Many executives discover France’s tertiary energy decree through a letter from their landlord or a reminder from the OPERAT platform. The question always comes in the same form: « does it apply to us? ». Short answer: if you rent offices in a building whose tertiary floor area exceeds 1,000 m², very probably yes, even if your own floor is much smaller. Long answer, and good news: there is a simple way out of the subject altogether.
Does it apply to you? The rules, plainly
The « Éco Énergie Tertiaire » scheme (decree 2019-771, known as the tertiary decree) requires tertiary buildings to cut energy consumption: -40% by 2030, -50% by 2040, -60% by 2050 against a reference year, or to reach an absolute value set by ministerial order. What surprises people:
- The 1,000 m² threshold applies to the building or site, not to your own floor. Renting 250 m² in a 5,000 m² office building: in scope.
- The obligation binds owners and tenants alike, each for the actions within their control: the lease splits the burden.
- Every year, consumption must be declared on OPERAT, the state platform run by ADEME. Forgetting exposes you to formal notice, public name-and-shame listing, then a fine.
In other words: years of meter readings, targets to steer, works to negotiate with your landlord. For an SME, that is a real workload, with zero value for your clients.
In coworking, the obligation changes hands
Move the same team into a coworking space and the picture changes entirely: you are no longer the tenant of a tertiary floor area, you are the client of a service. Tracking the site’s energy, filing declarations, arbitrating works: that is the operator’s job. Your team moves in, and the file drops off your list.
Provided, of course, that the operator actually does the job. Which is where we like to show our numbers.
Where Zecoworking stands against the targets
The order of 24 November 2020 sets the 2030 absolute value for standard offices at 107 kWh/m² per year in final energy (climate zone H1a, which covers Courbevoie). Our metered intensity, common areas included, is 61.9 kWh/m²:
Zecoworking versus the 2030 target, kWh/m² per year
Final energy. Zecoworking: 2025 metered, space + share of common areas.
We are therefore already 42% below the target the regulation sets offices for 2030, with consumption still down 9.1% over the last 12 months. How? Heat-recovery ventilation, presence-controlled lighting, per-office air conditioning: the full method is in our dedicated article, and the market comparison in « Is coworking really greener? ».
What we suggest you do
- If you keep a traditional lease: check your building’s total tertiary floor area, re-read the clause splitting obligations in your lease, and make sure someone files on OPERAT every 30 September.
- If you would rather it stopped being your problem: choose a space that publishes its consumption, not just its intentions. The 7 proofs to demand give you the checklist.
Our private offices in Courbevoie are 10 minutes from La Défense, with no long commitment, and with energy tracking we carry on your behalf. Book a visit: we will even show you the meter.