Greenhouse gas emissions assessment: a look back

Companies with over 500 employees must publish their GHG emissions report every 3 years. The next deadline is the end of 2015, in conjunction with COP 21.

Marie Faucon
Consultante HSE
Publication : 
01.08.2015
Table of Contents
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Please note: This article concerns French legislation. The requirements described may not apply in other countries.

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Remember, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions report had to be completed by December 31, 2012, and submitted electronically to the prefect of the region where the company's headquarters or main establishment was located. Since this report must be made public and updated at least every three years, its second edition must be published no later than December 31, 2015.

This second publication takes on special significance in 2015, as France, host of COP 21 (Paris Climate 2015), emphasizes the importance of leading by example. With this in mind, the Comité 21, in partnership with the Club France Développement Durable, has launched "Solutions COP 21" to showcase the concrete actions and climate solutions implemented by businesses.

Greenhouse gas emissions report

Companies are called upon to play an active role in the fight against climate change by reducing their environmental impact, particularly their greenhouse gas emissions.

bilan des émissions GES

Émissions gaz à effet de serre 2012 France

In this context, Decree No. 2011-829 of July 11, 2011, regarding greenhouse gas emissions reports and territorial climate-energy plans, outlines the entities required to produce a GHG report:

  • private legal entities (*) employing more than 500 people (more than 250 people in overseas territories),
  • regions, departments, metropolitan areas, urban communities, agglomeration communities, and municipalities or community of municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants,
  • public legal entities employing more than 250 people, and the State.

It also defines the content of GHG emissions reports and the two scopes that the report must cover:

  • direct emissions and,
  • indirect emissions from the use of electricity, heat, or steam.

The decree also specifies the procedures for making GHG assessments available and public. It establishes a national coordination center that will define the scope of emissions and the key methodological choices required for preparing these assessments. Any entity, whether private or public, not subject to the mandatory GHG assessment (BEGES) can, of course, conduct a voluntary one, which is encouraged by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Organizational Social Responsibility (OSR) initiatives to reduce their environmental impact while ensuring the improvement of social and societal impacts.

(*) : The GHG assessment for private legal entities must be established according to the entity's organizational scope: financial control (the organization consolidates 100% of the emissions from facilities over which it exercises financial control) or operational control (the organization consolidates 100% of the emissions from facilities over which it exercises operational control).

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