La certification Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE)
Dispositif majeur des politiques publiques en faveur d’une agriculture plus respectueuse de l’environnement, la certification Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE) vise à pérenniser l’amélioration des pratiques par la valorisation des productions.
A major instrument of public policies promoting more environmentally responsible agriculture, High Environmental Value (HVE) certification aims to sustain the improvement of practices through the promotion of production.
3 chapters
- A voluntary approach in three levelsCertification based on 4 themesThis individual or collective certification intended for all sectors is a voluntary approach based on 4 environmental themes: biodiversity protection, phytosanitary strategy, fertilization management and water resource management. It consists of three levels of environmental progress:The three levels• Level 1: certifies compliance with environmental regulations and the farmer's assessment of their operation against the specifications of levels 2 or 3; • Level 2: corresponds to the operator's compliance with specifications requiring means to reason their inputs and limit excess. Thus, many existing initiatives can be recognized within this level; • Level 3 also called 'HVE': requires result-based obligations measured by environmental performance indicators.
- Progress of certified operationsAmbitious targetsAs of 1 January 2021, there are 14,333 HVE certified operations (= level 3) (compared to 5,400 in 2020) covering more than 615,000 hectares (at least 2.3% of agricultural land in use in France). The objectives set in the Biodiversity plan aim for 15,000 HVE certified operations in 2022 and 50,000 in 2030.IllustrationNumber of high environmental value (HVE) certified operations Illustration 2101
- Distribution by sectorWine production leadsMore than three-quarters of HVE certified operations are wine-growing operations, pioneering the approach. Animal production represents only 4% of level 3 certified operations (mainly within the 'beef cattle' sector with 324 operations).Learn moreMinistry of Agriculture and Food, August 2021 Key figures for High Environmental Value (HVE)
Further reading
- Certification environnementale, mode d’emploi pour les exploitationsnotre-environnement.gouv.fr
La certification environnementale des exploitations agricoles répond au besoin de reconnaître les exploitations engagées dans des démarches particulièrement respectueuses de l’environnement.
