LogiRep, a subsidiary of the Polylogis group, has signed the first Energy Performance Contract (CPE) for social housing in France with Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France and ETDE. A consortium⁽¹⁾ led by Brézillon, a subsidiary of Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, is responsible for designing, modernising and extending a social housing development in Vitry-sur-Seine (southern suburbs of Paris) containing 231 flats, and for maintenance of the energy equipment system for four years.

Under the terms of the French "Grenelle" round-table conference on the environment, held in 2007, the project, worth 9 million euros (4 million euros of energy renovation works and 5 million euros of internal renovation of the accommodation), qualifies for optimised funding through State financial mechanisms to aid social housing, specifically the decree concerning the share-out of energy savings. Works will be launched early in 2011, and are scheduled to last 24 months. 

The first French CPE in social housing

The consortium is committed to achieving a specified level of energy saving. To this end it is collaborating on the definition of the works programme at a very early stage and will check the reality of the intended level of performance by taking measurements post-delivery.

Prior to launching the call for bids, LogiRep performed a thermal diagnosis and a feasibility study, identifying the quality certification levels to be achieved and potential sources of funding.

This CPE is structured in three phases: 

•    Design: a programme of works will be determined and the hypotheses of the feasibility study phase validated or fine-tuned (the desired level of performance, cost and length of works, a guarantee of improved living conditions, the combination of comfort and energy savings, etc.) 

•    Modernisation works: thermal insulation of facades, balconies and floors, replacement of external doors, windows and shutters and heating equipment. 

•    Maintenance: the consortium will analyse energy consumption, monitor energy performance and carry out follow-up over time. 

To ensure that tenants are fully implicated in the project, an innovative social approach will be introduced: 
•    Raising tenants' awareness of eco-performance programmes, 
•    Distribution of a booklet setting out all possible areas of action to reduce energy consumption while retaining a genuine level of comfort, 
•    Design of a support plan for tenants, devised in collaboration with specialist sociologists, 
•    Sharing of good practice through a dedicated website for tenants. 
  
The first renovation project in France that meets "Grenelle" specifications

This is the first project to meet the targets set at the "Grenelle" environment round-table conference: 

•    40% reduction in real energy consumption, guaranteed by the consortium, 

•    Cutting of greenhouse gas emissions by a factor of 4, 

•    Creation of accessible homes for people with disabilities, 

•    Possible creation of additional space (up to 25%) through added height or extensions. 

This contract illustrates Bouygues Construction's strategy with regard to sustainable construction and renovation. In October 2010, Bouygues Construction established and funded a research and teaching chair in "Sustainable Building and Innovation" in partnership with three engineering schools and their respective foundations (Ecole des Ponts Paris Tech, Ecole Centrale Paris and Supelec) and the French Scientific and Technical Centre for Building (CSTB). The chair will support research into low-carbon technologies, sustainable buildings and sustainable neighbourhoods and towns.

Sustainable development has been an overriding priority for LogiRep for some years. It has proactively signed quality commitment charters with the Cerqual certification agency (a subsidiary of Qualitel) which aim to achieve the greatest possible energy efficiency by applying innovative projects to both its new and existing housing stock. Through the signature of its first CPE in Vitre-sur-Seine with Bouygues Construction, LogiRep is able to leverage the progress made by its development department and is now applying its expertise to the renovation of its existing housing stock. 

⁽¹⁾ The consortium consists of Brézillon (lead company), ETDE and its subsidiary Cogemex, the architects Lair and Roynette and CET Ingénierie. 
  

About Bouygues Construction

Bouygues Construction, a subsidiary of the Bouygues group, is one of the world's leaders in the building, civil works and electrical contracting and maintenance sectors. Organised as seven complementary entities, it has proven expertise in the finance, design, construction, maintenance and operation of buildings and structures, offering its customers a vast range of innovative solutions. The Group is addressing the environmental challenges confronting its businesses through a pragmatic and far-reaching approach, which covers the design, construction and operation of buildings and structures for which it is responsible. It has the firm ambition of being a leader in terms of sustainable construction. With 52,600 employees throughout the world, the Group generated sales of 9.5 billion euros in 2009.

Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, the Paris region subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, offers its customers acknowledged know-how for both new build and renovation projects in four principal fields: public facilities, private commercial structures, housing and industrial civil engineering. It provides a comprehensive offering through the specialities of its operating units and subsidiaries. Brézillon, a subsidiary of Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, operates as a general contractor in industrial and environmental civil engineering and in building and renovating housing and public amenities.

ETDE, Bouygues Construction's electrical contracting and maintenance subsidiary, is an integrator of multi-technical solutions and associated services for public and private customers. It provides a full range of expertise during project preparation and post-project phases (design, contracting, maintenance and operation) in two spheres of activity: design and contracting (utility networks, electrical, mechanical and HVAC engineering) and facilities management (buildings, telecommunications). ETDE also offers global and integrated solutions in the fields of transport, safety/security and energy. Cogemex, a subsidiary of ETDE, installs and maintains HVAC engineering systems (heating, boilers, etc.) for the residential and commercial sectors. 

About the Polylogis group

An independent social landlord, the Polylogis group specialises in building, renovating and converting housing for families on low incomes, students, young workers, the elderly and those with impaired mobility. With a total stock of roughly 59,000 dwellings, Polylogis ranks as one of France's leading players in the social housing sector. It continues the vocation of acting in the public good established by its subsidiary, LogiRep, in 1960, by favouring an organisation based on local management and by constantly investing in the conservation and modernisation of its housing stock. Daniel Biard is Chairman of the Executive Committee.

LogiRep, a subsidiary of the Polylogis group, is an operator in the rent-controlled housing sector, based in the Hauts-de-Seine département, outside Paris. It manages approximately 35,000 homes in the Paris region and Upper Normandy. Since it was founded in 1960 by par Eugène Claudius-Petit, a former Minster of Reconstruction, a friend of Le Corbusier and  one of the pioneers of town and country planning in France, LogiRep has continuously carried out its public interest vocation of providing accommodation for underprivileged people and families. Its locally based management and activity as a landlord in the urban environment constitute two of the strengths of its property strategy.