Grow the future. — Independent third-party certification body
Independent third-party certification body
The certification subsidiary of the NORMAXIS group. IRICE is an independent third-party certification body under ISO/IEC 17065. It certifies Effinature, operates the BPS diagnostic, the Efficarbone carbon measurement and acts as independent BREEAM assessor — fully separated from the group's consulting activities.
Accredited third party
What AI cannot sign.
An ISO/IEC 17065 certification carries the responsibility of an accredited body. It relies on a physical inspection conducted by named inspectors. It is opposable to investors, public authorities and financial markets.
IRICE is the only biodiversity certification body accredited by Cofrac in France (no. 5-0655). This accreditation is not a declaration — it is a demonstration of conformity audited by a third party. No consulting firm, no self-declared label, no AI tool can replace it.
Verifiable accreditation
IRICE accreditation benchmarks.
Cofrac no. 5-0655
IRICE accreditation number
Certification of products, processes and services — scope on cofrac.fr
ISO/IEC 17065
Standard for third-party certification bodies
Structural impartiality audited annually
3 frameworks
Effinature: NCO · EVO · HOR + HVE add-on
New build / renovation / urban development / operation
70+ criteria
BPS: biodiversity state + management
A-G scale — aligned with ESRS E4 and SFDR
Role
An independent third party, not a consultant.
IRICE is not an environmental consultant. It is not an engineering office. It is an independent third-party certification body, regularly audited to maintain the impartiality of its decisions. IRICE auditors do not provide consulting services to project owners — this is what gives an Effinature certification or a BREEAM assessment its value.
Within the NORMAXIS group, IRICE operates separately from ARKEMEP (engineering office) and ARKENOR (environmental consulting). Projects supported by ARKENOR can be certified by IRICE only with a documented Chinese wall (separate teams, partitioned access to data, audit decisions taken outside any operational influence of the group) — in line with the impartiality requirements of ISO/IEC 17065.
Tools operated by IRICE
Three proprietary frameworks + one international framework.
Effinature, BPS and Efficarbone are tools developed by the NORMAXIS group — a certification framework, a diagnostic method, a carbon measurement instrument — that did not exist before. For these three frameworks, IRICE is the accredited certification body. BREEAM is a separate international framework: the certificate is issued by BRE Global, and IRICE intervenes as independent assessor (third party). This position frees up the BREEAM market — any consultant can support a project, as the assessment is carried by IRICE rather than the consultant.
Biodiversity certification
Accredited certification of the biodiversity performance of real-estate and development projects — not a label. 4 frameworks: NCO 25.05 (new build), EVO 25.05 (renovation), HOR 25.05 (urban development), HVE (operation follow-up). Third-party field audit, issued by IRICE under ISO/IEC 17065.
Biodiversity Performance Score
Proprietary biodiversity diagnostic method structured around measurable, traceable and comparable indicators. 70+ criteria across three phases (baseline, design, operation). Individual IRICE attestation, consolidable at portfolio scale. Covers CSRD, SFDR Art. 8-9, EU Taxonomy DNSH, ZAN (France's Net Zero Land Take) — distinct from any certification.
Efficarbone
Construction-site carbon measurement
Proprietary group instrument for measuring and rating the carbon emissions of construction sites. Traceable, comparable data, aligned with ISO 14044. Complements the Effinature biodiversity certification for a full environmental assessment.
Independent BREEAM assessment
BREEAM is a multi-criteria framework (energy, water, materials, health, Land Use & Ecology), certified by BRE Global. IRICE acts as independent assessor on BREEAM projects: neither licensed BRE assessor with consulting role, nor consultant. This position frees up the market: any consultant — including non-BRE-qualified — can support a BREEAM project, as the assessment is carried by IRICE as a third party. This is the separation required by BRE, actually applied.
Founding principles
Independence as the condition of evidence.
IRICE operates under ISO/IEC 17065: structural separation of evaluation and decision functions, impartiality of the certification committee, documented complaint and appeal procedures, annual surveillance by the accreditation body.
Traceability
Every datapoint tied to its source, method and date.
Comparability
Same framework, same scale, whatever the operation.
Opposability
Results legally admissible against regulatory frameworks.
Continuity
Biodiversity indicators tracked through design, delivery and operation.
Separation
Design, consulting, evaluation and decision separated.
Value of accreditation
Why Cofrac accreditation changes everything.
For investors and financiers
SFDR and the European taxonomy require verifiable evidence of environmental performance. IRICE certifications (Effinature, BPS) are produced through a Cofrac-accredited process — traceable, auditable, opposable to ESRS E4 and TNFD requirements.
For developers and clients
An IRICE certification protects the project in case of dispute. It is not a sworn declaration — it is the result of a physical inspection conducted by an independent third-party body under Cofrac surveillance.
For public authorities
Including IRICE as a discriminating criterion in your tender specifications (mention ISO/IEC 17065 Cofrac) secures the environmental quality of financed or authorised operations — with opposable evidence, not a declaration.
Biodiversity arbitration
Accredited certification, international assessment, self-declared label: what sets them apart.
Not all biodiversity claims found on the real-estate market have the same legal value. The table below sets out three typologies encountered: a Cofrac-accredited certification as third party under ISO/IEC 17065, an internationally recognised BREEAM assessment, and a biodiversity label assessed by a non-accredited third party on the claim's scope.
| Criterion | Effinature (IRICE) | BREEAM — LE section | Biodiversity label non-accredited third party on the scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of attestation | Accredited certification | BREEAM assessment (multi-criteria, one biodiversity section) | Private label |
| Issuing body | IRICE, Cofrac-accredited no. 5-0655 in Certification of products, processes and services under NF EN ISO/IEC 17065 (scope on www.cofrac.fr) | BRE Global (UK) via licensed assessors — IRICE Assessor for France | Private label manager, without Cofrac accreditation on biodiversity scope |
| Scope of the claim | Project biodiversity (design, construction, operation) — explicit accredited scope | Land Use & Ecology, one section among 10 evaluated themes | Declared by the label holder — not covered by accreditation |
| Physical inspection | Field audit by named inspector, design + delivery + operation visit | Document review + optional visit depending on certification option | Variable — often on declarative file |
| Evaluation / decision separation | Required by ISO/IEC 17065: certification committee separate from evaluators | Required by BRE Global framework — third-party QA | Not required outside accreditation |
| Legal opposability | Court-admissible evidence — recognised by judges, insurers, authorities | Evidence admissible on the certified themes | Limited probative value outside accreditation on the scope |
| ESRS E4 / SFDR / TNFD alignment | Aligned — evidence produced through accredited process | Partial — LE section does not fully cover ESRS E4 | To be verified project by project |
| Third-party surveillance | Annual Cofrac audit on the quality system and files | BRE Global audit on assessors and cross QA | Self-surveillance by the label, no accrediting third party |
Sources: NF EN ISO/IEC 17065 (2012), Cofrac GEN REF 11, BRE Global BREEAM New Construction International Technical Manual v6, EU Regulation 2019/2088 (SFDR), EU Regulation 2020/852 (Taxonomy), EU Directive 2022/2464 (CSRD) and ESRS E4.
IRICE reading. The most common argument raised against accredited certification is "but our label involves an independent third party". The question is not the existence of a third party: it is the accreditation scope of the third party on the scope of the claim. Cofrac accredits IRICE on biodiversity certification — it is written, auditable and opposable.
IRICE is accredited by Cofrac under no. 5-0655 for Certification of products, processes and services according to NF EN ISO/IEC 17065. Accreditation scope available at www.cofrac.fr. The Cofrac logo and the accreditation reference appear only on the certificates and reports covered by the scope, in accordance with Cofrac GEN REF 11.
A project to certify, a diagnostic to launch?
IRICE operates its own dedicated certification site. Visit it for full details on the frameworks, pricing, procedures and online applications.
Sans engagement · Réponse sous 48 h ouvrées · Données confidentielles