The "Bois de France" label launches a unique tool to optimize the carbon footprint of public construction

The BOIS DE FRANCE label, which has been working since January 2020 for the development and sustainability of the French timber industry, today presents the Guide to using the BOIS DE FRANCE label in public markets. Fully in line with the national low carbon strategy, this unique tool dedicated to project owners is based on the analysis of the product life cycle to offer a high guarantee of results, in compliance with the public procurement code.

A unique tool at the service of public contracting authorities

As part of the award and execution of public contracts, project owners wishing to build with wood must respond to economic and environmental challenges. The Guide to using the BOIS DE FRANCE Label in public markets has been designed to provide optimal support for them.

The guide aims to provide buyers subject to the Public Order Code with practical and directly usable content allowing them to integrate into their markets the commitments and requirements related to the criteria "carbon footprint" and "traceability of timber and management objectives. sustainable forests ”to fully contribute to the National Low Carbon Strategy and the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050.

It is based on the dynamic life cycle analysis introduced into French regulations by the RE 2020, a technical solution that provides a high guarantee of results.

This guide is the result of a partnership with the regional forestry and wood industry, FIBOIS Île-de-France, which is committed to this same approach with the Bois-Biosourcés pact signed in 2020 with more than 30 project owners.

“Co-constructed with public and private actors from the IDF region, the Bois Biosourcés pact aims to increase the use of wood in construction in Île-de-France through quantified commitments. It is this objective that we share with the BOIS DE FRANCE label. We wish to contribute together to a real systemic change in the construction sector ” explains Paul JARQUIN, President of Fibois Île-de-France.

For the drafting of this guide, the partners also benefited from the support of the legal firm FIDAL and the study office ESTEANA.

In practice, the guide provides public buyers with the keys to:

• guide them in terms of sourcing, which allows them in particular to assess the capacity of companies to meet their needs, in terms of deadlines and costs; of quality, process or innovation; environmental requirements;
• integrate the requirements and commitments in terms of carbon footprint, traceability and sustainable forest management at the stage of defining the needs and developing the program, an essential stage in the award of a public contract;
• include environmental objectives in the subject of the contract and the public call for competition;
• select applications: the buyer may favor criteria based on capacities and references, in particular technical ones, in relation to the environmental requirements of the market and in particular the ability for candidates to provide the FDES (Environmental and Health Declaration Forms) adapted to the market;
• take into account the carbon footprint, traceability and sustainable forest management as part of the rating criteria provided for by the consultation regulations (RC). In this context, buyers should favor an assessment of these emissions based on the entire product life cycle, which is proposed by the methodology developed by RE2020 and taken up by the BOIS DE FRANCE label.

A label to accelerate the development of French wood in construction

Launched in January 2020 at the initiative of professionals from the National Wood Federation, the Bois de France label defends a booming market and brings together players who have chosen to engage collectively in order to create a virtuous ecosystem that promotes short circuits , enhances the raw material and supports all the players in the sector. By offering the assurance of wood produced and processed in France, the label illustrates its environmental and social commitment; it makes it possible to promote the French forest resource, the know-how of wood processing professionals, while making a positive contribution to reducing the carbon footprint of construction and maintaining local jobs.

Benchmarks: The requirements of the BOIS DE FRANCE label

The BOIS DE FRANCE label is based on two main principles:

• Wood from French forests certified PEFC or FSC, or harvested in accordance with the principles of the European Union Timber Regulation;
• A transformation of these woods near their place of harvest on the national territory in order to limit transport and their GHG emissions.

Thanks to a traceability reference system and audits carried out annually, the label guarantees that a finished product, identified as BOIS DE FRANCE, contains at least 80% wood from French forests and 100% processing of this wood in France.

Nearly 100 French companies have already been involved since the creation of the label in January 2020. Among them, REI Habitat, the first real estate developer to receive the BOIS DE FRANCE label.

“Since the creation of the company, we have been specializing in timber construction. The BOIS DE FRANCE label is therefore part of this continuity. We are company-wide certified, which translates into a commitment to use wood from France on each of our projects. This repository makes it possible to sensitize all actors in the chain to commit to developing the concept of short circuits, a necessity in particular in the consultations of local authorities ” explains Sophie RAMASWAMI, REI Habitat technical manager.

Cruard Charpente, designer, manufacturer and installer of timber frame and structure for 60 years, is also one of the first companies to engage in the BOIS DE FRANCE labeling process.

Christophe TRAVERS, Purchasing / QSE Manager, explains: “Working with French and local suppliers has always been a priority for us. We are also proud of the fact that over the past two years, 100% of the glued laminated timber we use has come from French companies. The BOIS DE FRANCE label echoes our approach. It is by bringing together all the players in the chain that we develop the sector. Regarding public procurement, which represents 60% of our activity, we are starting to see requests for French timber, and the label guarantees that the commitments regarding the origin and place of wood processing will be respected ” .