How we are preserving biodiversity
We take great care to ensure the preservation of biodiversity in those areas where we build and operate infrastructure. We take actions to prevent and minimise our impact on biodiversity whenever we build new infrastructure and to enhance biodiversity on our existing sites.
We become a net-zero company and we preserve the natural capital.
Our actions
Environmental Management System
Our environmental coordinators use Fluxys Belgium’s Environmental Management System as a framework for steering, monitoring and improvement measures. They advise on and recommend ways to minimise the impact of Fluxys’ activities on biodiversity and on the environment in general.
Environmental studies and monitoring
During the design phase, we take care to limit the impact on the environment and nearby area during the construction and operation of new facilities, in particular with the help of environmental studies.
The impact on the environment and local ecosystems is assessed each time an application is submitted for a permit to build or operate a new facility or when an environmental permit is renewed. These environmental studies estimate a project’s potential impact in various areas, including air, water and soil pollution, ambient noise, the production of waste, spatial integration, mobility and the impact on biodiversity.
Alongside these studies, we regularly monitor greenhouse gases and atmospheric emissions. Noise levels as well as any air, soil and wastewater pollution are also monitored through a range of measurements and analyses.
Measures to prevent negative impacts
When laying new pipelines, we always take care to ensure that work causes as little disruption to the environment as possible, for instance:
- In certain circumstances, the routes of new pipelines are revised to minimise disruption to certain ecosystems and protected areas.
- In certain situations, directional drilling is used to cross nature reserves in order to protect these areas.
- The topsoil excavated during construction is carefully managed. This topsoil can be enriched with organic seeds and/or fertiliser to maintain its fertility and to preserve its integrity.
- Work sites are sized and planned according to the natural resources to be preserved (e.g. specific standalone trees, specific nesting period).
- We use a range of techniques to limit the noise generated by our pressure-reducing stations, compressor stations and other facilities. When building new infrastructure, a lot of attention is paid to potential noise pollution from the design phase onwards.
Compensation
When it comes to compensation for the trees that need to be cut down in connection with the construction of new main pipelines (backbones), we go beyond the legal requirements.
Biodiversity audit to identify biodiversity-enhancing actions
In 2024, a team of ecologists conducted a biodiversity audit at a representative selection of Fluxys sites, leading to a series of recommendations. We have already implemented some of these recommendations, such as sowing two additional flower fields at two compressor stations and trimming hedgerows outside the nesting period(a) (as a continuation of our 2023 actions).
| ESG material topic | Target definition | Status | Result (full year 2024) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biodiversity |
|
For each km of backbone (b) pipeline built, Fluxys Group will ensure the planting of 500 m² of vegetation, in addition to the mandatory legal deforestation compensation, until 2026. | ⬤ | Achieved for 2024 Planting already occurred in 2023 for the backbone section put in service in first half year 2024 (c) (as part of Desteldonk-Opwijk). |
| Action plan achieved by 2028 to stimulate biodiversity on selected Fluxys sites. | ⬤ | In progress Target for 2028; first step i.e. conducting a biodiversity audit completed. |
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(a) Nesting season depends on the region: Brussels-Capital: from 1 April to 15 August; Wallonia: from 1 April to 31 July; Flanders: from 15 March to 15 July.
(b) A backbone is defined as a pipeline spanning more than 10 km, with a diameter of at least 600 mm.
(c) Planting already occured in 2023 for the full Desteldonk-Opwijk pipeline, incl. the section between Opwijk (Hollestraat) station – Dendermonde (Oudegem, Paalstraat) station of ~16km that was put in service early 2024.