HQE Operations Certification: enhance the value of your office assets
Cerway framework: 14 targets, 4 levels, 3-year cycle
HQE Operation: EUR 95,000 invested in a 5,000 m2 building generates a 7 to 11% green value premium at disposal, i.e. 10 to 30 times the outlay for an Asset Manager. Profitability does not rest solely on the energy savings achieved after implementing the OMS, but on the SRI valuation of the portfolio at exit. The HQE Sustainable Building Operation certification, run by Cerway since 2016, structures environmental management across 14 targets and 3 axes (Building, Management, Use), assessed over a renewable 3-year cycle. Kytom, founded in 2006, frames the process in France and Spain, in line with the framework’s AFNOR requirements and the OPERAT trajectory of the French Tertiary Decree (ADEME OPERAT, 2023 data).
The certification is built around 3 complementary axes:
- Sustainable building: intrinsic quality of the envelope and systems (HVAC, lighting, glazing).
- Sustainable management: OMS (Operation Management System), maintenance contracts, metering plan compliant with ISO 50001.
- Sustainable use: occupant behaviour and awareness, usage charter, RGAA signage.
The 14 targets are assessed across 4 levels (Base, High Performance, Very High Performance, Excellent), with an intermediate annual audit and triennial renewal. The French commercial building stock represents around 1 billion m2 according to ADEME (ADEME commercial stock report 2023), a majority of which requires renovation by 2050. The OPERAT decree imposes a trajectory for reducing final energy consumption in 2030, 2040 and 2050, with a mandatory annual declaration on the ADEME OPERAT platform.
In our recent portfolio, a majority of commercial buildings exceed 200 kWhFE/m2.year before intervention, compared with an HQE Operation High Performance level target of around 110 kWhFE/m2.year for a standard office asset. Comfort temperature (21 to 24 °C under normal occupancy, INRS reference value for sedentary work), air quality and HVAC monitoring are integrated into the scoring. The framework positions itself as a useful complement to BREEAM In-Use and WELL Building Standard.
