‘Three questions to...’: interview with people committed to biodiversity at the Institut Pasteur

BIP is expanding its portrait gallery to coincide with the approach of Nature Week and International Biodiversity Day! Find out more about three Pasteurians involved in climate and environmental issues and their respective actions within the Green Team's ‘biodiversity’ group.

1.    What does your job at the Institut Pasteur involve?

An engineer by training, I joined the Institut Pasteur in 2012 after taking part in the construction of the François Jacob building and I am now in charge of the Real Estate Projects and General Services division within the Real Estate and Technical Department ( of  the Department of Corporate Social Responsibility and Technical Resources (DRSE-RT).  

This unit has two main and complementary missions, which enable me to implement CSR initiatives in both the design and use of premises.  

The property projects team is responsible for :  

- drafting and participating in the implementation of the real estate and landscaping master plan, which sets out the real estate strategy for occupying the site over the medium and long term  

- assisting with the programming of property projects  

- allocating premises and proposing suitable spaces, matching needs with technical, budgetary and regulatory constraints.

The general services team is in charge of a number of services for the day-to-day life of the campus: removals, maintenance of green spaces, management of meeting rooms, furniture storage, photocopiers, water machines, etc. 

Delphine Delonca-Louette

I'm an Inserm research fellow in the Biology of Infections unit headed by Marc Lecuit. I study host-pathogen relationships using Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium responsible for foodborne infections in humans, as a model. This bacterium has the ability to cross the intestinal, blood-brain and foeto-placental barriers, leading to septicaemia, meningoencephalitis and foetal infections. 

Olivier Disson

An engineer by training (specialising in the environment and spatial planning), I joined the Institute just over 9 years ago in the finance department as a management controller and project manager.   

At the end of 2024, I joined the Department for Transformation and Strategic Projects (DTPS), and more specifically the Projects Office, as Project Methodology Manager. My role is to support the Institute's strategic changes by proposing methods to ensure cross-functionality and organise teamwork, while taking into account CSR issues in projects.  

 

On a day-to-day basis, this means that I'm involved both directly in the Institute's projects (as project manager, PMO, or expert on certain financial issues) and also in supporting campus projects, in order to enhance the professionalisation of projects and the continuous improvement of management methods.

Marianne Duharcourt

 

2.    Can you tell us more about your involvement in climate and environmental issues?

As soon as I started my studies, I was introduced to HQE (High Environmental Quality) design for building projects.  

At the Institut Pasteur, I really noticed that environmental issues were being taken into account in 2020.

A number of diagnostics have been carried out: plant health, biodiversity, urban heat island, etc. to gain a better understanding of our campus, and we have signed the Paris Climate Action Biodiversity Pact in 2020 and 2022, as well as the Tree Charter in 2024, opening us up to greener design for our projects.  

We have worked closely with the City of Paris and the Ile de France Region to obtain administrative authorisations for the CMTV and Roux projects, incorporating reuse, deconstruction, a low-harm worksite charter, bio-based materials, etc.  

We now have a 10-year programme for the ecological regeneration of the campus, which mainly consists of increasing the surface area of green spaces, creating islands of urban freshness and a garden crossing linking the two sides of the campus. The new green spaces around the greenhouse, the gardens of the old hospital and at the front of the Emile Duclaux building are the first achievements of this approach.

I work closely with the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) department and have joined the GreenTeam's Biodiversity group in order to enrich the project with the expectations of Pasteurians.

Delphine Delonca-Louette

I've long been fascinated by living things and the interactions between organisms of different species (hence my job), with a particular interest in birds. I'm a member of the Ligue de Protection des Oiseaux (LPO), on the naturalist committee of the Ile-de-France delegation, where we contribute to knowledge of avifauna (all birds) through participatory science programmes. This knowledge enables us to propose practices to preserve biodiversity more generally, for example through LPO refuges. So it was natural for me to join the GreenTeam Biodiversity group, in order to translate this commitment to environmental protection across the campus.

Olivier Disson

I'm particularly sensitive to environmental issues, and I'm an active supporter of several environmental protection and biodiversity conservation associations in my personal life. So when I heard that the CSR department was launching the GreenTeam initiative with a working group dedicated to biodiversity at the beginning of 2023, I didn't hesitate for a second to get involved!  

I initially took part as a member, before becoming co-coordinator of the group with Olivier. This commitment reflects my deep personal convictions, enabling me to be consistent with my values and to play an active part in bringing about positive change within the Institute.

We are particularly enthusiastic about the collective dimension of this initiative. Our group of 9 people has a wide range of backgrounds: we're all united and committed to the common goal of protecting the flora and fauna on campus, and we're deeply convinced that this environmental commitment is a natural part of Institut Pasteur's DNA and missions.

Marianne Duharcourt
 

3.    How do your actions take shape within the Green Team? 

Our role is one of teamwork! We coordinate the group's work at several levels, interact with the other members of the GreenTeam community and also with the other committed groups on campus. We work with the CSR department and the general services teams on the upkeep and management of the campus green spaces.   

We meet regularly to propose and implement concrete actions, such as the introduction of differentiated management zones with mowing-free periods, monitoring the occupation of nesting boxes, selective hornet traps, birdwatching (participation in the Greater Paris breeding bird atlas) and a census of the campus flora and fauna.   

We are also organising events - we look forward to seeing many of you at the Biodiversity Day on 22 May, which will include visits to the campus to discover its flora and fauna - and are conducting awareness-raising campaigns (a poster campaign on the campus is currently being developed). We are involved in discussions with the service provider responsible for green spaces, who will soon be installing composters on our site (for coffee and green waste), and are planning other initiatives for 2025.