- Real estate projects
Caisse des Dépôts invests in partnership with private players in real estate projects. It works to support local policies in projects designed to develop a neighbourhood or local area: housing, company premises, shopping centres, hospitals, health and social facilities, leisure and tourism facilities, etc.
In 2008, €103.6m in investments contributed towards the construction of 1,089 rental dwellings and 265 care bedrooms (for the disabled, dependent individuals, etc.).
- Urban renewal
In the framework of the city and urban development policy, in addition to the savings funds which it can grant, Caisse des Dépôts supports ANRU programmes with engineering and project management credits.
In partnership with ANAH (the national agency for housing stock improvement), the regional management bodies provide technical and financial support to local authorities to regenerate old neighbourhoods and ageing condominiums.
In 2008, €30.9m in subsidies. Since the programme was launched, 470 neighbourhoods have signed specific application agreements with ANRU/Caisse des Dépôts
- Energy and environment
All local Caisse des Dépôts actions meet environmental and sustainable development criteria. However, Caisse des Dépôts is investing particularly in non-polluting energy forms: wind power, biomass, geothermal energy, hydroelectricity, photovoltaic energy.
In 2008, it invested €46.3m in developing these sectors.
- University modernisation.
Upgrading French universities is one of the priorities of Caisse des Dépôts's "Elan 2020" strategic plan. As part of the partnership agreed with the Conference of University Rectors (CPU - Conférence des présidents d’universités), 30 agreements have been signed amounting to a commitment of €12.8m in study credits. They involve 101 higher education and research establishments, including 59 universities, and provide support in drawing up their master plans. A thermal and CO2 inventory of university real estate stock has also been launched.
- Public-private partnerships
Caisse des Dépôts was one of the pioneers in trialling public-private partnerships (PPP) in France, before they were launched in 2004.
Caisse des Dépôts works in PPP mode to: boost the independence and upgrading of universities and outsource public real estate, hospitals, stadia, broadband digital infrastructures, transport facilities (road, rail, urban transport).
- Local digital development
Caisse des Dépôts works to promote digital technologies: a major issue for local areas. It invests in broadband infrastructures sponsored by local authorities. It is developing electronic administrative services such as Service-Public Local and Mon service public (My public service). The platform developed by its subsidiary CDC Fast enables paper-free documents exchanges between local government and State-level services.
It supports the distribution of uses of new technologies, for instance thanks to the roll-out of digital workspaces and cyber-bases across the whole country, or programmes like "Mon enfant à l’école" (My child at school).
In 2008, Service Public Local, the online guide to administrative processes, had 1,096 clients (local authorities and local public bodies). The Cyber-bases network includes 840 business sites, with 99 new sites opened in 2008. 26 local digital workspace projects are being rolled out.
With €53.2m of investment in broadband internet infrastructures sponsored by local authorities, 2008 was notable for Caisse des Dépôts' acquisition of holdings in fifteen project sponsor companies.
- Social economy and employment
Caisse des Dépôts is fully involved in local and national social cohesion policies designed to create jobs. Its support contributes particularly to the fight against exclusion from banking services, through the discussion of microcredit, and the creation of small and very small companies in difficulties areas.
Close links with local authorities and their company groupings
The DDTR supports associations of elected representatives and local authorities and has developed an information and services cluster for the latter: Mairie conseils (telephone information service, best practice exchanges), Localtis, a specialist website. It also fulfils, in close relation with the above associations, proactive monitoring of local areas.
- Semi-public economy
A longstanding partner of the semi-public economy, Caisse des Dépôts supports local elected representatives in the development of their working tools. Through its public interest investments, Caisse des Dépôts has taken capital holdings in 728 companies which support local development (semi-public companies, non-trading real estate investment companies, limited companies, simplified joint stock companies, etc.)
