All about this law that can save you money!
Who is concerned ? Which companies are affected by this Decree?
The energy audit must be carried out by companies corresponding to one of the following two criteria:
- More than 250 employees in the workforce
- A turnover of more than 50 million euros per year and a balance sheet total of more than 43 million euros
It is possible to be exempted from the energy audit. Only if the company has already set up a corresponding international management system that complies with the ISO500001 standard .
Note that the energy management system (ISO 14001 standard) is not sufficient.
For each of these standards, the part dedicated to energy audits must be demonstrated for the exemption to work, otherwise it will be refuted.
The ISO 50001 standard defines a framework of requirements so that organizations can:
- Develop a policy for more efficient use of energy
- Establish targets and objectives to achieve this policy
- Use data to better understand energy use and consumption and inform decisions
- Effectively measure results
- Monitoring the effectiveness of the policy
- Continuous evolution of energy management
What scope for the audit?
The main factor to consider is defined in the energy bill. The audit must therefore cover at least 80% of the amount paid for energy bills (gas and electricity) by the entity concerned.
2 important points:
- Water is not to be taken into account in this audit
- The energy consumption of any subcontractors is not to be counted.
What is the deadline for carrying out this energy audit?
For the audit to meet the requirements of the European directive, all large companies had to carry out the energy audit for the first time before 5 December 2015. These companies will have to repeat the audit within 4 years .
They have the obligation to call on a qualified and/or approved independent expert such as Clever Energies (put link on the contact page of the site). This may be an external service provider with a qualification, or a technical referent internal to the company who can demonstrate approved competence. The criteria and conditions for the qualification of service providers as well as the skills required are detailed in the decree and order of November 24, 2014.
The completion of the energy audit ends with the preparation of various documents, in particular a definition of the scope audited, a summary of the energy audit report, a copy of the valid certificate of conformity (issued by the certifying body) as well as an audit report. Everything, including all certifications, must be submitted to the regional prefect. If sent electronically, the full audit report must be attached. Audit reports must be kept for a minimum of 8 years .
If a breach of this obligation is found, what are the penalties?
Companies that do not submit to the energy audit incur a penalty. This can amount to 2% of the turnover (excl. VAT) corresponding to the last closed financial year, or even 4% in the event of a new violation of this obligation.
These sanctions are described in article L233-4 of the energy code.
Sources: https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/audit-energetique-des-grandes-entreprises
