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Launched in 2010 by the Grenelle II Act and formally established in 2011 by Decree No. 2011-829 of July 11, 2011, the completion of a greenhouse gas emissions report has just been amended by regulation (decree of December 24, 2015, and orders of January 25, 2016). This is therefore an opportunity to review the regulations currently in effect.
Organizations subject to greenhouse gas emissions reporting
The greenhouse gas emissions report applies to:
- Companies(1) with more than 500 employees(2) in mainland France (250 employees in overseas territories),
- Local authorities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, as well as other legal entities under public law employing more than 250 people.
(1) Definition of a company
The text explicitly refers to legal entities. This implies that a company with multiple establishments must, if it falls under the scope, aggregate the headcount of all its various establishments located in France.
Definition of a corporate group
Since January 1st January 2016 (amendment introduced by Decree No. 2015-1738 of December 24, 2015), corporate groups are now permitted to prepare a consolidated GHG emissions report.
Article R. 229-46 of the Environmental Code now specifies that group committees (a group formed by a parent company with its registered office in France and the companies it controls) whose companies share the same 2-digit NAF code may prepare a single consolidated greenhouse gas emissions report.
(2) Calculating headcount
Headcount must be calculated according to the rules defined in Article L.1111-2 of the Labor Code. In addition to permanent employees (CDI), temporary staff, fixed-term contract employees (CDD), or staff made available by an external company must be included in the company's headcount, proportional to their time present during the previous 12 months, unless they are replacing a temporarily absent employee. Furthermore, part-time employees, regardless of their employment contract, must be counted on a pro-rata basis according to their working hours.
Greenhouse gases covered
Since February 5, 2016, the gases covered are as follows:
- carbon dioxide (CO2);
- methane (CH4);
- nitrous oxide (N2O);
- hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs);
- perfluorocarbons (PFCs);
- sulfur hexafluoride (SF6);
- nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
This list was established by the Order of August 24, 2011. However, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) has been newly added to the list of gases to be included (Order of January 25, 2016, regarding greenhouse gases covered by greenhouse gas emissions reports, which entered into force on February 5, 2016).
Note: Greenhouse gas emissions reports due from July 1, 2016, onwards must include nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
Frequency of greenhouse gas emissions reporting
The initial report was due by December 31, 2012. It must be updated at least every 4 years. This frequency was previously 3 years; the decree (No. 2015-1738 of December 24, 2015) changed it to 4 years, primarily to align with the frequency of energy audits.
In practical terms, using 2012 as a reference, the reporting years are 2012, 2015, 2019, 2023, and so on.
Reporting year concept
The reporting year is the year for which activity data is collected to establish the GHG emissions report. Regulations do not specify that this year must necessarily correspond to a calendar year.
To track emission trends over time and measure the effectiveness of their actions, companies may choose a base year other than the reporting year (from the year 2000 onwards). The GHG emissions report for this base year must be recalculated in the event of a change in the legal entity's organizational scope or a change in the GHG emission assessment methodology.
Furthermore, any company not previously subject to the requirement that exceeds the 500-employee threshold as of December 31 of a calendar year must have completed its first report by December 31 of the following year, and subsequently update it every 4 years.
Content of a Greenhouse Gas report
The report must include:
- an assessment of the volume of GHG emissions(2), expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent, distinguishing between direct emissions (sources linked to the company's activity) and indirect emissions (sources linked to energy use);
- the objectives and actions for emission reduction, categorized by direct and indirect emission types.
Procedures for the communication and publication of GHG reports
Until the end of 2015, companies were required to submit their GHG reports to the prefect electronically and publish them on their websites. From now on, the submission and publication of GHG reports must be carried out via an IT platform managed by theADEME.
Certain information is mandatory, while other information is optional. Naturally, this site is secure and includes the necessary access restrictions to protect data confidentiality. The DREAL have read-only access to all content in the application regarding reports from legal entities within their region. As for visitors, they have read-only access to the application's content, with the exception of the contact details of the person responsible for the report, should the filer choose to keep them private.
The order of January 25, 2016, regarding the IT platform for the submission of greenhouse gas emissions reports defines all the rules pertaining to this platform.
Key regulatory references
- Environmental Code - Articles L. 229-25 to L. 229-26: Greenhouse gas emissions assessment and territorial climate-energy plan
- Environmental Code - Articles R. 229-45 to R. 229-56: Greenhouse gas emissions assessment and territorial climate-energy plan
- Order of January 25, 2016, regarding the greenhouse gases covered by greenhouse gas emissions assessments
- Order of January 25, 2016, regarding the digital platform for the submission of greenhouse gas emissions assessments