On October 16th, 2024, the second in-person Pioneers Day 2024, held at the BNP Paribas headquarters in Paris, took place.

As Decarb Fast Track, the programme bringing together industrialists committed to accelerating decarbonisation by focusing on energy management and the power of data, marked its midway point, the event gathered Pioneers, programme partners, and industry leaders. Together, they reflected on the achievements to date, shared insights, strategies and best practices, and looked forward to the road ahead for the final steps.

The day began with a warm welcome from the partners behind Decarb Fast Track: METRON, Dalkia, BNP Paribas, and AWS. The opening set the tone for a day rich in dialogue and collaboration, underscoring the shared commitment of the community to industrial decarbonisation.

This was followed by a roundtable on the decarbonisation of the industrial sector, animated by Olivier Provost (Associate director of the Rumeur Publique agency, former editor-in-chief of La Tribune). The panel explored pressing topics including an evolving energy mix, changes in the political and regulatory context, available support for manufacturers in their decision-making and investments, and a decoding of the electricity market including where to find opportunities for flexibility. Contributors included Jean Luc Proutat (Economist at BNP Paribas), Edouard Fourdrin (Manager of the Industrial Department at ADEME), Paul Meunier (Director of Energy Markets at Dalkia), and Vincent Sciandra (CEO of METRON).

The morning concluded with presentations from three Pioneers who shared their decarbonisation roadmaps, in the food, pharmaceutical and packaging (Benjamin Ozanne, Head of Facilities, Energy Management & Site Safety, at Aptar), and metallurgical sectors (Francesco Bragagni, Group Energy Manager at Marchegalia). Their experiences provided tangible examples of how strategic decarbonisation actions are already translating into impactful results.

During the second half of the day, experts from METRON presented highlights from the first year of the programme, and a comprehensive progress report.

The Pioneers then took part in workshops animated by Decarb Fast Track experts who shared practical tips and real use cases on the subjects of:

• turning looming obligations into opportunities for energy efficiency,
• calculating energy consumption and carbon footprint by product,
• identifying energy efficiency actions through data analysis, using tools such as EnergyLab.

The event concluded with a closing keynote by Guillaume Poupy (Expert in CSR, Water and Adaptation to Climate Change, at BNP Paribas). Guillaume Poupy shed light on critical water-related challenges facing manufacturers, emphasizing risks and proactive action plans to address them.