FAQ

Carbon Assessment (Bilan Carbone®)

L 'ADEME (French Agency for Environment and Energy Management) said that any human activity whatsoever, directly or indirectly generates greenhouse gas emissions: any company, administrative activity or association can legitimately be interested in the emissions they generate. According to it, to act, it is necessary to establish a balance sheet to know its space for maneuver.

ADEME has developed a diagnostic tool called "Bilan Carbone®". It is an accounting method for greenhouse gas emissions for any organization, industrial or tertiary companies, public administration, communities or territory.

ADEME specifies the evolution of the “Bilan Carbone®” :

Coupled with the rarefaction of fossil energy resources, the problem of the greenhouse effect is at the heart of numerous environmental, economic and social concerns. All business sectors are concerned. It is therefore very important, as well as for companies as for institutions and ultimately for citizens, to anticipate these changes with an evaluation tool of emissions, easy to access and to use for everybody.

The “Bilan Carbone®” evaluates the economic vulnerability of the economic actors

Recognized by its users to help achieving reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the “Bilan Carbone®” can nevertheless evaluate the cost and impact of rising fossil energy on the activity and operation and becomes a real tool of decision and anticipation of these economic constraints. Thus, with this method it is possible to approach an assessment of the economic impact of a barrel of oil of more than 150 US dollars, for example, under the structure of cost of the studied activity or to simulate introduction effects of a tax on carbon emissions. At the beginning the evaluation tool of GHG emissions, the “Bilan Carbone®” becomes an indispensable means to control and anticipate the impact of carbon and its consequences on the activity of the company, organization or concerned territory.

The “Bilan Carbone®” is an evolutionary and accessible tool for a great number: To meet the diversity of actors and approaches, the “Bilan Carbone®” exists already in 3 modules: companies, communities and territories. Being a “living” tool, the “Bilan Carbone®” is regularly updated and completed in terms of emissions data, expanded in its use of new targets and regularly endowed with new functions. The next evolution of the tool will offer new features such as the “Bilan Carbone® Campus” to establish the emission assessment of university campus that has been released in fall 2008. Trainings dedicated to the world of education are already planned. They allow integrating the “Bilan Carbone®” in the curricula of future managers. Furthermore, the ADEME is working on the use of “Bilan Carbone® Territory” in urban projects, in particular the approach of urban planning.

To slow down the realization of the "greenhouse" diagnoses among a large number of stakeholders, in particular for SMEs/SMIs and public administrations, the ADEME is considering setting up a panel of tools (e-learning, auto-diagnosis ...) to show all interest to realize a “Bilan Carbone®” diagnosis. Regarding individuals, the agency has just put online a web space (www.ademe.fr/citoyen-climat) that gathers information, evaluation tools, and proposals of concrete actions to assist citizens wishing to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. They also have the opportunity to evaluate all of their direct and indirect emissions with the “Bilan Carbon® Personal” tool developed by the association ‘Avenir Climatique’ and whose credibility is provided by the ADEME.

It is from the base consisting of all data on emission factors that all “Bilan Carbone®”applications arise. This database has been installed for free download, like a manual, so that its access is the most transparent as possible and becomes an indispensable reference for the consideration of carbon constraints. The quality of a "neutral" expert of the ADEME allows them to provide and guarantee the credibility of this type of tool.

A reference tool with an international vocation

The English adaption of the tool is very much welcomed by partner countries. That is why the ADEME is considering an international adjustment of it.

The user club of the “Bilan Carbone®”

To facilitate the exchange of experiences and to develop the “Bilan Carbone®” method, the ADEME has founded a club that unifies structural designers already trained in this tool and organizations that have already established their carbon assessment. The Club members have access to a round-table and meet twice a year.

(Source: ADEME)

Useful links :

• www.ademe.fr
• www.ademe.fr/bilan-carbone/

Frequently asked questions

• Passive House (Passivhaus)
• Low-energy House (BBC Effinergie)
• Bioclimatic Architecture & Buildings
• High energy performance labels in France
• Regulatory framework: thermal regulations (RT 2005)
• HPE label (2005)
• HPE EnR label (2005)
• THPE label (2005)
• THPE EnR label (2005)
• BBC - BBC Effinergie ® label
• Energy-plus Building (BEPOS)
• HQE® approach
• Ecolabels
• Constructive methods
• Outside Insulation
• Thermal bridges
• Inertia of the building
• Airtightness
• Wood manufacture & timber frame construction
• Clay blocks for monolithic walls & autoclave cellular Concrete (ACC), or autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC)
• Window performance
• Green Insulation (cellulose wadding, hemp, wool & wood fibers, straw...)
• Ventilation of the building
• Energy Recovery ventilation (EVR)
• Ground-coupled heat exchanger
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• Windcatcher
• Renewable Energy
• Photovoltaic system
• Solar thermal energy
• Geothermal energy and heat pumps
• Biomass-wood heating
• Wind turbine
• Hydroelectricity
• Primary Energy
• Energy performance certificate (DPE)
• Carbon assessment (Bilan Carbone®)