The BBCA Quartier label, the new tool for tomorrow's sustainable neighbourhoods?

During the Salon de l'Immobilier Bas Carbone (SIBCA), held from 22-24th September, 2022 at the Grand Palais Ephémère in Paris, the association for the Development of Low Carbon Building (BBCA), in partnership with BNP Paribas Real Estate, Bouygues Immobilier and its developer Urbanera, Elioth by Egis (project leader) and the Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment (CSTB), unveiled their new label: the BBCA Quartier label.

While the previous BBCA new construction and renovation labels, launched in 2016, focused on buildings, which quickly became the benchmark for exemplary new or renovated low-carbon buildings, the new BBCA Neighborhood label measures carbon emissions at a neighbourhood level. It allows us to go further in the process by highlighting best practices and illustrating exemplary neighborhoods in terms of decarbonisation. Indeed, while the building scale allows for very effective concrete actions, it does not, by definition, take into account its environment or, more generally, the ecosystem in which a residential or office building sits within. 
 

 
As the world's largest emitter of CO2, with 39% of global emissions [1], the real estate sector is a key player in the fight against global warming. With carbon neutrality in 2050 as a target, set by the Paris Agreement in 2015, we need to drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions while increasing our capacity to store the carbon emitted. In order to meet such a substantial goal, companies, developers and those who contribute to making the city of tomorrow, are called upon to reduce their carbon footprint.

To do this, the Association for the Development of Low Carbon Buildings highlights two major priorities. Firstly, direct and technical actions, which are related to the construction methods of buildings and infrastructures, energy choices and mobility systems. Next come food, waste, consumer goods and goods transportation, on which the impacts of local development are lesser but not negligible. 

Thus, according to the estimates of the BBCA Association, it is possible to act directly on about 3.5t CO2e/year/person [2], and indirectly on about 4t CO2e/year/person. This represents a total of 7.5t CO2e/year/person, i.e. almost 2/3 of the average French person's emissions.
 

The BBCA Quartier label is equipped with a benchmark that makes it possible to quantify the carbon impact of a neighbourhood, and thus position it on a reference scale, taking into account the specific characteristics of the neighbourhood and its environment. This reference system could be a tool shared by various actors within a development project, including local authorities, developers, urban planners, builders, energy suppliers, as well as residents and users of the area. It will be a guide for the design of a sustainable neighbourhood, combining environmental, health, social, economic, user comfort and heritage issues necessary for its proper functioning.
In this way, the BBCA Quartier standard, the basis of the label, will have the following characteristics

• Understand the scope of carbon emissions covering not only materials and energy but also the urban mobility, waste and urban services;
• Determine the measurement indicators allowing a user-centred approach;
• Encourage best practices in carbon emissions reduction by proposing new methods and tools;
• Propose emission caps to reward exemplary neighbourhoods in their low-carbon approach;
• Rely on a certification process linked to the long term development of a neighbourhood;
• Rely on scientifically robust measurement tools.

The French association BBCA will provide the technical support necessary for the implementation of this label through a scientific commission, set up to ensure an independent approach. It will bring together a team of experts in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and decarbonisation strategies for real estate.

The label will thus be able to support BNP Paribas Real Estate teams in designing sustainable neighbourhoods such as the Groues project in Nanterre, the 17&Co project in Paris, and the Cachan project.

Since 2016, more than 300 projects in France, covering a total of more than 2 million m2, have been awarded the BBCA label for new construction or renovation [3] or have applied for the label. The implementation of best practices in terms of low-carbon construction and operation can reduce the carbon footprint of a building by 30 to 50%, depending on the label level, compared to traditional construction methods.

European players across the sector, including BNP Paribas Real Estate, are aware of the major challenge of reducing emission in our cities. This is why they have joined forces to support and finance the launch of the first pan-European low-carbon property label. This will enable the first exemplary buildings in Europe to apply for the label by the end of the year. Initially, offices, residential buildings and hotels will be targeted.

As a sponsor of this new BBCA Europe label, BNP Paribas Real Estate has also made a number of strong, concrete and effective commitments to drastically reduce its carbon emissions. Through its various business lines, Residential and Commercial Development, Investment Management, Property Management, Transaction, Expertise and Consulting, BNP Paribas Real Estate is able to intervene at all stages of the building’s life cycle, both in France and across several European countries.

Sources: 

[1] Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2019 - Analysis - IEA
[2] BBCA district - BBCA Association (batimentbascarbone.org)
[3] 2022-03-14-LCB-Initiative-Communique-de-Presse.pdf (batimentbascarbone.org)