La Filière Béton unveils its proposals for a sovereign French construction industry

More sober factories, teams prepared for the professions of the future, new sectors linked to the energy transition... the "green industry" bill aims to accelerate the decarbonization of French industry and boost its competitiveness on the world stage. .

The Concrete Sector, which brings together the 4.400 industrial sites in France for the extraction of aggregates, cement, concrete, for 65.000 direct jobs in the heart of the territories, delivers its proposals to the 5 sites which structure the bill. The approach of the sector is based on 3 main pillars: the creation of value in the circular economy, training and constructive innovation.

After reading the first elements of the bill, the Concrete Industry welcomes the measures that tend to bring more fluidity and optimize industrial development processes. However, the Sector calls for the "downstream" of activities to be better taken into account.

For François Petry, President of the Concrete Division: “The concrete sector is fully in line with the dynamics of green industry. Mobilized for more than 20 years in the decarbonization of its processes, the sector contributes alongside all construction stakeholders to the advent of more sustainable and low-carbon living environments. Concrete has the potential to establish itself as a true champion of French industry – competitive, job creator and player in the ecological transition. To do this, we must first and foremost promote the transmission of knowledge in terms of industrial innovation, favor the use of short circuits and local and recyclable resources in public procurement or even support sustainable construction. »

Pillar 1. Initial training, knowledge sharing and skills development for professionals

Project 1. “Training in green industry professions”

Disseminate knowledge on industrial innovations in the service of construction and development: low-carbon concrete, 3D printing, etc.
Enrich the continuing education of teachers on these issues of transition and industrial change.
Structure the rise in skills of architects and engineers to promote the application of constructive innovations in project management.
Accompany the young generation towards careers in carbon-free construction and digital construction (BIM).

The challenge is to prevent the loss of French industrial and architectural know-how recognized throughout the world.

Pillar 2. Innovation at all links in the construction value chain: extraction, manufacture and formulation of materials, implementation techniques and layout

Project 2. "Simplify, open factories, rehabilitate wastelands"

Rehabilitate wasteland following the logic of vertical construction and development

Invest in wastelands and basements to build and develop without artificializing the soil.
Clarify the legislative concept of “wasteland” and establish a regulatory framework to dissociate wastelands to be rehabilitated from those to be revegetated.
Sanctuarize and expand the “wasteland fund” to support communities.
Create a one-stop shop for builder mayors to simplify their
procedures.
On the basis of the cartography of wasteland carried out by Cerema, open up the possibility for local authorities to expropriate for public utility wasteland abandoned for more than 10 years for the construction of collective housing.

The rehabilitation of brownfields is both an opportunity to restore leeway to construction in compliance with the Zero Net Artificialisation objective and an issue of industrial know-how (design offices, depollution techniques, project management , etc.) where France has every interest in acquiring expertise and processes that can also be used throughout the world.

Promote the deployment of carbon capture, storage and reuse technologies

Carbon capture, storage and reuse technologies (CCS/CCU) and the deployment of industrial pilot projects in France are essential to achieve the desired levels of decarbonization, in line with the National Low Carbon Strategy. They involve:

Launch (or failing that strengthen) a national program bringing together industry and public authorities to structure investments related to decarbonization and identify the obstacles to its deployment.
Plan the development of the low-carbon electrical energy supply, necessary for the needs of industry, to avoid any risk of conflict with the different sectors (housing, transport, etc.)
Build a legislative and regulatory framework around the development of the CO2 and hydrogen infrastructures necessary for decarbonization.

Pillar 3. Creating value in the circular economy

Project 3. “Produce, order, buy in France”

Establish an exemplary public order, which promotes offers based on short circuits and local production.
Experiment with the introduction of a criterion for the use of local materials in public tenders, following the same principle as the clauses on integration into local jobs.
Experiment with a “circular economy” clause that would include a material recyclability criterion.

Public procurement criteria could be extended to a multi-criteria approach, whether for buildings, engineering structures or roads, in order to take into account, in addition to the cost and GHG emissions, the durability of the structures. and their observed lifespan, their adaptability, their integration into the circular economy and the functional economy.

Project 4. "Financing green industry"

Investments by manufacturers in the concrete sector to innovate and decarbonize their processes will only be sustainable over time if the outlets are there. La Filière Béton calls for an upcoming Finance Law that will boost sustainable construction, via 3 key measures:

Set a permanent depreciation scheme for private investors (lessors), backed by simplified tax treatment comparable to the principle of the CESU (Chèque Emploi Service) for individual employers.
Introduce a return of VAT to the building municipalities, subject to conditions of density and verticality, possibly revegetation.
In the same logic, set up a tax incentive for the development of underground spaces such as, for example, parking spaces in commercial areas.

The challenge here is to develop know-how in terms of verticalisation, and re-vegetation with professions anchored in the territories while reconciling mayors with densification.

Project 5. “Transform taxation to grow green industry”

Use tax measures to support the renewal of transport truck fleets (as soon as alternative energy models become available) via additional depreciation measures.
Introduce measures to avoid additional charges to prevent the environmental taxes introduced by local and regional authorities from weighing more on short-distance transport (as is the case for mixer trucks) than on transit transport (transport long-distance road transport), if no distinction is made between these two categories.

“Green industry” bill: what objectives and what deadlines?

The future bill on green industry aims to strengthen the attractiveness and competitiveness of French industry while embarking the sector, which accounts for 19% of the country's GHG emissions, in a dynamic of decarbonization. The bill, built around 5 major flagship projects, should be presented to the Council of Ministers in mid-May.