During the symposium "Legitimate experts for a genuine debate" organised by Orée and the magazine Valeurs Vertes, in November 2005, as part of the French Senate's 10th ecological debates, it became apparent that the traditional process of obtaining an expert opinion did not fully satisfy all the existing expectations. In conclusion to this symposium, Sylvie BENARD, chair of Orée, has highlighted the crucial need to instigate changes in the traditional process of obtaining an expert opinion. To this end, she has suggested the creation of a "cross-functional, multi-player, multi-skills forum open to all" that, for this very reason, will be innovative and independent: a forum for environmental expertise serving a democratic debate that would simultaneously instigate and structure the debate between experts. A working group is currently working on this issue to realise this approach and collect experiences from companies and expertise agencies.