Reminder: What is a DDADUE energy audit?
The DDADUE energy audit (resulting from the transposition of European directive 2012/27/EU) is an obligation for large companies (excluding SMEs) to carry out an energy audit of their activities every 4 years.
This audit must cover at least 80% of the total energy bill and include buildings, industrial processes, and transport fleets. It aims to identify potential energy savings and help structure short- and medium-term action plans.
From October 1, 2025, the DDADUE audits subjugation criterion is no longer based on the size of the company (workforce or turnover), but on its annual consumption of final energy.
- Implementation of an Energy Management System (EMS) by 11/10/2027, if the average annual consumption of the company's final energy is greater than or equal to 23.6 GWh
- Carrying out a mandatory energy audit by 11/10/2026 and then every 4 years, now based on energy consumption, if the average annual final energy consumption is greater than or equal to 2.75 GWh (calculation based on the average of the last 3 years before the year of the audit)
- The implementation of an ISO 50 001 SME exempts companies from the realization of the compulsory energy audit
Energy audit, the key instrument for business competitiveness
Energy audits are a powerful tool for identifying energy-saving measures and are an essential first step in developing a decarbonization plan and maintaining competitiveness. This is the conclusion of the ADEME study "2025 Review of Regulatory Energy Audits."*
This assessment is based on the four-year period from April 2021 to April 2025 and analyses the information entered on the ADEME energy audit platform, on which subject companies must submit their audit report.
First lesson: companies can save 10% on their energy consumption following a DDADUE audit. For building-related actions, the average return on investment is 11.8 years.
If they implemented all of the energy auditors' recommendations, all major companies subject to the regulations could reduce their consumption by around 76 TWh/year. This represents a total gross potential equivalent to 30% of the final energy consumption reduction target for 2030 set out in the French Energy Climate Strategy (SFEC) compared to 2023.
Companies are still behind in their compliance
- The good students are in order:
- Tertiary sector companies (48% of compliant companies)
- Manufacturing companies (32% compliant)
Finally, transport companies 4%
A third of compliant companies, which nevertheless represent a significant share of French final energy consumption: 15% (235 TWh/year) and associated GHG emissions: 16% (49 MtCO2e).
The median consumption of compliant companies is 5.3 GWh/year for all uses combined.
The audits carried out for these compliant companies cover on average 88% of the total energy bill, a figure which is higher than the previous assessment carried out in 2017.
Best practices for an energy audit
Analysis of the audits submitted by compliant companies reveals energy performance actions with rapid gains and low investment, linked to operations:
- Monitoring consumption via an energy management platform such as our DATAMARC NEO platform (SORting less than 6 months)
- Optimization of the energy supply contract, e.g. review of the subscribed power (IRR less than 6 months)
- Awareness and training of occupants, e.g. running an energy efficiency fresco workshop (TRI less than 6 months)
- Air conditioning repair (1 year TRI)
- Intervention on heating installations (3-year TRI)