HVE 25.05: certifying biodiversity, High Ecological Value, over time

Who is HVE 25.05 for?

HVE 25.05 is aimed at project owners, managers and operators whose operation already holds an active Effinature certificate, obtained under NCO, EVO or HOR. Where the initial certification validates design and delivery, the High Ecological Value extension looks at the life of the site after it is put into service. It concerns landlords, real-estate funds, local authorities and property managers who want to demonstrate, with supporting evidence, that the ecological features they financed keep producing their effects year after year, and not only on the day of handover.

An extension, not a standalone certification

HVE 25.05 is never obtained on its own: it extends a parent project that is already certified and whose certificate is still valid. The standard takes over at the point where the initial guarantee might otherwise fade, namely during operation. Its purpose is to maintain and prove ecological performance over the long term, by checking that the biodiversity actually installed develops in line with the commitments made. This logic of continuity makes the extension the ultimate degree of recognition: it attests that the operation remains, in practice, of High Ecological Value.

Recurring Conformity Checks (CCR)

The heart of HVE 25.05 is the Recurring Conformity Checks, or CCR: periodic on-site assessments carried out at defined intervals, replacing a single check with ongoing monitoring. At each visit, the assessor records the real state of the environments, measures any gaps against the certified situation and verifies that any corrective actions have been carried out:

• 1 Monitoring of installed biodiversity. The fauna and flora actually present, the recovery of plantings, the colonisation of habitats and the functionality of ecological continuities are observed, rather than the project's theoretical potential.
• 2 Control of ecological maintenance. The standard verifies that differentiated management, late mowing, the absence of inputs and the durability of the features are genuinely applied on the ground, over time.

What the standard assesses in use

The assessment focuses on the durability of ecological functions: soil health and soil life over time, the resilience of vegetation layers and the diversity of species, upkeep of swales and water-management devices, the maintenance of habitats favourable to ordinary wildlife and the continuity of green-and-blue networks. Differentiated management is examined closely, because a well-designed feature can lose all ecological value if it is maintained like a conventional green space. Each finding rests on field surveys and concrete evidence, never on mere declarations.

An independent, consistent assessment

As with the initial standards, the Recurring Conformity Checks are carried out by a Biodiversity Partner, an ecologist qualified by IRICE. Relying on a third party ensures a consistent reading of the standard from one check to the next and from one site to another, an essential condition for the maintenance of High Ecological Value to be comparable and enforceable. The renewal decision remains with IRICE, taken independently, on the basis of the field findings.

Why prove performance over time?

Regulatory and extra-financial pressure does not stop at delivery: the CSRD directive and ESRS E4 standard, Article 35 of the French Climate and Resilience Act, and the expectations of investors and local authorities now bear on durable results, not just design intentions. HVE 25.05 answers this requirement by turning a one-off commitment into renewed proof. It secures environmental claims across an asset's holding period and sets apart the managers who genuinely keep their promises. Effinature is part of a wider toolset run by the NORMAXIS group, from the pre-diagnostic through to in-use monitoring, alongside the certification body IRICE.

How to obtain the HVE 25.05 extension

The starting point is a certified parent project whose certificate is active. You submit an extension application to IRICE, the certification body (Cofrac accreditation No. 5-0655). Once the application is deemed admissible, a schedule of Recurring Conformity Checks is set and a Biodiversity Partner carries out the first on-site check. IRICE then decides to grant High Ecological Value, renewed at each due date as long as the findings confirm that performance is maintained, and the operation is listed in the public registry of certified operations.