Wooden windows, the response to RE2020 for new buildings: a virtuous material with a low carbon impact

Wooden windows are particularly suitable for new buildings built within the framework of the “RE2020” Environmental Regulations. They combine all the assets that make them the best choice for very low carbon impact construction: eco-responsible wood from sustainably managed forests, traceability throughout the life cycle, energy-efficient manufacturing and high thermal insulation performance.

RE2020 aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050

In France, the building sector represents 44% of energy consumption and 25% of CO2 emissions(1). Facades and exterior joinery represent up to 10% of the environmental impact of a complete building.

In force since January 2022, the Environmental Regulation-RE2020 applies to all new construction: individual houses and collective housing, offices and buildings (education, tertiary). It incorporates several criteria from the previous Thermal Regulation-RT2012 linked to the overall primary energy consumption of the building: performance and insulation of the envelope, reduction in energy consumption (Bbio indicator or bioclimatic need), winter comfort and summer (facing heatwaves), indoor air quality, etc. RE2020 sets new requirements which specifically concern the objective of achieving carbon neutrality in 2050. Thus, the carbon impact of new buildings takes into account the overall Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of all materials and equipment. employed in construction.

The choice of joinery material therefore plays a determining role, and in terms of carbon impact, wood is definitely the most virtuous. The LCA considers the environmental impact of a wooden window, throughout its life cycle: production, implementation, duration of use and end of life through recycling and/or recovery. The results of the LCA for wooden windows can be found in the 10 FDES (Environmental and Health Declaration Sheets), which can be consulted on the database www.inies.fr.