HQE Building in Operation


HQE Building in Operation (HQE-B Operation) is designed for public and private, non-residential real estate stakeholders of any size, with or without an HQE track record, who are seeking recognition and endorsement of the environmental, societal and economic performances of their buildings’ operation.
HQE Building in Operation forms part of the new family of HQE Building certifications launched by Certivea in June 2022.
It covers a period of three or five years, whichever the client chooses, and engages the stakeholders in a process of continuous improvement.
Certification has two focus: Building, covering the owner’s respective requirements, and Management, covering the operators’ respective requirements.
HQE Building in Operation is a modular scheme and can be adapted to the type of building to be certified: offices, retail outlet, warehouse, hotel, childcare centre, school, campus, museum or library, etc.
The scheme for health establishments will be finalised and launched by end-2022.
The HQE-B Operation scheme, developed with Alliance HQE-GBC and numerous stakeholders. It helps each of our clients to define a path for improvement over the 3 or 5-year period.
The Management focus of HQE-B Operation contains 13 themes
Indoor air quality
Indoor air pollutants (VOC, CO, CO2, NO2, benzen, fine particles, formaldehyde, mildew) – Ventilation (air flows, filtration, air inlets and outlets, etc.)
Water quality
Physicochemical and bacteriological composition – Water quality and temperature control (prevention of legionella, etc.) – Design of indoor distribution systems, etc.
Electromagnetic exposure
Identification of internal and external sources – Electromagnetic field levels – Equipment and architectural layout to reduce exposure, etc.
Hygrothermal comfort
Time out of the comfort range – Solar factors, air speed, humidity control, user control over thermal comfort, etc.
Acoustic comfort
Location of external and internal noise sources – Insulation from outdoors, between units, impact noise, equipment noise, reverberation time, etc.
Visual comfort
Amount of light (natural light autonomy, lighting level, etc.) – Absence of discomfort (glare, etc.) – Access to views, user control over light ambience, etc.
Transport
Access and flow management – Nearby public transport – Close access to stations and airports, bicycle paths – Facilities encouraging the use of bicycles and electrical vehicles, etc.
Energy
Performance in energy consumption, all uses (kWhEP/sq.m.year) – Reduction in energy consumption – Special provisions (cold storage, data centres, etc.)
Water management
Performance in drinking water consumption (m³/q.m.year) – Reduction in drinking water consumption – Rainwater management – Waste-water management – recovered water valorisation, etc.

Waste
Waste management (dimensions, location and equipment of waste facilities, etc.) – Quantity and valorisation of work site waste, etc.
Carbon
CO2 emissions from energy consumed during use of the building (kgCO2eq/sq.m.year) and from mobility (kgCO2eq/sq.m.year)

Sustainable Management
Care and cleaning actions, technical systems maintenance, maintenance tasks, relations with users, performance follow-up and risk mitigation, global reporting of the operation (periodical reports, sanitation diary),…

Governance
Identifying, prioritizing and taking into account stakeholders’ needs and expectations
Building focus contains 15 themes
Indoor air quality
Indoor air pollutants (VOC, CO, CO2, NO2, benzen, fine particles, formaldehyde, mildew) – Ventilation (air flows, filtration, air inlets and outlets, etc.)
Water quality
Physicochemical and bacteriological composition – Water quality and temperature control (prevention of legionella, etc.) – Design of indoor distribution systems, etc.
Electromagnetic exposure
Identification of internal and external sources – Electromagnetic field levels – Equipment and architectural layout to reduce exposure, etc.
Hygrothermal comfort
Time out of the comfort range – Solar factors, air speed, humidity control, user control over thermal comfort, etc.
Acoustic comfort
Location of external and internal noise sources – Insulation from outdoors, between units, impact noise, equipment noise, reverberation time, etc.
Visual comfort
Amount of light (natural light autonomy, lighting level, etc.) – Absence of discomfort (glare, etc.) – Access to views, user control over light ambience, etc.
Transport
Access and flow management – Nearby public transport – Close access to stations and airports, bicycle paths – Facilities encouraging the use of bicycles and electrical vehicles, etc.
Energy
Performance in energy consumption, all uses (kWhEP/sq.m.year) – Reduction in energy consumption – Special provisions (cold storage, data centres, etc.)
Water management
Performance in drinking water consumption (m³/q.m.year) – Reduction in drinking water consumption – Rainwater management – Waste-water management – recovered water valorisation, etc.

Waste
Waste management (dimensions, location and equipment of waste facilities, etc.) – Quantity and valorisation of work site waste, etc.
Carbon
CO2 emissions from energy consumed during use of the building (kgCO2eq/sq.m.year) and from mobility (kgCO2eq/sq.m.year)

Adaptation to climate change
Management of natural risks due to climate change – Hygrothermal comfort in a deteriorated climate, etc. – Heat island effect, etc.

Adaptability
Adaptability of building for same use – Suitability for change of use – Digital adaptability and interoperability, etc.
Work site
Organisation of work site – Work site waste management – Nuisance limitation – Control of water and energy consumption – Work site assessment, etc.

Governance
Identifying, prioritizing and taking into account stakeholders’ needs and expectations
Correlation with key public policy, business and investor indicators
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Significant contribution to SDGs 3, 6 and 7
- Some contribution to SDGs 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 17
- Indirect contribution to SDGs 2, 5 and 10

EU Level(s) indicators
- Significant contribution to macro-objectives 3, 4 and 5
- No. 3 Efficient use of water resources
- No. 4 Healthy and comfortable spaces
- No. 5 Adaptation and resilience to climate change
- Some contribution to macro-objectives 1, 2 and 6
- No. 1 Greenhouse gas emissions along the building’s lifecycle
- No. 2 Resource-efficient and circular material lifecycles
- No. 6 Optimised lifecycle cost and value
HQE Building in Operation: When? How? What cost? What score?, etc.
Recommended phase for certification entry
- N/A
- Component selected by client (Building or Management?) and duration of certification (3 or 5 years?)
Contact with a referent recognised by Certivea
- Recommended, particularly if you have not sought HQE certification before or if your last HQE certification was several years ago
Contact with Certivea during the certification process
- Contact with your Certivea representative by e-mail or phone
- Online contact via Certivea’s ISIA-2 digital platform
Scoring scale
4 levels: Good, Very Good, Excellent, Outstanding
Information on certification
- Information may be circulated on the certification in progress
- At the end of the 3 or 5-year period, information may be circulated on the certification issued by Certivea, indicating the years certified
Amount paid to Certivea for the certification process
- Depends on project and total surface area
- €19000 excl. tax on average
- This price includes the cost of the auditor, an independent third party commissioned and paid by Certivea.