La Poste Group and EDF have partnered to begin an energy efficiency program and create a joint venture between the EDF group and La Poste Group’s real estate company. As part of the agreement, La Poste Group plans to invest €400m (US$430m) to reduce its energy consumption and accelerate the decarbonization of its real estate assets.
La Poste Group plans to use this investment to improve the carbon footprint of its real estate assets and reduce their energy consumption by 20% and CO2 emissions by 35% by 2030.
The partnership will implement a schedule of energy efficiency works designed to significantly reduce the energy consumption of La Poste’s real estate assets. This includes: the deployment of energy performance control systems via a building management system (BMS) extended to nearly 1,300 sites; the renovation of energy systems (replacement of boilers with heat pumps, modernization of lighting systems, etc.) and of the building envelope (renovation of buildings and insulation) on nearly 500 sites; and the development of self-consumption with the accelerated installation of solar power plants on 250 sites of La Poste on rooftops and parking lot canopies, with a total installed photovoltaic capacity of 20 megawatt-peak (MWp) by 2028.
Additionally, the company will deploy electric vehicle charging stations at La Poste’s sites to charge the electric vehicles that make up around 40% of its total fleet. This infrastructure is to make EV-charging accessible to group employees and customers, as well as to the general public, depending on the site.
The EDF Group will implement a range of custom solutions for La Poste group to support this strategy, integrating regulatory changes such as the tertiary sector decree, the Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS) decree and the LOM (French Mobility) law. To do so, the EDF Group will be calling on its subsidiaries. In practice, the energy masterplan and initial decarbonization roadmap for La Poste’s real estate assets will be drawn up by Urbanomy, EDF SA’s consulting subsidiary. Dalkia will be in charge of energy renovation work on buildings, while EDF ENR will install photovoltaic panels on roofs and parking lot canopies. Izivia will install, operate and maintain the electric vehicle charging stations.
The partnership agreement also includes the creation of a joint venture. Owned by La Poste Immobilier (66%) with the EDF Group (34%), this joint venture will enable the two partners to combine their expertise and experience in energy transition. It will be responsible for implementing the global performance contract, scheduling works to be carried out, coordinating investments and operations, and guaranteeing targets and performance indicators. Both partners will contribute their skills by seconding personnel.
Finally, to decarbonize its electricity supply (80-120GWh per year; around 20% of its electricity consumption), La Poste will work with the joint venture to define its purchasing strategy and market consultation for long-term energy contracts.
Philippe Wahl, chairman and CEO of La Poste Group, said, “The alliance of our two public service companies in this long-term industrial partnership and the pooling of our teams’ expertise, to further energy transition, is a first. In addition to its pioneering commitment to low-carbon delivery and sustainable finance, La Poste group will be taking a new step with EDF in acquiring a powerful and innovative tool to accelerate the ecological transition of one of France’s largest real estate portfolios, and thus consolidate its global leadership in CSR.”
Luc Rémont, chairman and CEO of EDF, said, “I am delighted with this cooperation between La Poste Group and the EDF Group, which includes a wide range of solutions for reducing CO2 emissions by improving the buildings’ energy efficiency. By bringing to this partnership the expertise of our subsidiaries Dalkia, Urbanomy, EDF ENR and Izivia, the EDF Group is proud to contribute to a very significant improvement in the energy and carbon footprint of one of France’s largest real estate holders.”
Through its real estate company La Poste Immobilier, La Poste Group operates a portfolio of 10,000 buildings representing 6,000,000m2. La Poste’s real estate assets represent an annual energy consumption of 990GWh, equivalent to the consumption of a town of 300,000 inhabitants.
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