering Committee. This COPIL creates a regular meeting place dedicated to innovation, and steers the projects initiated, from feasibility analysis through to real-life testing on our sites.

Innovative projects

This approach has led to the implementation of some fifteen POCs, piloted by a community of employees mobilized to tackle these innovative subjects. Qome examples:

Assessing the environmental and social performance of ECT projects

To structure its CSR approach, ECT sought to assess the quality of its developments through a global indicator. No existing evaluation system was able to cover all the dimensions addressed by the ECT planning model.
ECT has developed a tool to assess the environmental and social performance of its projects. This approach led to the creation of a scoring system to evaluate each project on these 2 themes using 15 criteria.
ECT worked with experts in each of the selected criteria (biodiversity, CO2, recreational quality, sporting interest, etc.) to define, in collaboration with EY, scoring methods to qualify the quality and relevance of the service offered.
This tool enables ECT to manage the environmental and social performance of its business, assess its involvement with its stakeholders and implement a continuous improvement process for the quality of its services.
Today, every ECT development is subject to a rating, at the design, administrative approval and delivery stages.

Alternative transport, double freight

One of the key issues for ECT’s excavated soil sector is the decarbonization of transport. ECT is committed to identifying alternatives to the transportation of soil by its customers’ thermal trucks.
In partnership with Carrières de l’Ouest, we have developed a solution to optimize the transport of materials by train: from a quarry in Mayenne, materials are transported by train to construction sites in the Paris region. The train is then reloaded with the excavated soil, which is used to backfill the quarry.
Specific containers adapted to soil transport and optimized loading operations were developed specifically for this project.
This solution reduces co2 emissions and limits empty train journeys.

Innovation initiatives in progress

Soil fertility and reforestation – in partnership with MNHN, ECT analyses the state of the art in plant growth and reforestation on reworked soils.
Biodegradation of hydrocarbons – in partnership with UTC Compiègne, ECT is studying how to optimize the treatment of soil impacted by hydrocarbons.
Decarbonization of the vehicle fleet – ECT analyzes and tests alternative solutions to combustion engine truck transport (electric, hydrogen, etc.) for excavated earth transport operations.

Injection of poured earth

To diversify its approach to recyclingexcavated soil, ECT wanted to develop a solution that would enable the soil to be used to backfill underground cavities.
ECT has joined forces with
Sefi-Intrafor
to identify the right formulation for grout injections. Tests were carried out on ECT sites to develop the right formulation and process for these injections.
The process is now up and running, and is being used for cavity-filling contracts.