Showcase Your Commitment to “Aging Well”: HS2® Certification for Your Senior Policy
Your ambition
Whether you want to demonstrate the quality and suitability of your housing offerings or align your management practices and highlight your social initiatives, the HS2® certification is an indispensable tool.
This voluntary and strategic initiative is intended for:
- Executive management teams at social housing providers seeking to implement a comprehensive, consistent, measurable, and shared strategy for seniors.
- Organizations committed to corporate social responsibility (CSR ) that want to provide a guarantee of quality and tangible proof of their social impact to their tenants, local governments, and funders.
- Social housing providers seeking to gain a significant competitive advantage in regional calls for proposals for specialized housing.
Our Solution
Apave Certification offers an agile and rigorous certification process for obtaining the HS2® certification. By choosing Apave Certification, a subsidiary of the Apave Group, you are relying on a trusted, independent, and recognized third-party organization to assess and highlight the actual performance of your senior-friendly policy.
This certification is based on three fundamental pillars:
- A 360° human-centered approach: unlike purely real estate certifications, the HS2® certification focuses on the resident and their housing journey. Our assessment goes beyond the physical structure of the building; it is based on a comprehensive ecosystem that analyzes your governance, community services, and local partnerships to ensure sustainable independence at home.
- A long-standing expertise in risk management: drawing on more than 150 years of experience from the Apave Group, Apave Certification brings a rigorous culture of independent assessment. Our approach is grounded in a practical understanding of your business challenges and the risks associated with the loss of independence, thereby providing an objective and constructive assessment.
- A strong network and sector-specific credibility: the HS2® label is an initiative officially recognized by the Silver Economy Sector. Choosing Apave Certification means joining a dynamic ecosystem that already includes more than 10,000 housing units and 150 projects underway across more than 60 departments. It provides a solid assurance for all your stakeholders.
The HS2® Framework: A Rigorous Assessment Based on Five Key Pillars
The certification is based on a set of specific criteria that assess how well your services meet the actual needs of seniors across five key areas:
Governance and Strategic Management
Development of a collective strategy for seniors, involvement of senior management, dedicated internal organization, and specific training for the staff involved
Development of a collective strategy for seniors, involvement of senior management, dedicated internal organization, and specific training for the staff involved
Understanding and Anticipating Needs
Forward-looking analysis of the housing stock, implementation of appropriate customer feedback tools, and incorporation of seniors’ needs into your projects.
Forward-looking analysis of the housing stock, implementation of appropriate customer feedback tools, and incorporation of seniors’ needs into your projects.
Residential Offerings and Development
Survey and mapping of accessible housing in the region; establishment of technical quality standards; planning of new specialized construction projects
Survey and mapping of accessible housing in the region; definition of technical quality standards; planning of new specialized construction projects
Regional Services and Partnerships
Development of formal agreements and partnerships with stakeholders in the local ecosystem, and integration of support and mobility solutions.
Development of formal agreements and partnerships with stakeholders in the local ecosystem, and integration of support and mobility solutions
Innovation and Continuous Improvement
Actively monitoring best practices in the sector and implementing pilot projects (inclusive housing, senior living communities, or senior co-living arrangements).
Actively monitoring best practices in the sector and implementing pilot projects (inclusive housing, senior communities, or senior co-living arrangements).
Governance and Strategic Management
Development of a collective strategy for seniors, involvement of senior management, dedicated internal organization, and specific training for the staff involved
Understanding and Anticipating Needs
Forward-looking analysis of the housing stock, implementation of appropriate customer feedback tools, and incorporation of seniors’ needs into your projects.
Residential Offerings and Development
Survey and mapping of accessible housing in the region; definition of technical quality standards; planning of new specialized construction projects
Regional Services and Partnerships
Development of formal agreements and partnerships with stakeholders in the local ecosystem, and integration of support and mobility solutions
Innovation and Continuous Improvement
Actively monitoring best practices in the sector and implementing pilot projects (inclusive housing, senior communities, or senior co-living arrangements).
The certification process
The certification process is designed to be seamless and structured around two complementary audit components:
- Headquarters Audit (Governance): This evaluates the strategic and administrative “backbone” of your policy. This component validates management’s operational involvement, the organization of request processing, and the training of field teams.
- The Housing Audit (Technical): This audit verifies, directly on-site, the implementation of concrete physical solutions for safety and independence in daily life.
The immediate urban environment is also audited, ensuring that accessible shops, services, and healthcare professionals are available.
Validity Period and Progress Milestones:
- Agile Process: The overall process generally takes 6 to 18 months to quickly recognize the value of the actions you have already undertaken.
- Validity of the certification: Once awarded, the HS2® certification is valid for 6 years.
- Monitoring and continuous improvement: Follow-up audits are scheduled at 2 and 4 years to keep your progress momentum going and adjust your action plans.
[FAQ] HS2® Certification – Social Housing Providers’ Policy on Older People
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What is the HS2® label?
The HS2® (High Health and Safety) label is a comprehensive framework designed to evaluate, structure, standardize, and certify the effectiveness of senior-focused policies implemented by social housing providers in order to promote sustainable, dignified, and safe independent living at home. -
How does this label differ from a traditional real estate certification?
Unlike purely technical building certifications, the HS2® label takes a 360° human-centered approach. It evaluates both the physical features of the housing units and the overall ecosystem of services, governance, communication, and local partnerships established by the landlord. -
What are the main benefits for our body?
Certification allows you to standardize and professionalize your internal practices across your entire portfolio, to clearly demonstrate the value of your CSR approach to funders and institutions, and to set yourself apart in a positive way when responding to calls for proposals from local governments for specific housing projects. -
How does the Apave Certification assessment work?
Our auditors conduct a two-part assessment: a “Headquarters” component that evaluates strategic management and team training, and a “Housing” component that reviews the facilities and amenities provided in the living space and accessibility to the urban environment. -
How long is the certification valid?
The certification is valid for 6 years. Interim follow-up audits are scheduled at the 2- and 4-year marks to verify your progress toward continuous improvement.
Ready to promote your senior citizens' policy?
To begin your assessment, get personalized pricing information, or join the national network of HS2®-certified landlords, contact our dedicated experts.
👉 National contact: Ariane BINET-PREVOST, National Development Manager.
Why
choose Apave Certification?
Independent third party
Apave Certification, a subsidiary of the Apave Group, brings extensive industry expertise focused on your challenges and grounded in nearly 160 years of customer feedback. Thanks to a network of qualified auditors, laboratories, and assessors—carefully selected to ensure optimal service quality—we operate throughout France and internationally.
Trust
Apave Certification is a small, client-focused organization. As an independent third-party certification body, Apave Certification supports you through your certification and labeling processes, whether they are voluntary or regulatory.
Commitment
The assurance of personalized support, both for managing your certificates and for creating customized reference frameworks. The assurance that your certifications will be recognized by a globally renowned organization specializing in risk management.
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