EHS and Energy regulatory watch for May 2025

The list below is an extract from the French and European official gazettes concerning the environment, energy and health and safety at work in May 2025.

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ENVIRONMENT

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Updated list of battery-related waste

Commission Decision 2000/532/EC of 3 May 2000 replacing Decision 94/3/EC establishing a list of wastes MODIFIED BY Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2025/934 of 5 March 2025 amending Decision 2000/532/EC in order to update the list of wastes with regard to waste related to batteries [JORF of 2 May 2025].

Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2025/934 of March 5, 2025 amends this decision to update the list of wastes with regard to battery-related waste. This list is updated to bring it into line with Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of July 12, 2023 on batteries and battery waste.

From November 9, 2026 onwards, you must ensure that :

Use the correct waste codes for battery waste in waste registers and, where appropriate, on waste tracking slips;
Draw up waste tracking slips when waste is newly classified as hazardous.

Clarification of who is responsible for the obligation to equip certain parking lots with shading systems incorporating a renewable energy production process, of the possible deferral arrangements and of the calculation of the surface area of the parking lot.

LOI n° 2023-175 du 10 mars 2023 relative à l'accélération de la production d'énergies renouvelables : Articles 4, 28 et 40 MODIFIÉE PAR LOI n° 2025-391 du 30 avril 2025 [JORF du 2 mai 2025]

Law no. 2025-391 of April 30, 2025 clarifies compliance with the obligation to equip parking lots over 1,500 m² with shading systems incorporating a renewable energy production process. As a result :

This obligation, initially borne by the parking lot manager, is now transferred to the owner (except in the case of public service concessions or authorizations to use the public domain, where it is newly specified that this obligation applies to the concessionaire, delegate or authorization holder).
The commitment contract required to benefit from the postponement of the regulatory deadline to January^1, 2028 for parking lots of more than 10,000 m² can be produced by December 31, 2025 (instead of December 31, 2024) at the latest, and the purchase order concluded before June 30, 2026 (instead of December 31, 2025). This postponement allowed compliance with the APER law to be achieved by January^1, 2028, instead of July^1, 2026.
Areas corresponding to lanes and paths used specifically by heavy goods vehicles with a gross vehicle weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes are deducted from the surface area of outdoor parking lots used to calculate the surface area that must be equipped with shading systems incorporating a renewable energy production process.
Finally, a clarification has been made in the case of the conclusion or renewal of a concession or delegation. If the concession or delegation is renewed after July 1, 2026 (instead of July 1, 2028), the obligation to equip 50% of the surface area of the parking lot comes into force on July 1, 2028.

Modification of the lists of woods and forests classified as fire-risk zones and forest areas at lower risk for the purposes of legal brush-clearance obligations

Arrêté du 6 février 2024 classant les bois et forêts exposés au risque d'incendie au titre des articles L. 132-1 et L. 133-1 du code forestier MODIFIÉ PAR Arrêté du 20 mai 2025 [JORF du 31 mai 2025]

As a reminder, this decree lists woods and forests located in departments particularly exposed to fire risk (article 3), as well as woods and forests classified individually when the department is not mentioned (appendix 1).

Lastly, the text lists the woods and forests that are excluded but located in departments particularly exposed to the risk of fire:

forest areas of less than 0.5 hectares in a single block,
other forest areas at lower risk of fire (appendix 2).

The order of May 20, 2025 replaces the appendices used to determine liability for legal brush clearance obligations.

With regard to Appendix 1, numerous woods and forests have been added in the following departments: Cher, Côtes d'Armor, Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Finistère, Indre, Jura, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret, Maine-et-Loire, Morbihan and Sarthe.

With regard to Appendix 2, a large number of woods and forests have been newly excluded in the following départements: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Drôme and Hérault.

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ENERGY

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Modification of criteria for energy audits, implementation of an energy management system and new requirement for cost-benefit analysis for large-scale projects

Code de l'énergie Articles L. 233-1 à L. 233-5 : La performance énergétique dans les entreprises (Livre II, Titre III, Chapitre III) AMENDED BY Law no. 2025-391 of April 30, 2025 containing various provisions adapting to European Union law in the fields of economics, finance, the environment, energy, transport, health and the movement of persons [JORF of May 2, 2025].

Law no. 2025-391 of April 30, 2025, known as the "DDADUE Law", modifies the criteria for requiring legal entities registered in the trade and companies register, as well as certain non-trading legal entities under private law, to implement an energy management system or audit.

From now on, the new criteria will be established on the basis of the average annual final energy consumption of these companies, and no longer on the basis of balance sheet, sales or headcount. As a result, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may be required to implement an energy management system (EMS) or carry out an energy audit based on their consumption.

From now on :

The implementation of an EMS is mandatory for legal entities registered in the Trade and Companies Register, as well as for certain legal entities under private law whose average annual final energy consumption is equal to or greater than 23.6 GWh ;
Energy audits of activities carried out in France are compulsory for the same persons when they have not set up an EMS and their average annual final energy consumption exceeds 2.75 GWh. These audits must be carried out every 4 years.

This obligation is accompanied by new obligations (action plan to be published in the company's annual report, transmission of information on the implementation of these obligations to the authorities, declaration of annual final energy consumption when it exceeds 2.75 GWh).

In addition, all operators are required to carry out a prior cost-benefit analysis of the economic feasibility of improving the energy efficiency of the heat and cooling supply when this concerns a project for the creation of a large-scale modification involving :

A thermal power generation facility with a capacity of more than 10 MW;
An industrial facility with a capacity of more than 8 MW;
A service facility with a capacity of more than 7 MW ;
A data center with a capacity of over 1 MW.

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Energy performance of public organizations

Code de l'énergie Articles L. 235-1 à L. 235-4 : La performance énergétique des organismes publics (Livre II, Titre III, Chapitre V) CREATED BY Law no. 2025-391 of April 30, 2025 [JORF of May 2, 2025].

Law no. 2025-391 of April 30, 2025 introduced new energy performance obligations for public bodies. Public bodies subject to these provisions include the French State, State operators, local authorities and their groupings, as well as public or private entities meeting certain criteria.

From October^1, 2025, they will be required to :

A target of reducing cumulative final energy consumption by at least 1.9% per year compared with their consumption in 2021 , and the transmission of data relating to this annual energy consumption;
A building renovation target of at least 3% per year, with the achievement of a high level of energy performance defined by decree, and the communication of renovation data every two years.
Transmission, every two years, of data relating to the energy performance of buildings. This can be combined with the transmission of data for the previous two obligations.

In the case of the first obligation, however, certain categories are subject to special conditions, in particular local authorities with populations of under 50,000 and 5,000, their groupings and public establishments.

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SAFETY

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Updating of models for fitness notices, unfitness notices, individual health monitoring certificates and proposed workstation adjustments for workers in the agricultural sector, including seasonal workers and employees of temporary work agencies or employer groups.

Arrêté du 20 décembre 2017 fixant le modèle d'avis d'aptitude, d'avis d'inaptitude, d'attestation de suivi individuel de l'état de santé et de proposition de mesures d'aménagement de poste MODIFIÉ PAR Arrêté du 5 mai 2025 modifiant l'arrêté du 20 décembre 2017 fixant le modèle d'avis d'aptitude, d'avis d'inaptitude, d'attestation de suivi individuel de l'état de santé et de proposition de mesures d'aménagement de poste [JORF du 14 mai 2025]

In order to take into account the changes brought about by Law no. 2021-1018 of August 2, 2021 to strengthen occupational health prevention, the order of May 5, 2025 updates the models for aptitude notices, unfitness notices, individual health monitoring certificates and proposed workstation adjustment measures for workers covered by the agricultural scheme, including seasonal workers, employees of temporary work companies or employer groups.