> OUR APPROACH

Science-based
Inclusive & integrated
Future-oriented
Sustainability-driven

At sea and on the coast, one's solutions are often another's problems, and the environment the victim of our choices.

SML develops an integrated approach to sustainable development at sea and on the coast (environmental, economic, social).

Our skills

  • Drawing up integrated diagnoses of coastal and maritime territories

    On the coast as at sea, ecosystems, resources, and demographic, cultural, and industrial dynamics are deeply interconnected. Through our approach, based on the concept of Maritime and Coastal Capital, we carry out integrated territorial diagnostics that reveal all these dimensions. This approach makes it possible to identify the strengths, vulnerabilities, and development prospects of each territory, highlighting the levers for action for sustainable and resilient development.

  • Developing forward-looking and strategic visions

    Faced with the rapid evolution of natural and human dynamics, we help territories anticipate possible futures. By combining foresight and action, we develop future scenarios with our clients, from which tailored maritime and coastal strategies are designed to prepare for them, adapt to them, or influence them.

  • Run workshops and facilitate strategic discussions

    We design and run workshops, round tables, and events focused on maritime and coastal issues. From defining content to preparing speakers, our team is involved at every stage to foster constructive discussions, unite stakeholder communities, and produce concrete results. We also provide reporting on the work, supporting decision-making, the co-creation of strategies, or the evolution of public policies.

  • Support project leaders in developing their initiative

    From concept to implementation, we provide bespoke support to project leaders facing technical, regulatory, financial, or operational challenges. This support can take various forms – feasibility analysis, funding mapping, development of monitoring tools, stakeholder engagement – and is aimed at a diverse range of players: blue economy innovators, marine technology developers, marine protected area managers, coastal municipalities, or local associations.

  • Continuously integrate scientific, technical, and political knowledge

    Our expertise is built on active and cross-disciplinary monitoring of advances in marine sciences – physical, biological, human and social – as well as political and regulatory developments. In a rapidly changing field, this monitoring directly informs our projects and sharpens our analytical and advisory skills.

  • Sharing our expertise through teaching and training

    The plurality of our respective academic and professional backgrounds is reflected in the diversity of our team's areas of competence and fields of expertise. We disseminate this expertise by training diverse audiences (professionals, decision-makers, managers, students, etc.) on the multiple maritime and coastal issues and challenges, as well as on the approaches and tools that allow them to be addressed in an integrated manner (governance, planning, regulation, etc.).

Discover our thematic expertise
Our clients

INSTITUTIONS & COMMUNITIES

Most of our work is carried out for local (local authorities, departmental or regional councils), national (States) or international (European Commission, World Bank, Union for the Mediterranean) public institutions, which we assist in the development, implementation and evaluation of integrated policies and strategies for the sea and the coast.

PRIVATE ORGANISATIONS & PROJECT LEADERS

At the same time, we support private organisations in the definition of development and adaptation strategies for the blue economy such as marine renewable energy, aquaculture or shellfish farming, tourism, etc. We put our expertise to work on innovative maritime projects in order to allow for their integration into the natural and human environment.

SCIENTIFIC & NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS

At the crossroads of public and private issues, SML supports the work of associations involved in supporting sustainable maritime and coastal policies, and contributes to the production of knowledge on these issues in collaboration with national research laboratories.

Our team

FREDERICK HERPERS

Consultant - CEO

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Frédérick has more than 20 years of experience as a project manager and consultant on technical, strategic and political issues related to the sea and the coast. After working in hydrography, meteorology and oceanography for civilian and military purposes (SHOM, DGA), and then as an advisor to the Prime Minister within the General Secretariat for the Sea (France) during the development of the National Strategy for the Sea and the Coast, he joined SML in 2014, and then took over the management in 2019. A keen analyst and connoisseur of the maritime world and its players, Frédérick brings his expertise to bear on all our clients and ensures the overall consistency of our actions.

CLEMENT DUPONT

Consultant - Geographer

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After training as an agricultural engineer, and a Master's degree in Expertise and Management of the Coastal Environment. Clément joined the SML crew in 2016. In order to refine his maritime expertise, he completed a PhD in Geography between 2017 and 2021, applied to Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP), while keeping a foot in the company's numerous projects. Rigorous in his work, but a relaxed communicator, Clément is also in charge of the website you are browsing.

EMILIE RICLET

Consultant

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Emilie joins the team in 2019 after completing her Master's degree in "Concertation et Territoires en Transition" at Sciences Po Rennes. Her knowledge of political science and sociology, particularly in the field of territorial engineering, will strengthen our skills in the implementation of public policies and territorial governance. Dynamic and always positive, she puts her creative spirit at the service of SML, in particular by looking after our visibility on the networks.

PIERRE-MAËL DEFFONTAINES

Consultant

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Trained in public policy and international relations (Sciences-Po Rennes) and in Integrated Coastal Zone Management (Université du littoral Côte d'Opale), Pierre-Maël joins the SML team in 2023. His professional experience combines support for research and innovation, management of international and local projects, and the sustainable development of maritime activities. He contributes to the work carried out by SML through his multi-disciplinary and multi-scalar approach to issues relating to the blue economy.

CHRISTOPHE
LE VISAGE

Creator - Mentor

After having devoted himself fully to the creation and development of Stratégies Mer et Littoral since 2010, and then having assembled a team capable of taking over the torch, Christophe has -officially- retired in 2019. However, his experience, skills and philosophy continue to permeate the company's work, sometimes very directly.

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