You are A company
Greening and shading the car parks of property companies and shopping centres
Do you manage a car park or a shopping centre, and would you like to make it cooler, more welcoming and easier to run?
We design the planted part: species, tree pits, soil, shade from trees, rainwater and low maintenance.
Florence Merrien, garden designer and creator in the landscape and a graduate of the École nationale supérieure de paysage, will guide you.
What we cover
Looking for a landscape architect to green and shade a car park? We handle the planted part of the project, from design to site supervision.
- The choice of species, suited to the heat, the soil and the maintenance.
- Tree pits: a tree only thrives if its volume of soil, its drainage and its water are planned from the start.
- Shade from trees and the removal of hard surfaces.
- Rainwater management and low maintenance.
We cover the planted part, not solar canopies.
A commission already completed
We audited and optimised the planting plan of a grass strip along the car park of a shopping centre managed by a major property company.
What the regulations say
Texts govern the shading and greening of car parks. FLAURE does not interpret them: we quote them with their official source, on Légifrance, and invite you to check them for your site.
French planning code (Code de l’urbanisme), article L. 111-19-1 (Climate and Resilience Act of 22 August 2021, decree no. 2023-1208 of 18 December 2023, order of 5 March 2024)
- Threshold: outdoor car parks of more than 500 m², serving certain buildings used for business or administrative purposes, or open to the public.
- Projects concerned: new car parks, car parks undergoing a major renovation, and car parks whose management contract or lease is signed or renewed on or after 1 January 2024.
- Obligation: over at least half of their area, surfacing and features that make the ground permeable and let rainwater soak in or evaporate, as well as shading devices, either planted (trees) or canopies producing renewable energy.
- Exceptions: exemption criteria set by decree, in particular when the obligations cannot be met under economically acceptable conditions.
Law no. 2023-175 of 10 March 2023 (APER law), article 40, amended by law no. 2025-1129 of 26 November 2025 (decrees no. 2024-1023 of 13 November 2024 and no. 2026-842 of 7 September 2026)
- Threshold: outdoor car parks of more than 1,500 m², existing or new.
- Obligation: canopies producing renewable energy over at least half of the area. Since the law of 26 November 2025, a mixed approach is allowed: canopies over at least 35% of that half, and planted features to shade the rest.
- Deadlines for existing car parks: 1 July 2026 for car parks of 10,000 m² or more, 1 July 2028 for car parks of 1,500 to 10,000 m². A postponement to 1 January 2028 and 1 January 2030 respectively is possible, subject to conditions on the order and the characteristics of the panels.
- Exceptions: in particular technical, safety, heritage or environmental constraints, an excessive cost, or a car park already shaded by trees, at a rate of one tree for every three spaces spread across the car park, or by trees already shading more than half of its area.
- Penalties: an annual fine, from €20,000 to €40,000 depending on the area, until compliance.
Sources: Légifrance and the French Ministry of Ecological Transition. Texts checked on 25 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What does a car park greening commission include?
A site survey, a planting plan, the choice of species and tree pits, rainwater management and supervision of the works with our partner companies.
Do you design solar canopies?
No. We design the planted part of the car park: trees, tree pits, soil and rainwater.
Do you have a car park to green?
We work in Paris, the Yvelines and the Hauts-de-Seine and, on request, anywhere in France and in neighbouring countries.