Team Advisory

Office certification WELL, BREEAM, HQE: the CFO/HR Director guide

Three standards structure the commercial real estate market: BREEAM (10 categories), HQE (14 targets), WELL (10 concepts)

Below 800 sq m or with a residual lease shorter than 4 years, environmental certification destroys value: 15,000 to 60,000 EUR of audit and project management support cannot be amortised over this scope, and green value (+7 to +10% according to JLL, Sustainability and Value, 2023, p.18) is only capitalised from a holding horizon of at least 5 years. WELL, BREEAM and HQE structure French commercial real estate trade-offs, under precise threshold conditions. The tertiary decree requires -40% energy consumption by 2030 and -60% by 2050 across the office stock over 1000 sq m (Construction Code, art. R. 174-22 and OPERAT platform). For the CFO and HR Director, the question is not whether to certify but which standard, at what level, over what holding horizon. Kytom, founded in 2006, articulates the three standards with an integrated design method calibrated over 12 to 20 weeks depending on the targeted level.

The French commercial real estate market is organised around three standards with distinct logics.

BREEAM (BRE, United Kingdom, created in 1990): 10 environmental categories (energy, water, transport, pollution, materials, waste, health, management, ecology, innovation), 6 levels from Pass to Outstanding. The reference for pan-European property companies.
HQE (Certivea, Alliance HQE-GBC): 14 targets structured into four families (eco-construction, eco-management, comfort, health), rated from Good to Exceptional. The reference on public procurement and French commercial real estate.
WELL (IWBI, United States): 10 occupant-centred concepts (air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind, community), levels from Bronze to Platinum.

Our reading differs from the dominant commercial narrative on this precise point: the three standards are not substitutable, they are complementary. BREEAM and HQE assess the building, WELL assesses the human experience. Claiming that WELL replaces BREEAM is a trade-off error we regularly see in executive committees: a WELL Platinum asset without BREEAM does not gain value at disposal because pan-European property companies read BREEAM, not WELL. For a headquarters aiming at both asset value and employer brand, dual BREEAM + WELL certification is the rational trade-off. Across our recent portfolio, HQE leads ahead of BREEAM then WELL, and nearly one operation in five combines two standards.

BREEAM, HQE or WELL: which one to choose for a 5,000 sq m headquarters in Île-de-France?

The choice depends on the holding horizon and the objective. For an asset intended for disposal, BREEAM prevails, because pan-European property companies read it rather than WELL. For a headquarters combining asset value and employer brand, dual BREEAM and WELL certification remains the rational trade-off. HQE remains relevant for French commercial real estate and public procurement. Across our recent portfolio, HQE leads ahead of BREEAM then WELL, and nearly one operation in five combines two standards.