Since October 2025, Willing has been supporting the Communauté d’Agglomération du Pays de Meaux (CAPM) as part of a CITEO-funded project dedicated to waste sorting in multi-unit housing. An ambitious initiative covering 62,000 inhabitants across 600 block of flats and 25,000 accomodations throughout the area.
Willing’s support spans a broad range of activities: project management, communications audit and strategy, the development of a new territorial narrative, the creation of a visual identity for the waste management service, stakeholder engagement across the social and private housing sectors, and the facilitation of a local ambassador network. The objective is clear: to drive lasting behavioural change in waste sorting, without relying on pressure or guilt, by embedding the habit into daily life and strengthening residents’ sense of belonging to the local area.
Maeva Schidlower, Head of Waste Collection Services at CAPM, Julie Schmitt, Senior Manager and Territories Expert, and Victoire Versteegh, Communications Manager at Cinétique, reflect on the key aspects of this collaboration.
The starting point: an ambitious call for project and a need for structured support
The Pays de Meaux engaged Willing as part of a CITEO project focused on waste sorting in multi-unit housing. Maeva, how did this collaboration begin?
Maeva: It all started with a call for projects focused on multi-unit housing, for which we absolutely needed support. We were looking for a partner capable of structuring the project, coordinating its different phases, and supporting stakeholder engagement and communications. Given the scale of the initiative, it would have been impossible for us to manage it alone.
Why is this project so strategic for the local authority?
Maeva: It directly affects half of the population within the agglomeration area. The project receives 70% funding from CITEO, representing almost €3 million invested in the territory. As the funding is tied to performance outcomes, we needed a partner capable of overseeing the project across all its dimensions.
Julie, how did you approach this assignment?
Julie: At Willing, we had already worked on major territorial projects, particularly in the waste sector (including pay-as-you-throw schemes and the modernisation of an energy recovery facility). However, two factors make this project unique. First, the opportunity to intervene upstream, focusing on sorting behaviour at the source. Second, the collective housing project itself is genuinely innovative, a national first, and one that we sincerely hope will inspire other local authorities.
An integrated approach, close to the field
We work hand in hand with the Pays de Meaux, almost as one integrated team
How would you describe the way Willing supports you on a daily basis?
Maeva: Sometimes it feels as though we have been working together for ten years, even though we only started in October 2025. So much work has been delivered and so many topics have been addressed in parallel. Willing helps steer the overall approach, supports Rémy, the Project Manager, in coordinating the initiative, ensures every phase runs smoothly and plays an essential challenge and alert role.
Julie: We work hand in hand with the Pays de Meaux, almost as one integrated team, bringing together complementary expertise: complex project management, strategic communications, stakeholder engagement with a wide range of audiences, from elected officials to housing-sector representatives, as well as all the visual design work delivered by Cinétique. It is a truly territorial project in every sense of the term.
Maeva, were there aspects of Willing’s support that exceeded your expectations?
Maeva: Absolutely. What surprised me most was the communications dimension, from the detailed waste communications strategy developed by Julie to the highly innovative creative work delivered by Victoire and Benjamin. We went far beyond the project’s initial scope and fundamentally reworked our entire communications approach: audit, engagement strategy, narrative, and new communication tools. I had not anticipated that, but it proved absolutely necessary. It has also professionalised both our messaging and our actions. Today, our department has a genuine identity and a recognisable brand within the agglomeration.
The communications strategy: a new narrative for a new habit
Julie, what strategy did you develop based on these findings?
Julie: We built a strategy centred on a new narrative and a new collective vision, drawing on ADEME principles and behavioural change communications. The starting point was to move beyond the negative perceptions that had traditionally surrounded waste sorting. Too often, sorting in multi-unit housing was viewed as an individual effort that frequently failed, without recognising the multiple factors that influence behaviour.
Three ambitions shaped this new narrative: creating meaning and collective coherence, because lasting change can only happen when there is a shared vision; making sorting desirable rather than burdensome, by connecting the action to local pride and belonging; transforming residential buildings into places of transition that empower residents to take action.
In practical terms, the narrative begins with the simplest action, placing the right waste in the right bin, and demonstrates how, in a multi-unit housing environment, that seemingly small act becomes visible, collective, transformative and amplified. From a strategic perspective, we used the Kübler-Ross change curve to structure seven distinct communication phases, ranging from project announcement through to the long-term embedding of new behaviours.
Was the narrative approach also a strategic lever for stakeholder mobilisation?
Julie: Absolutely. The narrative needed not only to tell a new story but also to be accessible, easy to adopt and simple to relay. It was designed for a highly diverse audience: property management companies, social landlords, caretakers, community organisations and non-French-speaking audiences. This shared narrative is what equips stakeholders and provides structure to the entire awareness-raising initiative.
The creative approach: the window as a territory
Implementing a CSR policy initiates a broad organisational and cultural shift.
HVictoire, what creative direction did you choose, and why?
Victoire: We developed a visual universe centred around the window, a universal symbol of multi-unit housing. Windows are everywhere, aligned and repeated, yet they are often anonymous. Behind every window is a different life, different daily habits and different choices, discreet but meaningful. This concept enabled us to anchor the communications in residents’ everyday lives while conveying a broader vision of community living.
Our thinking was also driven by a broader objective: creating a visual identity for the agglomeration’s entire waste management policy. We therefore worked on developing an umbrella brand capable of unifying all waste-related communications.
How do the illustrations contribute to this concept?
Victoire: The concept relies heavily on hand-crafted illustrations, from the initial sketches through to the final artwork produced by Benjamin. They create a vibrant representation of multi-unit housing and visually depict simple, everyday situations rooted in residents’ reality, while highlighting positive sorting behaviours.
We pushed personalisation very far. The bins, equipment, caretakers’ uniforms, everything reflects the reality of the Pays de Meaux to ensure residents fully identify with the guidance provided. There is even a subtle tribute to Rémy, the Project Manager and recycling ambassador, who appears in one of the field illustrations.
What emotions were you aiming to convey?
Victoire: A positive, accessible and collective vision of recycling. We wanted to show that behind every window is a resident who can make a difference, and that those small actions, multiplied across a community, contribute to much wider transformations.
We also wanted to highlight collective housing as a powerful lever for collective action.
Stakeholder engagement: co-creating to build commitment
Maeva, what engagement strategy did you deploy to involve landlords, property managers and housing operators?
Maeva: Even before rolling out the strategy, a significant amount of groundwork was carried out between June 2024 and September 2025 to map all local stakeholders capable of acting as ambassadors. The result was around 150 identified stakeholders, classified according to their potential influence. High-impact stakeholders, such as social landlords, property management companies and housing operators, were engaged first, followed by medium-impact stakeholders, including community centres, associations and cultural and sporting facilities. This mapping exercise became the foundation of our entire strategy.
Julie, what worked well in this campaign to mobilise representatives from social housing estates?
Julie: Within six months, we brought together landlords, property managers and housing operators on two occasions. The first meeting introduced the approach, while the second provided a progress update, gathered feedback and helped us better understand the realities on the ground. In parallel, we developed a complete range of communication materials designed to help these stakeholders relay key messages to residents, explain the expected sorting behaviours and address common questions. From September onwards, we expect to expand this network even further.
First results: a new level of clarity
After six months, what results can you already highlight?
Julie: Let’s be honest: it is still too early to measure the direct impact on sorting behaviours. The project runs over a two-year period, which is already a relatively short timeframe when addressing lasting behavioural change. What we can clearly see, however, are the tangible benefits of stakeholder mobilisation and the enhanced clarity that the communications strategy has delivered.
Maeva: Although we cannot yet measure behavioural results, we can already see the impact on organisational maturity. Our department has become more structured and has significantly strengthened its capabilities through this initiative. Among elected representatives, there is now a much better understanding of the scale of our responsibilities thanks to the elected members’ briefing guide and our awareness-raising efforts. They now understand the importance of these actions in achieving national and European objectives. That shift in perspective is meaningful.
Maeva, what advice would you give to another local authority considering a similar initiative?
Maeva: One thing is obvious: work with a specialist support partner. Beyond choosing a partner, however, it is crucial to pay close attention to the human resources dedicated to field operations.
This type of project requires a rare combination of skills: a strong understanding of waste policies and the regulatory environment, combined with a genuine ability to manage a complex programme and deploy engaging communications. That combination is what makes the difference, and it is exactly what Willing brought to us.
A sincere thank you to Maeva Schidlower, Rémy Vion and Céline Coté for their trust, availability and commitment throughout this project. The quality of this collaboration is what makes initiatives of this kind possible and, we hope, exemplary for other territories.
Are you leading a territorial transformation project and looking for tailored support in programme management, strategic communications or stakeholder engagement? Let’s talk. Contact us at contact@willing.fr.