EVO 25.05: certifying the biodiversity of renovation projects

Who is EVO 25.05 for?

The standard is aimed at project owners running a heavy renovation, refurbishment or restructuring operation on an existing building: social housing landlords, property companies and investors, developers active in urban recycling, local authorities and commercial-estate managers. Renovating rather than demolishing is already a positive move for the climate and for resources, but working on an occupied or already-sealed site carries its own ecological challenges. EVO 25.05 makes it possible to substantiate the biodiversity quality of a refurbishment, where a mere self-declaration does not carry the same weight with lenders, tenants and public authorities.

A standard tailored to existing buildings

Renovating is not managed like building from scratch. On an existing operation the footprint is fixed, the soils are often already sealed, in-place vegetation may shelter established wildlife, and the room for manoeuvre is constrained by the building and its immediate surroundings. EVO 25.05 was designed for these real conditions: it rewards preserving what already exists before creating anything new, encourages greening of the available surfaces (façade bases, roofs, courtyard cores), and recognises the measures that reintroduce nature where it had disappeared. The standard reasons in terms of a net improvement in the site's ecological state between the before and after of the works.

What the standard assesses

The assessment focuses on the ecological environments and functions that can be mobilised on a constrained operation: soil de-sealing and the return of living soils, stormwater management and infiltration, planting and diversity of vegetation layers, refuges for ordinary wildlife (nest boxes, roosts, insect hotels, passages), ecological continuity re-established in a dense urban setting, urban heat-island mitigation and the comfort of outdoor spaces. Each theme is judged on concrete evidence, diagnostics, plans and field surveys, not on intentions alone. The initial ecological diagnosis of the site plays a central role here, as it sets the baseline against which gains are measured.

62 criteria, 129 requirements

EVO 25.05 is made up of 62 criteria grouping 129 precise requirements. This granularity, finer than that of a new-build standard, reflects the diversity of situations encountered on existing buildings and establishes a measurable performance level, comparable from one operation to another. The field assessment is carried out by a Biodiversity Partner, an ecologist qualified by IRICE, ensuring a consistent and independent reading of the standard.

Why certify a renovation?

Regulatory and extra-financial pressure on biodiversity is accelerating: the CSRD directive and ESRS E4 standard, Article 35 of the French Climate and Resilience Act, the Net Zero Land Take objective, and the expectations of investors and local authorities. In this context, refurbishing the existing building stock becomes a strategic lever, and an accredited biodiversity certification turns a narrative into verifiable proof. It enhances the operation's value with occupants, secures environmental claims and sets the project apart in its market. Certification is issued by IRICE, an accredited certification body, while Effinature is part of a wider toolset run by the NORMAXIS group, from a free pre-diagnostic through to a signed certification.

How to obtain EVO 25.05 certification

The path is straightforward: you submit an application to IRICE, the certification body (Cofrac accreditation No. 5-0655). Once the application is deemed admissible, a Biodiversity Partner assesses your operation against the standard, drawing on the diagnosis of the initial state and on verification of the works carried out. IRICE then makes the certification decision independently and issues the certificate, which is listed in the public registry of certified operations.