Certification
Biodiversity certification for a new development
The Effinature biodiversity certification is issued by IRICE, an accredited third-party body. It provides defensible, independent proof, separate from any advisory work.
Defensible biodiversity proof to differentiate the development
In a market where buyers and investors scrutinise environmental commitments, an accredited biodiversity certification is a measurable sales differentiator, provided it is issued by an independent third party and not self-declared.
The Effinature certification is granted by IRICE, accredited by Cofrac (no. 5-0655, ISO/IEC 17065), following an inspection. The decision belongs to the accredited body, separately from any advisory work: that is what makes it defensible proof rather than a marketing claim.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Why
A biodiversity claim on a marketing brochure is now regulated.
Developers increasingly communicate on the ecological quality of a scheme, and Directive (EU) 2024/825 restricts environmental claims that are not substantiated. A statement that a development is favourable to biodiversity, made on the developer's own authority, is precisely the kind of claim the directive targets.
Third-party certification answers that, but only if it is genuinely third-party. A verification carried out by the same group that designed the landscaping does not substantiate anything, which is why the certification body has to be separate and accredited.
Timing
Certification is designed in, not applied afterwards.
Ecological performance is created by decisions taken at masterplan stage: what is retained, what is planted, how the ground is treated, how lighting is designed. Applying for certification once the scheme is built limits the outcome to what the design happens to have achieved.
The sequence that works is: ecological assessment early, design informed by it, certification assessed against the delivered result. That also produces the evidence a buyer or an investor can rely on, which is what the claim was for.
Going further
Related pages.
This question connects to these pages.
- Effinature biodiversity certification — the scheme itself
- IRICE, Cofrac-accredited certification body — who assesses
- EU Directive 2024/825 — what a claim now requires
- Four-season surveys — the baseline for the assessment
- Green and blue network — connectivity as a design subject
- Securing environmental claims — the general rule
- Working with property developers — the wider engagement
- Working with ESG investors — who reads the certificate afterwards
- Avoid-reduce-offset sequence — the regulatory floor beneath certification
- Integrating and certifying biodiversity — the design-side view
- Certification — how accreditation works
- Environmental expertise — the assessment behind it
- ESRS E4: biodiversity — where the certificate is reused
Start an Effinature certification
The certification is operated by IRICE, a third party independent of the owner of the standard and of the group's consultancy activities.
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