Portraits

“Sustainability is about finding the right balance”: in conversation with Julie Barlatier Prieuret, co-founder and co-CEO of BARJANE

We recently had a chat with Julie Barlatier Prieuret, the newly appointed co-chair of our Sustainability Leads Club, regarding the significance of sustainability in business, her personal connection to sustainability, her initiatives, and her new role at the Chamber.

Can you introduce yourself briefly?

My name is Julie Barlatier Prieuret, I am both English and French and I have been living in London since 1999. I am the happy co-founder and co-CEO of BARJANE with my brother Léo Barlatier, a company specialised in logistics and industrial property development and management in the UK and France.

I was made a Knight of the French National Order of Merit in 2019 by the French Minister Elisabeth Borne for BARJANE’s commitment to sustainable development and I am also a member of the Advisory Council of the French Chamber of Great Britain.

What does sustainability mean to you?

To me sustainability is about finding the right balance between the creation of an economic activity, that will benefit the community by creating jobs and meeting the consumer needs and reducing the impact of this activity on the environment, by a smart usage of resources, the creation of green energy or the development of biodiversity. 

How do you integrate sustainability into your personal and professional life?

At BARJANE, our CSR strategy has evolved from an early CSR strategy aiming at minimising our impact on the environment, to an impactful one targeting to increase our positive impact.

We work on 4 main core priorities:

• creating buildings in balance with natural ecosystems through low-carbon assets that also enhance biodiversity
• sustainably housing activities vital to the economy by creating long-term partnerships with clients who share the same real estate vision
• establishing strong connections with the local community especially with our Corporate Charity supporting local projects
• carrying the transformative innovation internally with a team of 60 talented coworkers

Personally, I enjoy getting involved with a local school in helping young people and women in their career.

Tell us about a sustainability initiative or achievement you have led and you are particularly proud of?

70,000 m3 of wastes: that is the volume of pollution we have treated for the development of our brand-new business park in the South of France near Marseilles, the Parc des Aiguilles.

I am proud we transformed this brownfield into a sustainable logistics park that will ultimately represent 3 million sqft of floor space developed, 10 MWp of photovoltaic power, 10 hectares of green spaces and 1,000 jobs created including the jobs already created by our first 2 clients Decathlon and Action which just started operating in 2023.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing companies trying to become more sustainable today?

Climate change is not a challenge for tomorrow, it is today’s reality. Achieving Net Zero has become a top priority for businesses. It involves ambitious targets, but for now solutions are not widely available. Innovation must come in order to have more sustainable solutions that could help reach this objective. In the real estate sector, we are already using wood frame, LED lighting, recycled materials, and new innovative solutions are starting to bloom like low-carbon concrete, alternative heating solutions or even oyster shell floors! I am optimistic that with hard work and innovation, companies will achieve their targets.

Why should the members of the French Chamber join the Sustainability Leads Club?

The Sustainability Leads Club is the perfect place to meet and partner with other members that share the same ambition about sustainability. It's a Club for dialogue, that boosts its members’ sustainable development initiatives by pooling positive feedbacks, sharing best practices, or even discovering innovations, in a friendly atmosphere. I really encourage everyone to join the SLC.

What do you hope to get out of your role as a co-chair of the Sustainability Leads Club?

I hope to bring various expertise on exciting “hot” topics such as green hydrogen production/use, carbon capture, renewable energies… We have been working for a long time on these topics at BARJANE, and I am passionate about sharing them and learning from my fellow members.

The Sustainability Leads Club is an exclusive community of members who are senior sustainability leaders (Directors, Heads, etc.) or equivalent positions within their own organisations. The Club is open to Patron and Corporate members only.

The Club meets on a quarterly basis and sessions are intended by approx. 15 participants to create a welcoming environment prone to information sharing.

The Club covers a range of topics in relation to the following streams:

• Establishing baseline on scope 1, 2 and 3
• Circularity, supply chains and raw materials
• Social value (health & wellbeing, human rights, etc.)
• Policy and reporting
• Nature (biodiversity, water, ecosystems)

If you would like to join the Sustainability Leads Club, please contact Laura Bazile