Marie Balmain
Expert panel
In 2004, she co-founded “Graines de Changement”, a positive information agency on sustainable development in France and co-authored a number of guide books on sustainable development, including Un métier pour la planète…et surtout pour moi! and La Vie en Vert; Un régime pour la planète.
Since 2005 she has been Group Sustainability Manager for Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs, leader in tourism residences in Europe with two complementary businesses: property development and tourism. In addition to developing and facilitating the roll-out of the group’s CSR strategy, action plans and projects (including sites green labelling program, implementation of environmental management systems, sustainability strategy for new development projects), Marie’s mission is to accompany the development of new and innovative offers and leisure activities embedding values of sustainable development.
She is in charge of the OPL action plan of Villages Nature, a new tourist destination designed around the quest for harmony between man and nature. Villages Nature is the outcome of a strategic partnership between Disneyland® Paris and Pierre & Vacances-Center Parcs. It is the first in a new generation of resort destinations, close to major metropolitan areas, easy to get to by train, car or air, and firmly committed to a transition towards renewable energy. It is the first European tourism project to win the stamp of approval of the United Nations-backed Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism.