Better building and development
Building a post-carbon business district means finding new and better ways to develop, build and renovate, in cooperation with public development organizations. To achieve this, Paris La Défense has set itself the following objectives :
Launch a call for innovative and exemplary projects

Aerial view of Paris La Défense 2021 © Paris La Défense Philippe Guignard
In 2022, Paris La Défense launched Empreintes, a call for mixed-use, low-carbon urban projects. The aim is to inspire innovative projects that embody the values of Paris La Défense : exemplary in terms of social and environmental impact, architecturally and technically innovative, designed to blend perfectly into the surrounding environment
To find out more about Empreintes
Assess projects' social and environmental impact
La Défense towers 2021 © Paris La Défense Carlos Ayesta
Paris La Défense will henceforth select real estate projects to be developed in the district based on their energy and environmental performance, in line with its carbon trajectory. Priority will be given to redevelopments rather than demolition-reconstruction operations. Use of bio-sourced and recycled materials, as well as functional diversity, will stand out as decisive criteria.
Building low-carbon structures

Flora housing project in Les Groues © Woodeum Luxigon
The business district will become a testing ground for the constriction of low-carbon buildings. Paris La Défense plans to work with real estate professionals to develop bold projects, consolidating the district’s standing as a center of innovation and experimentation committed to the ecological transition. As a signatory of the Biosourced Wood Pact, Paris La Défense has committed to carrying out 10% of its construction or redevelopment projects using biosourced wood. It also aspires to host the very first high-rise office building in France with a wooden framework.
To find out more about low-carbon projects, see the Flora housing project located in Les Groues and the Place de l'Iris commercial shell in La Défense.