Bilan Carbone® and LCA funding in 2026: 3 schemes you can combine

There is extensive public funding for your first climate quantification exercises: an organisational Bilan Carbone®, a product life cycle assessment or a decarbonisation strategy. The main schemes cover 40 to 80% of the cost and can be combined over a complete 18-month programme. Bpifrance's Diag Décarbon'Action, Diag Éco-conception and ADEME's ACT Pas à Pas: three elements you can combine, sufficient to structure a substantive approach. Added to these are PACTE Industrie, DECARB FLASH, Prêt Vert and regional funding. This guide brings everything together: schemes, actual amounts after funding, eligibility conditions, optimal sequencing and pitfalls to avoid.

1Find your scheme in 30 seconds

The right scheme depends on what you want to fund and your situation (size, sector, climate maturity). Three cases cover 90% of needs and identify the right entry point immediately.

• You have never carried out a Bilan Carbone® → Diag Décarbon'Action is for you. A complete scopes 1-2-3 inventory, with €6,000 excluding VAT payable. This is the entry point.
• You have a recent inventory and want a reduction strategy → ACT Pas à Pas sets out the decarbonisation trajectory. A 70 to 80% grant.
• You manufacture products and need an LCA → Diag Éco-conception offers the market's best rate: a 60 to 70% grant, with €5,400 to €7,200 excluding VAT payable.

And the good news: these three schemes can be combined, because they cover distinct scopes (Bpifrance operates several of these diagnostics, but for distinct services). A complete programme (inventory + strategy + product LCA) over 12 to 18 months draws on more than €15,000 of public funding, including €4,000 for Diag Décarbon'Action and €10,800 to €12,600 for Diag Éco-conception.

2Diag Décarbon'Action: the €6,000 Bilan Carbone®

This is the best-known and most accessible scheme for commissioning a Bilan Carbone®. It is a Bpifrance/ADEME programme offering a complete assessment at a fixed price, with a grant that substantially reduces the amount payable.

Scheme factsheet

Diag Décarbon'Action

Bpifrance + ADEME

Amount payable

6,000 € excluding VAT

€10,000 excluding VAT-€4,000 grant (40%)

Target

SMEs / mid-cap companies < 500 employees, > 1 year in existence

Duration

10 months maximum

Gross cost

€10,000 excluding VAT (fixed amount)

Grant

€4,000 (40%)

Deliverables

Bilan Carbone® scopes 1-2-3Costed action planExecutive committee presentation

Apply on Bpifrance

What it includes

Diag Décarbon'Action funds a complete service worth €10,000 excluding VAT, running over a maximum of 10 months in two phases:

• Phase 1 - Measurement: quantifying greenhouse gas emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3, raising team awareness
• Phase 2 - Action: jointly developing a prioritised reduction plan with quantified targets

What it costs after funding

The service is invoiced at €10,000 excluding VAT in total. Bpifrance reimburses €4,000 excluding VAT (a 40% ADEME grant), leaving €6,000 excluding VAT payable for any eligible company, regardless of size. In practice, you pay €6,000 when signing the contract, then €4,000 when the report is delivered, and this second invoice is reimbursed on supporting evidence.

Who is eligible

Eligibility is broad and refusals are rare. The scheme is for any company with fewer than 500 employees, including micro-enterprises, in any sector, registered in France for at least one year and up to date with its tax and social security obligations. The key condition: never having produced a GHG inventory, or the last one dating back more than 5 years. Note that public-sector companies are no longer eligible since 2025.

How to apply

Directly on the Bpifrance website (Diag Décarbon'Action section). The form takes 30 minutes with your SIREN number. Eligibility approval takes 2 to 4 weeks, after which you choose your listed provider. Allow 4 to 8 weeks between applying and the assignment actually starting.

3ACT Pas à Pas: a climate strategy funded at 70-80%

While the Bilan Carbone® provides the picture ("where we stand"), ACT Pas à Pas sets out the path. This is the strategic component: assessing climate maturity, developing a reduction trajectory compatible with the Paris Agreement and a transition plan with operational milestones at 3, 5 and 10 years. Since 2026, the scheme has been integrated into ADEME's Mon parcours économies d'énergie offer (formerly PACTE Entreprises).

Scheme factsheet

ACT Pas à Pas

ADEME

Indicative amount payable

5-7 thousand euros

70-80% grant, €18,000 cap

Target

Companies ready to build a structured climate strategy

Duration

12 to 18 months

Service cost

€15,000 to €25,000 excluding VAT

Grant cap

€18,000

Deliverables

ACT assessmentDecarbonisation roadmapClimate governance

Apply on ADEME

What it includes

12 to 18 months of support from a consultancy trained in the ACT methodology (Assessing low-Carbon Transition). The programme covers:

• Maturity assessment: assessing the company's climate position against the ACT framework
• Reduction trajectory: quantified targets at 3, 5 and 10 years, compatible with the Paris Agreement
• Transition plan: operational milestones, involvement of the executive committee and stakeholders

What it costs after funding

The total cost of ACT Pas à Pas support is between €15,000 and €25,000 excluding VAT, depending on complexity. ADEME funds 70% of the amount for non-industrial SMEs (capped at €18,000), and up to 80% for micro-enterprises. In practice, the amount payable is around €5,000 to €10,000 excluding VAT, a very reasonable investment for a decarbonisation strategy structured over 3, 5 and 10 years.

Conditions and prerequisites

All non-industrial service-sector organisations, of any size, are eligible. But there are three non-negotiable prerequisites:

• A GHG inventory less than 2 years old covering scopes 1, 2 and 3
• A Board member appointed as project sponsor
• An employee coordinator who has completed ADEME training in the ACT methodology

Applications go through ADEME's AGIR platform (agirpourlatransition.ademe.fr). For industrial companies, the equivalent scheme is PACTE Industrie (see below).

4Diag Éco-conception: the €5,400 product LCA

This is the scheme to know if you manufacture physical products and need a life cycle assessment. The funding rate is the market's highest for LCA, and the service covers much more than an impact calculation.

Scheme factsheet

Diag Éco-conception

Bpifrance + ADEME

Amount payable

5,400 €

Very small businesses < 50 employees (70%)

or

7,200 €

SMEs with 50-249 employees (60%)

€18,000 excluding VAT18 days of consultancy

Target

SMEs < 250 employees

Duration

6 to 10 months

Gross cost

€18,000 excluding VAT

Funding rate

70% (< 50 employees) / 60% (50-249 employees)

Deliverables

Product LCAEco-design roadmap

Apply on Bpifrance

What it includes

18 days of support spread over 10 months from an expert provider, worth €18,000 excluding VAT in total. The programme has three components:

• Awareness: developing internal teams' eco-design skills
• Environmental assessment: LCA of one or more products according to the most recognised standards, including PEF
• Action plan: quantified recommendations to reduce the assessed products' impacts

What it costs after funding

The complete service is valued at €18,000 excluding VAT for 18 days of support. The grant rate depends on company size: 70% for organisations with fewer than 50 employees (and less than €10 million in turnover), leaving €5,400 excluding VAT payable; 60% for those with 50 to 249 employees (and less than €50 million in turnover), leaving €7,200 excluding VAT. In both cases, this is the market's best value for a complete product LCA with an eco-design plan.

Who is eligible and why it matters strategically

Diag Éco-conception targets SMEs under the European definition (fewer than 250 employees, less than €50 million in turnover). The company must have existed for at least 1 year, and micro-enterprises are eligible; the assessment can cover a product or service, across all sectors. It is the ideal scheme for companies affected by:

• Textile environmental labelling (voluntary, but publishable by third parties from October 2026)
• The digital product passport (DPP) (batteries from February 2027)
• ESPR regulatory eco-design requirements
• Scope 3 requests from clients subject to the CSRD

The LCA carried out under the Diag directly feeds these four obligations: one investment, four uses. Apply on the Bpifrance website, with the same timescales as Diag Décarbon'Action (4 to 8 weeks). There is also a specific version for medical device manufacturers (Diag DM), with the same conditions.

5Other funding to know about

Beyond the three main schemes, several complementary funding options cover specific steps, particularly the investment phase following the assessment.

PACTE Industrie

ADEME's PACTE Industrie programme, funded by CEE (energy savings certificates), with €49 million over 3 years. For all industrial companies, with no size prerequisite. It funds:

• Decarbonisation studies (energy efficiency, waste heat, electrification): funded at 60-70%
• Energy transition training: 40-80% of teaching costs funded
• Industrial ACT Pas à Pas: the strategic component integrated into the programme

Available until 31 December 2026.

DECARB FLASH

ADEME's DECARB FLASH call for projects under France 2030, for rapidly deployable decarbonisation investments at industrial sites. Project budgets between €100,000 and €3 million, with 45 to 65% funding depending on company size. Several application windows each year: check the current timetable on the ADEME portal.

Bpifrance Prêt Vert

A loan of €50,000 to €5 million over 2 to 10 years, with up to 2 years' grace on principal repayments, for ecological transition investments. For micro-enterprises, SMEs and mid-cap companies more than 3 years old. Condition: the loan must be matched by a bank loan of the same amount (this is co-financing, not a grant).

CEE and regional funding

Energy savings certificates fund 30 to 60% of energy efficiency works identified by the inventory (insulation, LEDs, heat pumps), with a very short award timescale (2 to 4 weeks). Almost all Regions have their own schemes that can be combined with national funding:

• Île-de-France: TP'up (micro-enterprises, up to €55,000), PM'up (SMEs, up to €375,000 for projects with a high ecological impact)
• PACA: the CEDRE scheme, up to €3,000 for companies with turnover < €2 million
• Métropole de Lyon: 50% funding for collective carbon footprint assessments
• Hauts-de-France: specific decarbonisation funding for industrial SMEs

To identify funding available in your region: the Mission Transition Écologique portal (mission-transition-ecologique.beta.gouv.fr) and your local Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

6Combining funding: the 12-18-month programme

The three main schemes can be combined because they fund different services through different operators. Here is the sequence that maximises funding and the mistakes to avoid along the way.

The optimal sequence

• Months 1-8: Diag Décarbon'Action - Apply to Bpifrance early in the year, a complete Bilan Carbone® with an action plan. Amount payable: €6,000 excluding VAT.
• Months 6-18: ACT Pas à Pas - Apply to ADEME once the inventory is delivered (meeting the "inventory < 2 years old" prerequisite). Decarbonisation strategy and trajectory. Amount payable: €5,000-€10,000 excluding VAT.
• Months 8-14: Diag Éco-conception (for physical products) - Alongside ACT. LCA of key products and an eco-design plan. Amount payable: €5,400-€7,200 excluding VAT.
• Months 12-18: Investments - CEE for energy efficiency, DECARB FLASH for industrial projects, Prêt Vert for large investments.

The financial picture

The figure that sums it up: over a complete 18-month programme combining the three schemes, the company's actual investment is between €16,000 and €23,000 excluding VAT. This amount is after grants: €4,000 for Diag Décarbon'Action, €10,800 to €12,600 for Diag Éco-conception, and ADEME's share of ACT Pas à Pas. At the end, the company has an accurate footprint measurement, a reduction strategy with operational milestones, an LCA of its key products and a costed action plan over 3, 5 and 10 years.

Four mistakes to avoid

The process is accessible, but a few common mistakes can block an application or cost you months. The four most frequent pitfalls:

• Applying too late in the year. Budgets are annual and limited. In 2025, processing times lengthened significantly from September. Apply in Q1 (January-March) to maximise your chances.
• Confusing the schemes. Diag Décarbon'Action funds an organisational inventory (scopes 1-2-3). Diag Éco-conception funds a product LCA. These are not two versions of the same scheme: they complement each other and can be combined.
• Starting the service before approval. For almost all schemes, the assignment must not have started before official notification. No signed quote, no first workshop. Submit the application, wait for approval (2-4 weeks), then sign.
• Forgetting the ACT coordinator's training. ACT Pas à Pas requires an ADEME-trained coordinator. Applying without having trained them blocks the application. Prepare ahead: enrol them as soon as the carbon footprint assessment starts.

7Key takeaways

There are many substantial public schemes funding Bilan Carbone® and LCA, and above all they can be combined. The landscape may seem complex, but the programme comes down to three elements that fit together.

• Diag Décarbon'Action (Bpifrance) is the natural entry point for any SME without an inventory. Amount payable: €6,000 excluding VAT for a complete scopes 1-2-3 Bilan Carbone® with an action plan.
• ACT Pas à Pas (ADEME) builds on the inventory with a decarbonisation strategy funded at 70-80%, with milestones at 3, 5 and 10 years.
• Diag Éco-conception (Bpifrance) offers the market's best funding for a product LCA, with a 60-70% grant.
• Beyond these three pillars, PACTE Industrie, DECARB FLASH, Prêt Vert, CEE and regional funding cover post-assessment investments and can be combined with the three main schemes.
• The main pitfall is timing: budgets shrink each year and processing times lengthen in the second half. Applying in the first quarter ensures full budgets and short processing times.

Regulatory obligations (CSRD, DPP) and voluntary environmental labelling generate an influx of applications that accelerates budget depletion. Make use of them while applications are open: today's amounts are not guaranteed tomorrow!

Further resources

Frequently asked questions

1Can Bilan Carbone® funding schemes be combined?

Yes, entirely. Diag Décarbon'Action (Bpifrance), ACT Pas à Pas (ADEME) and Diag Éco-conception (Bpifrance) fund different services. Regional funding and CEE add to national funding. The only case that cannot be combined: two Diag Décarbon'Action assessments for the same company (only one every 5 years).

2How much does a Bilan Carbone® cost after funding?

With Diag Décarbon'Action, €6,000 excluding VAT is payable for any company with fewer than 500 employees (a €4,000 grant on a €10,000 total). This is a complete scopes 1-2-3 Bilan Carbone® with an action plan over a maximum of 10 months. See our detailed Bilan Carbone® cost guide.

3My company has already carried out a Bilan Carbone®: am I still eligible?

For Diag Décarbon'Action: no if the inventory is less than 5 years old, yes if it is older. For ACT Pas à Pas: available once you have an inventory less than 2 years old. For Diag Éco-conception: eligible even with an existing inventory; it is a different scheme funding product LCA.

4What is the difference between Diag Décarbon'Action and Diag Éco-conception?

Diag Décarbon'Action funds an organisational Bilan Carbone® (scopes 1-2-3). Diag Éco-conception funds a product LCA with an eco-design plan. The first measures the company's footprint; the second analyses a product's impact over its whole life cycle. They complement each other and can be combined.

5How long between applying and starting?

Allow 4 to 8 weeks for Diag Décarbon'Action and Diag Éco-conception (Bpifrance), and the same for ACT Pas à Pas (ADEME). CEE are quicker (2 to 4 weeks). A complete application substantially speeds up processing.

6Are budgets limited?

Yes. Bpifrance and ADEME budgets are annual and shrink each year. Processing times lengthen from September. Advice: apply in the first quarter to maximise your chances and shorten processing times.

7What are the main funding schemes for a company's climate transition?

3 schemes you can combine cover most measurement and strategy needs: Bpifrance's Diag Décarbon'Action for a first Bilan Carbone® (€6,000 excluding VAT payable), ADEME's ACT Pas à Pas for climate strategy (a 70 to 80% grant) and Bpifrance's Diag Éco-conception for product LCA (60 to 70%). For subsequent investments, these are supplemented by PACTE Industrie and DECARB FLASH for industrial sites, Bpifrance's Prêt Vert, energy savings certificates and regional funding.

8How do energy savings certificates (CEE) work?

CEE require energy suppliers to fund energy savings for their clients, both companies and individuals, to meet state-set targets. In practice, a company receives a payment for eligible energy efficiency works, often identified by the inventory: insulation, LED lighting, heat pumps. CEE generally fund 30 to 60% of these works, with a short award timescale of 2 to 4 weeks. They can be combined with national and regional funding, and also fund ADEME's PACTE Industrie programme. The payment offer must be accepted before signing the quote.

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