MELIA BUILDING (TAVERNY, France) – Stora Enso Partner: Woodeum. Woodeum’s MELIA in a northwestern suburb of Paris has already achieved the 2031 carbon criteria for RE2020, with 498kg CO₂ emitted / usable m². Photo: Epaillard/Machado
Recent environmental building regulations in France are transforming the construction industry. The law, known as RE2020 (or Environmental Regulation 2020), aims to improve the environmental performance of buildings throughout their entire lifecycle, from procurement of raw materials to construction, use of the facility and even the building’s ‘end-of-life.’ Source: Timberbiz
In this way, RE2020 is going way beyond its predecessor (RT2012) and is forcing the construction industry to reduce its carbon footprint. The law is making France a forerunner in decarbonising buildings. The sector accounts for 44% of France’s energy consumption and nearly 25% of the country’s climate-damaging CO2 emissions.
The law, which took effect last year, becomes increasingly stringent in 2025, 2028 and 2031 to ensure emissions go down.
RE2020 applies today to any new offices, residential buildings, and primary and secondary education facilities. Before the end of 2023, the laws will also apply to specific tertiary buildings including hotels, restaurants, retail, and gyms.
Several countries have laws in place to limit carbon emissions on buildings (Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands), but there is no EU law as strong as RE2020. Many parliaments are closely watching France, and assessments of the initial outcomes will likely determine if more countries follow France and adopt similar building legislation.
So, what does this mean for those working in the industry in practical terms? To comply with RE2020, developers must start measuring in areas they haven’t measured before.
It’s broken down broadly into three areas:
- ‘Energy’ relates mainly to the energy consumption required while the building is in operation. This is like the regulations before RE2020, it’s now based on CO2 emissions rather than kilowatt hours. This is referred to as ‘energy carbon impact’ in RE2020.
- ‘Comfort’ refers to the amount of discomfort permitted in hot weather. The regulations limit the maximum indoor temperature a building can reach during five consecutive hot summer days. The RE2020 summer comfort standard will remain the same up to 2031.
- ‘Carbon’ measurements are where things really change. It is now required to measure the climate-change impact of the construction itself, including the building materials and the construction process. This is knownas the construction carbon impact, (IC construction).
To get an accurate measurement, a life cycle analysis (LCA) is required to measure the environmental impact of a building from the moment the raw materials are procured to building material production, right through the building’s operations and even into their waste or re-use when the building is no longer operational. An initial LCA needs to be produced when a developer applies for a construction permit and then detailed information is required when the design is finalized.
What’s particularly interesting about RE2020 is that it requires the LCA to include the timing of building-related emissions. With this so-called dynamic LCA approach, emissions generated earlier in the project are restricted more than future emissions, and the benefit of carbon-storing materials are recognised. These considerations make the choice of materials crucial and sustainable wood increasingly more relevant.
The transition to wood is new for many, which is why the RE2020 laws are not too challenging to start with, as it gives the industry a chance to transform ways of working and developing skill sets. But bio-based materials are going to be required by 2025, and mass-timber products are already an attractive option to meet future objectives.
For an industry traditionally slow to make changes, the RE2020 standards are set to transform the entire French building industry. France may soon haven become the world’s most low-carbon building sector construction industry. But where do you get started in making the transition?
Developers recommend seeking expert advice when it comes to making use of wood as different mass-engineered wooden elements have different qualities.
