Planète Urgence visited Madagascar in June this year and Fabris, together with the organisation’s ambassadors – Partnerships and Development Director, Muriel Roy and Executive Director, Thomas Boisserie – visited one of the reforestation projects created in Madagascar, before engaging with local business leaders about the project.

MOBILITAS, Planete Urgence partner since 2009

The MOBILITAS Group is always looking into ways to reduce our carbon footprint and has joined forces with Planète Urgence in 2009 by participating in a tree planting project as trees are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Through its branches, the group has committed to planting a tree for each international move completed, and for every 15 boxes of archives stored in our warehouses.

Reforestation and community development

The “Environment and Development” programme supported by Planète Urgence in Madagascar is used to reforest degraded forests from slash and burn agriculture, illegal logging and the production of fuel for domestic use. In line with reforestation activities, the programme also makes it possible to set up developmental projects for the island’s rural communities (poultry farming, beekeeping and breeding of wild silkworms).

Visit to a nursery in the Itasy region

During their visit to the Itasy region, about two and a half hours’ drive from Antananarivo, Fabris visited a nursery and met with local representatives of the association. The Itasy region is one of the regions where the Planète Urgence programme operates, in partnership with several grassroots community organisations, where they focus on the enrichment of the tapias forest, an endemic tree from Madagascar.

The restoration of this forest goes beyond a purely environmental aspect, it also allows the villagers to find resources that naturally grow in the forest such as fruits, medicinal plants, mushrooms and even silkworms – which is generating a booming farming business. Equally important to growing tapias trees are trees planted to meet some of the basic needs including the need for fuel (eucalyptus, acacias trees) and fruit trees to increase the incomes of local farmers. Fabris was excited to see the result of this action in the field:

“I’ve heard about the operation “a move = a planted tree” when I first started at the company. I thought it was good, but it seemed virtual to me. After witnessing the work completed by Planète Urgence I can testify that there are many trees in nurseries and trees planted, and this operation has a real positive impact on the environment and on the people who live in this region.”

 

Presentation to the French-Malagasy Chamber of Commerce

Later that day, Planète Urgence was invited to present their operations to the member companies of the French-Malagasy Chamber of Commerce (CCIFM), to encourage them to become involved in the financing of the association’s work locally. The presence of the AGS Madagascar Manager was welcomed and Fabris accompanied them on this mission. Fabris presented to 25 company representatives and talked about the MOBILITAS Group’s involvement in this environmental cause and the concrete evidence he had discovered during his visit.

The Planète Urgence project in a few figures

Planète Urgence planted 7,458,847 trees worldwide between 2007 and 2017, including 1,821,609 in Madagascar. MOBILITAS has contributed to the planting of 220,000 trees since its commitment in 2009, including 71,900 in Madagascar.

Read more:

http://www.planete-urgence.org/environnement-et-developpement/environment-and-development-madagascar.htm?langue=en

Created in 1985, ADIFLOR aims to promote reading and cultural diversity around the world. The association donated 11,000 new books to the Alliances Françaises in Madagascar and the Madagascar library. The association handed over the books to the Malagasy beneficiaries at the 16th Summit of the Francophonie held in Antananarivo in November 2016.

The official donation ceremony took place on 23 November 2016 at the premises of the Alliance Française of Antananarivo, in the presence of Gilles Tonelly, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Monaco, several representatives of the Alliance Française, Christine de Gunzbourg, ambassador for ADIFLOR, and Fabris Grujic, Manager of AGS Madagascar.

AGS, together with the Monaco Government, assisted with the transportation of the cargo from Le Havre to Antananarivo. The 11,000 books, which were distributed amongst the 29 French Alliances of the island, will fuel the thirst for learning from some 42,000 members of the Alliance Française network and thus promote the teaching of French and the development of schooling.

Now in its sixth year, statistics prove that AGS’ execution of this campaign continues to strengthen each year. This is thanks to AGS’ loyal clients who placed their trust in us, warmly embracing ‘One Move, One Tree’, and enabling AGS’ network of 128 offices in 80 countries to give back to the environment and reduce its collective carbon footprint.

“Having personally spearheaded this project since its start in 2009, I am thrilled that we have surpassed the 100 000 benchmark,” says Gilles Taïeb, Executive Director for AGS.

“We always stress our commitment to preserving and caring for the environment, and this campaign is a highly rewarding means of upholding that promise.”

In 2009 AGS formally launched the campaign by partnering with Planète Urgence, an international Non-Governmental Organisation which supports projects involving the protection of the environment and the promotion of biodiversity.

With each international move booked through AGS, regardless of volume, AGS has committed to donating to Planète Urgence for a tree to be planted. This contributes towards reforestation in three environmental focus areas – Mali, Indonesia and Madagascar – and a certificate confirming this fact is e-mailed to AGS’ clients.

For more information on AGS’ environmental programmes, and to download and familiarise yourself with our detailed Environmental Policy document, please visit the Corporate Social Responsibility section of www.agsmovers.com.

North Sumatra region of Indonesia: swamp trees such as these, planted through AGS’ partnership with Planète Urgence, have played a critical role in reconstructing the mangrove corridor and combatting global warming.

Mopti region of Mali: for a visual representation of trees planted, access Planète Urgence’s map online at

www.planete-urgence.org/environnement-et-developpement/geographic-location.htm

AGS International Movers not only provided two trucks for the transport of all tour equipment during these ten days, but was also proud sponsor of the maillot des points chauds, which rewards the most successful intermediate sprinters.

“We chose this particular jersey because it values a consistency of high performance which fits perfectly with our company values,” said Branch Manager Frédéric Léomant who was proud to hand over the jersey personally at the end of each tour day.

The sponsor of the maillot des points chauds is at the same time the benefactor of a team of six young Malagasy AGS Movers Madagascarriders wearing AGS Movers colours for the duration of the whole tour. The AGS Movers team also personally assisted by providing and driving a car which followed this team in order to help with technical problems and nutritional support.

“To sponsor a team of young cyclists from this beautiful country is something close to our hearts,” said Frédéric.

An international journalist was also in the car, keeping track of the action and sharing the same passion for cycling as the whole AGS Movers team.

The International Cycling Tour of Madagascar is very popular in this country, not only because of the route itself but also because of extensive media coverage both in the newspapers and on television. AGS Movers Madagascar was pleased to not only play a vital role in one of the major sporting events of the year, but also support young Malagasy athletes as they took part in this demanding event.

The expansion comes in the wake of AGS’ renewed partnership with Planète Urgence, earlier this year.

Having already planted more than 44,000 trees in Mali and Indonesia since 2010, AGS now answers the urgent need for tapia trees in Madagascar’s Itasy region.

AGS believes in not only sustaining the planet, but also the communities who are its custodians. Planète Urgence works with local populations to raise awareness and promote socio-economic development. Aiming to plant over 7,950 trees in Madagascar this year, AGS and Planète Urgence are providing the means to revitalise local industries with fruits, mushrooms and silkworms.

AGS is a trailblazer for other  companies, leading the way to a more responsible and engaged future.  AGS proudly affirms its continued relationship with Planète Urgence worldwide.

The branch helped organise the event logistics by transporting motorcycles, equipment and various materials needed to set up the event.

In doing so, they showed their enthusiasm and sense of fun.

The track meet was organised by Motostore, representing Husqvarna Motorcycles in Madagascar.

Loïc Bouché, former Branch Manager of AGS Movers Madagascar and now branch manager of AGS Movers Burkina Faso, is himself a quad bike fanatic. He said,

“Madagascar is a motor- and quad-bike paradise, and the best way to discover the island with friends.”

The AGS team took the event to heart by taking this opportunity to get involved once more in the local community.