HQE

The Haute Qualité Environnementale sustainability standard was launched in 2005 by the HQE Association

The HQE sustainability standard® (Haute Qualité Environnementale = high environmental quality) was launched in 2005 by the HQE Association, which was founded in 1996 and developed into a certification standard by 2011. In 2016, the Association HQE merged with the France GBC (Green Building Council) to form the Alliance HQE-GBC, whose stakeholders from the French property industry pursue the goal of anticipating sustainable developments, exchanging knowledge and experience and raising the sustainability standard of buildings.

Application and distribution

The HQE certificate was initially introduced as a standard for existing and new office and school buildings but can now be applied to all non-residential buildings for new builds, refurbishments and existing buildings. As with other certification systems, there is a separate assessment system for detached houses and larger residential buildings. It is intended to encourage building owners and planners to develop, modernise or operate buildings with maximum comfort and minimum impact on the environment. For quality assurance purposes, an assessment is carried out by an independent assessor (auditor) after commissioning, planning and completion or during operation, based on which certification is awarded in the Base, Bon, Très Bon, Performant, Très Performant, Excellent or Exceptionnel categories. The certification bodies are Certivea for non-residential buildings, neighbourhoods or infrastructure projects and Cerqual for residential buildings, whose certification is also called Qualitel.

HQE certifications are mainly used in France. At the end of 2023, around 3,900 non-residential buildings and around 844,000 residential buildings or residential units were certified in France. At international level, there were around 300 HQE-certified non-residential buildings and around 89,000 HQE-certified residential buildings in a total of 26 countries at that time.

Objectives of the HQE certification

14 objectives have been defined for HQE building certification, which in turn are divided into four areas.

The three objectives of ecological building:

  • imageAlt

    Management of the construction or renovation project

    Efficient and responsible management of the construction or renovation project; in particular, care must be taken to ensure a harmonious relationship between the building and its immediate surroundings.

  • imageAlt

    Integrated selection of construction methods and products

    Materials and technologies with a low impact on the environment must be selected. Proof is provided by means of a life cycle assessment.

     

  • imageAlt

    Sustainable construction site

    During construction work, noise and dust pollution must be avoided and waste must be disposed of in an organised manner.

The four goals of ecological management:

  • imageAlt

    Energy efficiency

    Optimising the building with a view to minimising energy consumption during operation

  • imageAlt

    Water management

    Economical use of drinking water

  • imageAlt

    Waste management

    Measures to reduce, separate and recycle waste

  • imageAlt

    Maintenance and servicing

    Proactive maintenance to maintain sustainability qualities.

The four comfort targets:

  • imageAlt

    Hygrothermal comfort

    Hygrothermal comfort concerns the regulation of temperature and humidity to optimise the well-being of building users.

  • imageAlt

    Acoustic comfort

    This is about reducing noise pollution inside the building.

  • imageAlt

    Visual comfort 

    Visual comfort involves optimising natural and artificial lighting.

  • imageAlt

    Odour comfort

    The indoor climate must not be impaired by unpleasant odours.

Finally, the HQE standard defines three health objectives:

  • imageAlt

    Air quality

    High air quality must be ensured through good management of pollution risks.

  • imageAlt

    Water quality 

    Good water quality must be guaranteed or achieved by building operators.

     

  • imageAlt

    Indoor air quality

    Indoor air quality is about the general healthiness of indoor spaces.

Depending on how many targets are met, the certification levels are Base (from 7 out of 14), Performant (from 11 out of 14) and Très Performant (14 out of 14). In 2015, the 14 objectives were supplemented by the four commitments of environmental protection, quality of life, economic performance and responsible management.
Like the other well-known certification systems BREEAM, LEED® and DGNB, HQE also addresses current developments such as the EU taxonomy or key topics such as the circular economy, resilience and biodiversity.