HEQ (High Environmental Quality) is a global approach designed to improve the environmental quality of buildings, in other words to control their impact on the outdoors environment and create a healthy and comfortable indoors environment.
HEQ is applicable to all types of new and existing buildings in the residential, tertiary and industrial sectors. A French standard now covers HEQ for tertiary buildings, with the "NF Tertiary buildings – HEQ approach" certification in order to terminate abusive use of the HEQ building qualification.
For the moment this certification for tertiary buildings is applicable to new construction and major renovation operations for office and teaching purposes. It applies to all persons involved in the work (from the client to the main contractor) and is issued after three audits carried out during key periods (programming, design and construction) in the construction period.
Certification relates to the operation management system and the environmental quality of the building. The client must hierarchically define 14 targets including target performance levels, to create a profile of the environmental quality of the building.
The 14 targets in the HEQ approach:
Control impacts on the outdoors environment:
Eco-construction:
1. harmonious relation between buildings and their immediate environment
2. integrated choice of products and construction materials
3. low site nuisance
Eco-management:
4. management of energy
5. management of water
6. management of waste caused by activities
7. management of servicing and maintenance
Create a healthy and comfortable indoors environment:
Comfort:
8. Hygrometric comfort
9. Acoustic comfort
10. Visual comfort
11. No unpleasant smells
Health:
12. Sanitary quality of areas
13. sanitary air quality
14. sanitary water quality
There is no list of HEQ products. Construction products with technical, environmental, economic and sanitary characteristics capable of satisfying this approach and the selected targets should be selected.
HOW DO GIRPI PRODUCTS FORM PART OF THIS APPROACH?
GIRPI and HEQ approach:
GIRPI has integrated the environment into its Company strategy for many years
SO 14001 certified production unit
An ambitious policy and complete commitment to:
Participation in the promotion of new techniques and new products
Contribution to the development of responsible attitudes
Improvement to environmental performances
Provision of reliable and long lasting products
HEQ is based on common sense rules, to which products in different GIRPI ranges naturally contribute.
GIRPI products directly contribute to 9 key objectives among the 14 «target objectives» in the HEQ program. GIRPI provides specific solutions to each of these 9 criteria:
- Integrated choice of construction processes and products.
- Low nuisance site: hygiene and speed of construction sites, no flames used for installing products on sites.
- Management of energy.
- Management of water: safety of networks, perfect leak tightness.
- Management of waste caused by activities: recycling of pipes.
- Servicing and maintenance: maintenance on networks is minimized.
- Acoustic comfort.
- Visual comfort.
- Water quality.
HTA, KRYOCLIM and FRIAPHON satisfy these new requirements, and these products are perfectly integrated into the HEQ approach.
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