Summary sheet
The project concerns the construction of a building for entrepreneurship and innovation, named "Paris Parc," within one of the campuses of Sorbonne University in the centre of Paris, France. Paris Parc will be a 15,000 m2 flagship building in the heart of Paris that brings together important players of the region's entrepreneurship ecosystem, including an incubator, research and development (R&D) laboratories, and facilities of the regional technology transfer agency. Paris Parc will also host the French office of the Knowledge and Innovation Community ("KIC") dedicated to climate change research, which is a community of research performing organisations belonging to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology ("EIT").
The proposed project is designed to address the need for additional business start-up and incubation space in central Paris for companies and spin-offs linked with Sorbonne University and in the fields of science and technology with beneficial effects for the knowledge economy and wider society. The new facility will develop modern flexible space aiming to create an innovation eco-system that will seek to increase technology transfer and development of ideas, thus having a positive impact on France's innovation capacity.
Research buildings of this kind are not specifically mentioned in the EIA Directive 2014/52/EU amending Directive 2011/92/EU, though the project is covered by Annex II of the Directive in relation to urban development. The competent authority has assessed the proposals and has screened out the development; therefore, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is not required for this project. The Promoter has designed the new building to have an energy performance in accordance with Reglémentation Thermique (RT) 2012, the French standard for nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEB). This means that the new building includes both active and passive design measures in an attempt to reduce its primary energy consumption. Further, the project investments will include a connection to the existing district heating system in Paris and will seek to reduce their energy consumption with the installation of best available energy-efficient technologies, such as new fenestration and façade systems as well as enhancements to the building fabric including insulation. In addition, the Promoter is seeking to provide other environmental benefits such as attenuating surface run-off into the municipal drainage system and the introduction of a green roof and garden.
The Bank will require the Promoter to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project have been tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation, Directive 2014/24/EU, where applicable, as well as Directive 89/665/EEC as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the Official Journal of the EU, as and where required.