Residential Environmental Assessments
The National Certification Scheme For New Dwellings
It is a voluntary scheme and a more end-user friendly certification process than the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) and will greatly enhance the chance of successful planning submissions.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states “Development which is sustainable can be approved without delay”. An HQM pre-assessment enhances and supports planning application submissions by demonstrating the sustainable credentials of proposed schemes.
HQM does recognise and encourage the adoption of the proposed “Housing Standards Review” that is being undertaken by Government and is expected to be incorporated into the Building Regulations.
Building to the HQM, rather than building homes only within the minimum standards required by Building Regulations, provides developers with a clear market differentiation for their products.
HQM is a performance focus design and construction assessment. It measures the environmental impact of new developments taking into account issues such as: Embodied energy; Direct and indirect operational CO2 emissions; Resource efficiency and occupiers Health & Wellbeing.
The HQM Standard
HQM provides a 1 to 5 star rating, evaluating:
- Accessible to public transport
- Alternative sustainable transport
- Local amenities
- Ecology review
- Maintaining & enhancing ecological value
- Ecological management
- Recreational space
- Security
- Flood risk
- Managing the impact of rainfall
- Land use and visual impact
- External spatial design
- Growing space
By undertaking HQM assessments, we exceed the planning requirements for sustainable development. This paves the way to develop a coherent building design, providing developers with the opportunity to:
- Differentiate your projects
- Address buyers concerns on sustainability
- Increase your market share
Our Sustainability Consultants, BREEAM and HQM Assessors have a proud record of providing cost-effective sustainable design solutions, leading to planning approvals and successful building certification with BRE.
The scheme has a total of 500 credits organised under the three key sections. Click on each section for more details:
- Our Surroundings
- My Home
- Knowledge Sharing
This section will award credits for recognising opportunities and mitigating constraints for best integration of homes into the surrounding area.
This section is divided into four categories: Site context; Movement & connectivity; Outdoors and Safety & Resilience. Some of the familiar issues are:
- Accessible public transport
- Alternative sustainable transport
- Local amenities
- Ecology review
- Maintaining & enhancing ecological value
- Ecological management
- Recreational space
- Security
- Flood risk
- Managing the impact of rainfall
- Land use and visual impact
- External spatial design
- Growing space
| HQM Topics | Topics Previously covered by CSH |
| Alternative Public Transport | Ene 8 Cycle Storage |
| Ecology | Was 3 Composting |
| Ecology | Eco 1 Ecological Value of Site |
| Ecology | Eco 2 Ecological Enhancement |
| Ecology | Eco 3 Protection of Ecological Features |
| Ecology | Eco 4 Change in Ecological Value of Site |
| Recreational Space | Hea 3 Private Space |
| Flood Risk | Sur 2 Flood Risk |
| Managing the Impact of Rainfall | Sur 1 Management of Surface Water Run-Off |
| Security | Man 4 Security |
The environmental issues within the “Our Surroundings” section that are covered by the BREEAM are:
| HQM Topics | Topics currently covered in BREEAM |
| Accessible Public Transport | Tra 01 Public Transport Accessibility |
| Local Amenities | Tra 02 Proximity to Amenities |
This section will recognise and award credits for measures that are incorporated into the design of the home that contributes to its performance and improves the wellbeing of its occupants.
This section is divided into five categories, Energy; Comfort & Health; Materials; Space and Water. Some of the familiar issues are:
- Energy performance & cost
- Decentralised energy & storage
- External lighting
- Indoor pollutants
- Daylight
- Internal & external noise
- Sound insulation
- Temperature
- Ventilation
- Environmental impact
- Life cycle costing
- Durability & resilience
- Responsible sourcing
- Drying space
- Recyclable waste storage
- Water efficiency
- Leak detection
- Sunlight
- Dwelling space
- Loss of daylight to neighbours
HQM methodology assesses and reports environmental performance differently from the CSH. However, some topics within the HQM “My Home” section, which were previously covered by the CSH are listed below:
| HQM Topics | Topics Previously covered by CSH |
| Daylight | Hea 1 Daylighting |
| Sound Insulation | Hea 2 Sound Insulation |
| Energy Performance and Cost | Ene 1 Dwelling Emission Rate |
| Energy Performance and Cost | Ene 2 Fabric Energy Efficiency |
| Decentralised Energy | Ene 7 Low and Zero Carbon Technology |
| Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products | Mat 1 Environmental Impact of Materials |
| Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products | Mat 2 Responsible Sourcing of Materials |
| Impact from Construction Products | Pol 1 GWP of Insulants |
| Impact from Construction Products | Pol 2 Nox Emissions |
The environmental issues within “My Home” section which were covered by the BREEAM are:
| HQM Topics | Topics currently covered in BREEAM |
| Indoor Pollutants | Hea 02 Indoor Air Quality |
| Internal and External Noise | Hea 05 Acoustic Performance |
| Life Cycle Costing of Construction Products | Man 02 Cycle Cost and Service Planning |
| Durability of Construction Products | Mat 05 Design for Durability |
This section will award credits for good practice throughout the design and construction to reduce the “Performance Gap” by:
- Effective, holistic project management
- Meaningful communication and support from and through occupation
- Verification of performance
This section is divided into two categories, Home delivery and User experience, which will award credits for some familiar issues such as:
- Commissioning and Performance
- Awareness and training
- Communication
- Construction energy
- Construction water
- Considerate construction
- Waste arising
- Diversion from landfill
- Aftercare
- Home information
- Monitoring & controls
- Post occupancy evaluation
HQM methodology assesses and reports environmental performance differently from the CSH. However, some topics within the HQM “Knowledge Sharing” section, which were previously covered by the CSH are listed below:
| HQM Topics | Topics Previously covered by CSH |
| Home Information | Man 1 Home User Guide |
| Considerate Construction | Man 2 Considerate Contractor Scheme |
| Construction Energy | Man 3 Construction Site Impact |
| Construction Water | Man 3 Construction Site Impact |
| Site Waste | Wst 1 Storage of Recyclable Waste |
| Site Waste | Wst 2 Construction Site Waste Management |
The environmental issues within the “Knowledge Sharing” section that are covered by BREEAM are:
| HQM Topics | Topics currently covered in BREEAM |
| Commissioning and Performance | Man 04 Commissioning and Handover |
| Aftercare | Man 05 Aftercare |
| Post Occupancy Evaluation | Man 05 Aftercare |
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