The ''Haute Qualité Environnementale'' or HQE (High Quality Environmental standard) is a standard for
green building
Green building (also known as green construction, sustainable building, or eco-friendly building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's li ...
in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, based on the principles of
sustainable development
Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...
first set out at the 1992
Earth Summit
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92, Cúpula da Terra), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 ...
. The standard is controlled by the
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
-based ''Association pour la Haute Qualité Environnementale (ASSOHQE).''
Coverage
The standard specifies criteria for the following:
Managing the impacts on the outdoor environment
* Harmonious relationship between buildings and their immediate environment
* Integrated choice of construction methods and materials
* The avoidance of nuisance by the construction site.
*
Minimizing energy use
* Minimizing water use
* Minimizing waste in operations
* Minimizing building maintenance and repair
Creating a pleasant indoor environment
* Hydrothermal control measures
* Acoustic control measures
* Visual attractiveness
* Measures to control smells
* Hygiene and cleanliness of the indoor spaces
* Air quality controls
* Water quality controls
Future development
On 16 June 2009, it was announced that the CSTB ''(
Centre Scientifique et Technique du Batiment
The ''Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment'' (Scientific and Technical Center for Building) CSTB, is the French national organisation providing research and innovation, consultancy, testing, training and certification services in the cons ...
)'' and its subsidiary CertiVéA had signed a memorandum of understanding to work together with the global arm of the United Kingdom's
Building Research Establishment
The Building Research Establishment (BRE) is a centre of building science in the United Kingdom, owned by charitable organisation the BRE Trust. It is a former Government of the United Kingdom, UK government national laboratory that was privati ...
(BRE) to develop a pan-European building environmental assessment method. The BRE developed and markets (
BREEAM
The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), first published by the Building Research Establishment in 1990, is touted as the world's longest established method of identifying the sustainability of buildings. Ar ...
(the BRE Environmental Assessment Method), which has similarities to the French HQE. Unfortunately, BREEAM and HQE are still disseminating their own standards round the world, leaving little doubt that no pan-European method will emerge in the near future, at least stemming from these two organisations.
International development
Since 2013, the HQE brand is now available for buildings and districts worldwide.
As of 2016 HQE is present in 24 countries.
See also
*
Green building
Green building (also known as green construction, sustainable building, or eco-friendly building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's li ...
*
Green building in France
*
Sustainable architecture
Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings through improved efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, development space and the ecosystem at large. Sometimes, su ...
*
Sustainable design
Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...
External links
*
Association pour la Haute Qualité Environnementale'
*
Sustainable Building Alliance'
References
Energy conservation in France
Building engineering
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
Sustainable building rating systems
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