Commitments for sustainable buildings - Sustainable Building Plan – France GBC

About the Sustainable Building Plan

Launched in 2009 by the public authorities and chaired by the lawyer Philippe Pelletier, the Sustainable Building Plan brings together at the French level the stakeholders involved in energy transition of the building and real estate sectors. The Sustainable Building Plan is working closely with national and local stakeholders and ensures the implementation of all the initiatives in favour of the energy transition of the sector. The Sustainable Building Plan is a witness to the increasing commitment of the stakeholders. By joining the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, the Sustainable Building Plan is promoting the French experience in energy transition of the building sector.

These commitments aim at encouraging international collaboration and at presenting the French initiatives for sustainable building.

About France GBC

France GBC is the French member of the international organisation World Green Building Council (World GBC) bringing together over 100 local GBCs. France GBC is an association wishing to be a leading force at a national level, creating a positive dynamic supporting the development of sustainable construction, renovation and urban planning.

 

General objectives/Strategy

- The Sustainable Building Plan will carry on mobilizing all the sector’s actors to foster the achievement of energy and environmental transition objectives in the building sector, which are enshrined in the law, particularly:

• To speed up the  buildings energy renovation in housing with an objective of 500 000 major refurbishments per year, in order reduce fuel poverty by 15 % in 2020 ;
• To aim for a low energy consumption housing stock by 2050 ;
• To aim for the renovation of the most energy intensive dwellings by 2025 

 - A follow-up of these general objectives and of the deployment of the related tools will be implemented with the support of all stakeholders and consultation bodies.

 - This strategy deployment will take place with the support of all territorial actors, public and private, with a particular mobilization of the Sustainable Building Plan’s regional chapters.

 - To encourage building design in relation with the needs of the territory and the inhabitants

 - To foster  innovation and R&D in favour of a responsible buildings and sustainable cities

 

Quality signs for buildings and professionals

 - To encourage the search of quality signs, labels (voluntary or regulatory) and certifications to assess energy and environmental ambitions of buildings

-To promote French quality signs internationally and in particular the most recognized and representative including HQE for the sustainable buildings, urban planning and infrastructures

 - To speed up the deployment of the « RGE » qualification which recognizes the skills of energy efficiency and renewable energy professionals.

 

Construction

- To aim for energy exemplary nature of public buildings of the State and the local authorities through energy positive buildings with high environmental performance every time it is possible

- To encourage the real estate sector during the two following years to build exemplary buildings in order to benefit from the feedbacks to design the future frameworks for energy and environmental standards

 - To include life-cycle indicators in the future regulation, including one for carbon footprint

 - To aim by 2050 at better consideration of quality indicators for future buildings, for instance biodiversity, health, air quality...

 - To encourage quality architecture and public spaces in which people will enjoy living over time

 

Renovation of non-residential public and private buildings

- To aim for a decline of at least 60% of final energy consumption for public and private non-residential buildings in 2050.

 - The Sustainable Building Plan promise to pursue the voluntary mobilization of the building and real estate sector through the charter for non-residential and public sector buildings’ energy refurbishment.

 - The Sustainable Building Plan and its partners will look for specific actions with regard to buildings owned by SMEs and education buildings.

 

Housing stock renovation

 - To ensure extension and growth of initiatives fighting fuel poverty

 - To support buildings’ energy refurbishment when there is a mutation.

 - To develop energy renovation of joint ownership properties, for instance through the mobilization of professionals.

 - To support the development of comprehensive renovation solutions and solutions adapted to the big volume of the renovation market

 

Finance and guarantee

-  he Sustainable Building Plan will raise awareness on public financial tools for energy renovation designed for households such as the individual or collective zero-interest-rate eco-loan and the tax credit for energy transition

- The finance professionals already fund energy renovation through the zero-interest-rate eco-loan and other more classic loans. The industry will make a communication effort to deliver very concrete information on existing solutions provided by banks to fund energy renovation works.

- Development of the third-party funding: fund of renovation works and follow-up.

- If need be, new appropriated tools will be studied and implemented in the residential and non-residential sector.

- A transition towards a real energy efficiency guarantee will be sought.

 

Digital transition

- To lead the digital transition of the building and real estate sector in parallel with the energy and environmental transitions

- To foster the development and the appropriation of numerical tools and methods.

- To develop new numerical tools of collaboration and training (as an example MOOCs) in favour of the energy transition.