2M Square Meters in Paris Goes Green

PARIS-Some two million square meters of property in the Paris Ile-de-France region have now received the HQE green building standard, according to Laurence Escleine-Dumas of realtor DTZ.

The standard was first awarded in 2005, when 300,000 square meters received the HQE (Haute Qualité Environnementale) certification. Some 600,000 square meters received this in the first nine months of this year. New French environmental regulations (Grenelle de l’Environnement) are aimed at reducing energy consumption across all buildings by 38% by 2020. This is now leading to the introduction of green leases, which will oblige tenants of HQE-certified buildings to follow particular practices in terms of energy consumption, with obvious implications for the management of employees.