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Act No. 2023-973 of October 23, 2023, known as the Green Industry Act, aims to accelerate the ecological transition and industrial decarbonization, while defining the national strategy for green industry for the 2023-2030 period.
This act addresses several key issues, including:
- the establishment and development of strategic sectors;
- the commitments expected from all stakeholders, particularly regarding the reduction of environmental impacts;
- the energy requirements for industrial development, especially those resulting from the electrification of processes.
This act is structured around several main pillars.
Facilitating and accelerating industrial site development
The Green Industry Act includes measures to accelerate site development, notably by modifying the review process for projects subject to environmental authorization.
Under this framework, the review of an environmental authorization application, once deemed complete and compliant, now takes place in two phases instead of three. The examination and consultation phases are now conducted in parallel. This measure reduces the theoretical timeline for the environmental authorization procedure.
It is also worth noting the modernization of the public participation format for projects subject to environmental authorization. It is no longer a public inquiry, but a specific consultation tailored to this type of project.
Finally, due to the parallelization of the examination and consultation phases, the three-month maximum duration previously set for the examination phase for renewable energy production projects located in acceleration zones has been removed.
Encouraging the rehabilitation of brownfield sites
This act also aims to facilitate the rehabilitation of brownfield sites for industrial use.
In this context, it is now specified that in the absence of an agreement between the operator and the local urban planning authorities, the usage selected to determine the required state of the site must be comparable to that of the facilities for which authorization or registration is requested.
At the same time, it is now possible to activate the "third-party applicant" procedure prior to the cessation of operations. A "third-party applicant" can now request authorization from the departmental state representative in advance to substitute for the operator in the event of a future cessation of activity. Similarly, a "third-party applicant" may request to substitute for the operator to carry out all or part of the site safety measures (the first step of cessation), in addition to rehabilitation.
Furthermore, to improve the efficiency of funding site restoration after operations cease, the requirement to provide financial guarantees for certain classified facilities subject to the ICPE registration or authorization regime has been removed. It is replaced by targeted measures for cases of illegal operation and judicial liquidation.
Strengthening of certain sanctions
In parallel with these measures, the Green Industry Act strengthens certain penalties. These concern:
- the operation of facilities or structures, the execution of works, operations, activities, or developments... without having obtained the required authorization, registration, approval, certification, or declaration. In this context, the competent administrative authority may now order the payment of an administrative fine of up to €45,000, either through the same act as the formal notice or through a separate act.
It may also, at any time, in order to ensure the full execution of the measures taken, order the payment of a daily penalty of up to €4,500 and, in addition to the penalty, impose an administrative fine of up to €45,000;
- non-compliance with regulations regarding waste prevention and management. The following is now punishable by up to four years of imprisonment and a fine of €150,000:
- abandoning, depositing, or causing waste to be deposited under conditions contrary to regulations;
- handing over or causing waste to be handed over to anyone other than the operator of an authorized facility, ...
- the illicit cross-border transfer of waste. The amount of the administrative fine may reach up to five times the cost of treating the waste involved in the illicit transfer. The fine can now be issued up to three years after the illicit transfer is discovered.
- failure to prepare or submit a greenhouse gas emissions report. Consequently, if a company has not prepared or submitted this report, an administrative fine of up to €50,000 is provided, increasing to €100,000 in the event of a repeat offense.
Among the other provisions introduced by the Green Industry Act, note:
- the possibility of postponing the deadline for installing solar carports incorporating renewable energy production processes (link to the "Renewable Energy Act (ENR): what are the impacts on businesses?" page of the HSE blog) for parking lots with an area of more than 10,000 m². An extension may be granted when the manager provides proof of a commitment contract with a deposit by December 31, 2024, at the latest, and a purchase order concluded before December 31, 2025, for photovoltaic panels whose technical and environmental performance, as well as supply resilience, are specified by decree, with installation scheduled before January 1, 2028;
- the possibility for industrial operations that lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, particularly following the relocation of activities, to obtain energy savings certificates;
- the modernization of mechanisms for compensating for damage to biodiversity, through the transformation of natural compensation sites (SNC) into natural restoration and renaturation sites (SNRR).
These provisions will be clarified in the coming months by numerous implementing decrees.
The HSE regulatory monitoring (link to the HSE blog "HSE monitoring" page) provided by Tennaxia offers an exhaustive overview of all these upcoming texts.