We are regularly required to assist with environmental certification for buildings we manage.
HQE Bâtiment Durable en Exploitation certification is the French benchmark in this area. BREEAM In-Use (BIU) is a British certification that has wider international recognition. Our clients choose to deploy these certifications as part of their sustainable development approach (CSR, SRI, ESG), but also for marketing purposes. A certified building will be more attractive to companies that are concerned about the sustainable development issues associated with their business.
The certification framework enables us to structure our processes more closely to ensure more virtuous management. These standards lead us to develop good reflexes and synergy between the building manager and everyone else involved in the building’s operations, to reduce the environmental impact of buildings even more.
The certifications mentioned above have a sustainable management component where we can be instrumental. Emmanuel Mercier, Management Director at Esset Property Management, is supervising the renewal process of the HQE Exploitation certification for the Amiral building, with assistance from Antony Honorine, Operations Manager. When certification was awarded in 2022, the team had achieved ratings of “very-good” for sustainable building and “outstanding” for sustainable management, the highest possible score. The pressure is on to maintain this score for the certification renewal.
ESG performance is extremely important to our client. The scores obtained show our teams can meet the highest standards in sustainable management. Certification assesses the quality of our work in terms of method and management. A good rating shows how closely we monitor our service providers.
Jeremy Vervoitte, Building Manager at Humakey, a subsidiary of the Esset Group, agrees. He has been coordinating HQE certification of the Cristalia building for six years, and recently completed renewal successfully with an “excellent” score in the sustainable building and sustainable management categories. “It’s fabulous to achieve these results for a 21-year-old building!” he exclaims. “Apart from our internal processes, the results recognise the quality of our management of on-site service providers: tech providers, green space company, and cleaning company each contribute to the sustainable management approach.”
The certification process, initially launched after the building was restructured between 2015 and 2017 with a view to marketing when 50% of the site was vacant, is now fully occupied. Jeremy explains: “Raising awareness amongst tenants was a challenge. They now understand the benefits and are directly involved in certification via their private investments. The certification matches their own environmental commitments and also some of their QWL (quality of life at work) commitments.” Recent initiatives include on-site events and the creation of a bicycle storage room.
Environmental standards are an integral part of our business more than ever before. They are inseparable from our operational processes. The benchmarks for environmental certifications are proof: a carefully managed building is also a more environmentally efficient building.