Do you work in a company with more than 500 employees in metropolitan France? Or in a structure of 250 employees in the overseas departments?
Since 2010, you must publish every 4 years, the Greenhouse Gas Emission Balance, known as BEGES, of your company on the ADEME website.
However, the adoption of Decree No. 2022-982 of July 1, 2022 changes the rules of the game, making the regulatory BEGES more demanding and more complete.
Thus, since January 1, 2023, the BEGES has become more ambitious on the accounting of GHG emissions, especially on 4 key points that must be known absolutely to remain in compliance and avoid penalties.
1. Indirect emissions accounting made mandatory
Until now, only direct emissions (scope 1) and emissions due to energy consumption (scope 2) were mandatory in the BEGES framework.
From now on, with the entry into force of the new decree, the organizations concerned by the BEGES must integrate their significant indirect emissions (Scope 3) in their GHG accounts.
Indirect Scope 3 emissions are often overlooked because they are more complex to account for, yet they are often the most significant category of emissions in companies' carbon footprints.
In some sectors, such as manufacturing, 80 to 90% of company emissions are attributable to scopes 3 and more specifically to purchasing.
Finally, this evolution of the BEGES only reinforces the already very strategic position of purchasing within companies. Integrating rigorous carbon criteria, in addition to existing socio-economic and environmental criteria, into responsible purchasing strategies will become a necessity for many companies.
What are "significant indirect emissions"?
Significant indirect emissions include Scope 2 emissions associated with energy and Scope 3 emissions associated with transportation and products purchased and sold.
These significant indirect emissions must be identified by the companies, based on a methodology and precise criteria. Among which the size criterion must be preponderant, representing at least 80% of your indirect emissions. The 5 other criteria are optional:
- level of influence,
- strategic importance and vulnerability,
- sector-specific guidelines,
- subcontracting,
- staff commitment,
2. New requirement for a transition plan
The second major evolution of the BEGES concerns the actionability of the carbon footprint.
From now on, the companies concerned by the BEGES will have to carry out a "transition plan" composed of :
- an assessment of past actions,
- medium and long term objectives,
- an action plan with quantified expected reductions for each scope.
This new measure aims to encourage companies to implement a comprehensive, precise and actionable carbon strategy . This is a major evolution for organizations that must move from a "reporting" vision to a "steering" vision.
This change should lead to profound transformations in companies' activities, with carbon becoming an essential steering criterion.
3. Consolidation of the carbon balance facilitated
The new BEGES decree facilitates the production of a carbon footprint for subsidiaries of the same group.
From now on, the legal entity (SIREN) can more easily, and in accordance with the provisions of article L. 233-16 of the French Commercial Code, consolidate within its GHG emissions report the reports of all or some of its establishments (SIRET).
Indeed, the condition requiring companies of the same group to share the same NAF level II code to consolidate their Greenhouse Gas Balance has been lifted.
Unfortunately, several limitations remain. In particular for groups with foreign subsidiaries, which can only consolidate their BEGES with companies that are on French soil.
4. Stronger penalties for failure to comply with the GHG Scheme
Finally, the last point to remember concerns the fines applied, which have been revised upwards.
From now on, companies that fail to comply with the BEGES regulations will have to pay €10,000 or €20,000 in the case of a repeat offence. An amount almost 7 times higher than the previous version of the BEGES which provided for a fine of 1 500€.
Conclusion: how to get up to date with the new BEGES regulatory requirements?
As you can see, the new BEGES obligations are part of France's decarbonisation strategy, in line with international regulations that are becoming increasingly demanding in the face of the climate emergency.
Thus, to be up to date with the regulations is nowadays the minimum to avoid sanctions and especially not to lose competitiveness.
You want to make sure that your company is able to meet the requirements of the new BEGES? Get in touch with the Traace team.
Sources
1. https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/decret-bilan-des-emissions-gaz-effet-serre-beges
2. https://bilans-ges.ademe.fr/
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