The HEQ initiative aims to improve comfort in building construction and use through a global cost approach considering financial and environmental impacts from design through end of life. It is based on two parts: an operation management system to assess environmental management and a quality repository to evaluate architectural and technical performance. HEQ is a trademark validated by AFNOR certification inspired by energy performance labels with additional health, hydrological and plant dimensions. Some professionals prefer alternative standards like BREEAM due to criticisms of HEQ's lack of transparency and advocacy for industry interests.

1. EDUCATIONAL SHEET
The HEQ initiative
HIGHENVIRONMENTALQUALITYINITIATIVE
HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INITIATIVE
HQE is a quality process that aims at a better comfort in the construction and the
use of buildings. It is based on the "global cost" approach (financial and
environmental) of a project; from design to end of life, ideally including at least one
energy balance, one carbon assessment, and a life cycle analysis of structures.
The high environmental quality initiative for building is based on a technical baseline in 2 parts: an
operation management system (SMO in French: système de management d’opération) to assess the
environmental management implemented, and a quality repository of environmental quality in the
building (QEB in French: qualité environnementale dans le bâtiment) to evaluate the architectural and
technical performance of the work.
HQE is a trademark validated by the AFNOR certification "NF HQE® Initiative Work" inspired by the High
Energy Performance label (HPE) with the addition of a health, hydrological and plant dimension.
HQE being criticized for its lack of transparency and advocacy of the industrials’ commercial interests (it is
a member of AIMCC, the union of building materials manufacturers), some professionals prefer the British
BREEAM and / or process designs related to French public labels.
The Operation Management
System (SMO)
The implementation of an operation management system allows to
define the environmental quality target for the building and to organize
the operations to reach it, while controlling all operational processes
related to programming, design and the undertaking of work.
The Environmental Quality in the
Building (QEB)
The environmental quality of the building relies to the ability of its
intrinsic characteristics (building, facilities, developed plots) to meet
the following requirements:
- Controlling impacts on the external environment
- Creating a comfortable and healthy indoor environment.
To measure these requirements, 14 targets divided into 4 groups are
taken into account:
- Eco-building targets (5) (harmonious relationship of the building
with its environment, integrated choice of materials / systems /
construction processes, low-pollution building site)
- Eco-Management Targets (5) (energy, water, business, service /
maintenance)
- Comfort targets (4) (hygrothermal, acoustic, visual, olfactory
qualities)
- Health targets (3) (sanitary quality of spaces, sanitary quality of
air and water)
To meet the HQE requirements, the building must comply with the SMO and must reach at least: 7 basic
level targets, 4 performance level targets and 3 high performance level targets.