Who’s concerned?
Owners and, where applicable, tenants of buildings housing commercial or non-commercial tertiary activities with a floor area equal to or greater than 1,000 m². Temporary structures, places of worship and buildings used for defense, civil protection or internal security are exempt. On the other hand, historic monuments are covered, provided that energy-saving measures do not alter their character. So a museum, a hospital, a university, a bank, a shop, a town hall or a gymnasium… and even the AFNOR head office in Saint-Denis fall within the scope of the decree.
Are all surfaces under 1,000 m² exempt?
If you occupy a smaller premises, you won’t be concerned… unless your tertiary activity is carried out in a building shared with other service-providing organizations, and all together you occupy a floor area of over 1,000 m².
You should also be aware that if service activities cease in a given building, you remain subject to the obligation, even if the cumulative surface area falls below 1,000 m². And if, after the cessation, others join you, they’ll be subject to the same rules as you!
I own several buildings. Can I share the effort?
Yes. This allows you to focus on specific buildings that you consider to have high potential for reducing impacts and enhancing their heritage value. The decree states that ” to verify compliance with targets, those subject to the obligation may pool results across all or part of their assets subject to the obligation”.
My company does not operate in the tertiary sector as defined by INSEE, but it does have offices. Does this apply to me?
Yes, this is the case for companies engaged in industrial or agricultural activities that are large enough to own offices ” for tertiary use” of over 1,000 m², such as a head office.
This means that certain large industrial sites with offices, laboratories, storage areas or warehouses will be specifically concerned, as the decree specifies that “. The owners or lessees of buildings located on the same land unit or on a site when these buildings house a tertiary activity with a combined surface area of more than 1,000 m² are liable.
Obligation of means or obligation of results?
First and foremost, it is an obligation to achieve results, worded as follows: to reduce end-use energy consumption by at least 40% by 2030, 50% by 2040 and 60% by 2050, compared with a reference consumption of 2010 or later. The text provides for a second option: to achieve an absolute level of final energy consumption by these deadlines, based on the energy consumption of new buildings in the same category.
The obligation of means comes into play in the event of recourse to one or more modulations, other than that linked solely to the volume of activity: a technical file presenting the justifications for this or these modulations must then be prepared and made available to the administration.
What actions can I take?
The law calls for ” actions to reduce final energy consumption ” to be implemented. The decree specifies that these actions go beyond material measures on building energy performance (actions on the envelope, which are often quite costly), and opportunely cites other levers: the installation of efficient equipment and devices for monitoring and actively managing their performance, equipment operating methods, adapting premises to energy-efficient use and occupant behavior. An energy management system that complies with the voluntary ISO 50001 standard makes it possible to mobilize all these different levers in a coordinated way within an organization. Lastly, since these regulations are designed to meet our climate commitments, the decree stipulates that, during renovation work, the change of energy type must not worsen the level of greenhouse gas emissions.
Reduce my energy consumption, but in relation to what?
In relation to a ” reference energy consumption ” observed over a full year of operation, which cannot be prior to 2010, and adjusted for climatic data according to a method defined in an order dated April 10, 2020. For example, this could be the last known annual energy consumption, including the day before any work was carried out after that date. Organizations that have implemented energy-saving measures before 2010 will prefer the law’s second option, which is to achieve the energy consumption of new buildings in their category.
What is the contribution of an energy audit to this decree?
The energy audit consists of analyzing your energy usage to identify potential energy savings and prioritize them according to various criteria: payback time, productivity gains, maintenance, GHG reduction, comfort, etc. In addition to identifying potential savings, an important output of the audit is the definition of a baseline energy situation, against which actual improvements will be measured. It’s an indispensable tool for defining your roadmap. Have you already had an energy audit carried out in line with EN 16247 methodology, either voluntarily or because you are subject to the four-yearly regulatory energy audit required by the European Energy Efficiency Directive? This is a valuable contribution to meeting the tertiary sector decree.
What if my action plan is too expensive?
If the energy audit establishes that the costs of the actions are disproportionate, the law provides for a modulation of the final consumption reduction targets. The decree specifies that this modulation must be based on technical and financial arguments. This can very well be provided by an energy audit carried out by a qualified professional. The technical file justifying the modulation is made available to the agents responsible for inspection, in this case the agents of the prefecture responsible for the location of the buildings.
When and to whom are we accountable?
Owners and lessors will have to declare the energy consumption of the buildings for which they are responsible on an annual basis, on a ” digital data collection and monitoring platform “, the operator of which will be designated by decree. It is planned that this operator will beADEME. Taxable persons can delegate this operation to a service provider or to energy distribution network operators. In addition to the nature of the activities carried out and the surface areas concerned, annual energy consumption data by type of energy must be submitted every year from 2021 onwards, and by September 30 at the latest for the previous year.
How can I track my progress year after year?
If you’re committed to an ISO 50001 management approach, you’re already equipped if your energy management system covers the perimeter of your assets concerned by the decree. All you have to do is declare the data requested in point 10 and align your effort with the decree’s objectives. If you haven’t set up an ISO 50001 management system, coupling the energy audit with a plan for measuring and verifying the energy savings generated by your action plan is a good way of organizing yourself for the long term. The decree imposes, de facto, annual monitoring of consumption and the trajectory of energy savings, and a “snapshot” of the situation in 2030 to verify that the -40% target has been reached. For subsequent periods (2030-2040, 2040-2050), the exercise will have to be repeated.
My company is ISO 50001 certified. How can I add value to my approach?
If you’re committed to an ISO 50001 management approach, you’re already equipped to report on your energy consumption, monitor your energy performance and identify priority actions: you’re one step ahead. This will make your energy manager’s job easier.
What do I risk if I do nothing?
Above all, you risk damaging your reputation and your organization’s commitment to society! The legislator has listened to what stakeholders have to say, and has introduced penalties for non-compliance that are essentially based on making players accountable, rather than on exorbitant fines.
- If you fail to do so, your identity will be published on a government services website, following the ” name and shame” practice.
- If the consumption data is not transmitted, the relevant prefect can issue a formal notice to do so, and you will have three months to comply with this obligation, failing which you will be identified on a government services website.
- If, without justification, you fail to meet the consumption reduction targets set out in the decree, the prefect may ask you to submit an action plan within six months, with a timetable and financing plan for achieving your targets. If this deadline is not met, the owner and, where applicable, the tenant, will be notified individually and will be required (within three months) to submit their action plan to the authorities, failing which they will be identified on a government website. It is only following failure to comply with the second formal notice that an administrative fine can be requested: up to €1,500 for individuals and up to €7,500 for corporate bodies.
- If you fail to comply with the action plan approved by the authorities, a procedure will be initiated at the end of which the Prefect may impose an administrative fine of the same amount as above.
Why such a measure for commercial buildings?
The fact is that in France, the building sector is still the most energy-intensive and the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases: 45% of national consumption and 27% of emissions. Along with transport, it would be the main culprit in France’s failure to meet its carbon budgets over the 2015-2018 period(draft national low-carbon strategy, December 2018). For this reason, the government has made its renovation a priority and published the national energy renovation plan for buildings in early 2018.
Commercial buildings are at the heart of this plan for the following reason: although they make a relatively modest contribution to French energy demand and emissions (respectively 15% of demand and 7.4% of emissions, key figures 2018, ADEME, November 2018), their final energy consumption rose steadily throughout the 2000s, before stabilizing in 2011. The draft multi-year energy plan (February 2019) even states that, adjusted for climatic variations, the sector’s consumption fell by 2% in 2016, due, a priori, to actions taken on existing buildings and the good performance of new constructions. It is therefore essential to continue our efforts to maintain this downward trend, by continuing to renovate more and better. This would mark a reversal of the trend seen in the 2000s and would enable us to meet our climate objectives.
What next?
Article 175 of the ELAN law of November 23, 2018 and the decree of July 23, 2019 set operational milestones for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the tertiary sector. These texts will be supplemented in autumn 2019 by a decree and an accompanying guide. AFNOR Energies is closely monitoring the development of these texts.
