The French tertiary decree explained

Article published in October 2022 about French regulations. Check the deadlines and procedures currently in force.

What is the tertiary decree?

The “tertiary decree” (décret no. 2019-771) was published in July 2019. It aims to control and reduce energy consumption in buildings used for service-sector activities in France.

Two routes are available to reach the reduction target:

1. A relative target: cutting consumption by at least 40% to 60% between 2030 and 2050 compared with a reference year (chosen between 2010 and 2019).

2. An absolute target: a value set for each category of activity, taking intensity-of-use indicators into account. The values are set by order before the start of each decade and must be met at each milestone (2030, 2040, 2050).

Who is concerned?

The decree applies to all buildings or groups of buildings with a floor area of 1,000 m² or more used for service-sector activities. The obligation to reduce energy consumption applies to both landlords and tenants.

Three categories of buildings are excluded:

• buildings with a temporary building permit;
• buildings or parts of buildings used for worship;
• buildings or parts of buildings used for defence, civil protection or internal security operations.

What are the penalties?

If the targets are not met without justification, fines can reach €1,500 for individuals and €7,500 for legal entities, and the names of those concerned can be published online (“name and shame”).

How is compliance monitored?

ADEME set up the OPERAT platform to report all the information needed to monitor the decree. Each year, the platform issues a digital certificate of consumption adjusted for climate variations, showing where each building stands against its targets.

How can the obligations be met?

1. Improve the building’s energy performance through work on the envelope (insulation, windows, solar protection).
2. Install efficient equipment (heating, hot water, lighting, cooling) and active control and management systems.
3. Optimise how equipment is operated (operating contracts with performance targets, close monitoring).
4. Adapt premises to energy-efficient use and encourage occupants to adopt responsible behaviour.

How LUNAAR can help

• administrative follow-up and data entry on ADEME’s OPERAT platform;
• technical audits to analyse your energy consumption and identify actions;
• analysis of the public support you may be eligible for;
• implementation and monitoring of energy-efficiency projects;
• setting up energy performance contracts.

To find out more, contact us at contact@lunaar.io.

Source: French Ministry for the Ecological Transition.