The BREEAM® Building Certification

BREEAM® (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is a standard of top quality methods in building planning and sustainability. It is the oldest and the single most used system of certifying green and sustainable buildings. The BREEAM assessment takes into consideration all specifics of the building, including its design and construction, or the way it is used. It uses highly respected measuring scales and well-established criteria of building assessment. There are several BREEAM schemas such as Breeam in Use, Breeam New Construction, Breeam Renovations, etc.

Assessment Categories

The main criterion is the efficiency of energy use. However, as a complex assessment of the building´s impact on the environment, BREEAM takes a number of aspects into account:

BREEAM evaluates the impact on the environment in nine categories:

Energy (energy effectiveness and elimination of wasting)
Health and Well-Being (the amount of natural light, airing options, etc.)
Materials (the use of eco-friendly materials)
Management (e.g. impact of the construction on the surroundings)
Pollution (e.g. assessment of cooling substances, emission of nitrogen oxides)
Ecology and Land Utilization (reduction of negative impact on the environment)
Transportation (accessibility via public transportation, positive attitude towards eco-friendly types of transportation)
Waste (e.g. recycling, construction waste)
Water (e.g. economical appliances, systems of water leakage detection)

Assessment

The result of the assessment process is an overall score, which is then converted into an overall evaluation in the following manner:

BREEAM ratings
PASS	≥ 30 %
GOOD	≥ 45 %
VERY GOOD	≥ 55 %
EXCELLENT	≥ 70 %
OUTSTANDING	≥ 85 %

Specifics of BREEAM

BREEAM is known for giving credits for criteria that go beyond the requirements stipulated in legal regulations. This basically means that no points are given if the law is simply followed in the construction and operation of the building – credits are given only if the minimum requirements stipulated in the regulations are surpassed. There is a BREEAM list of references based on current legal regulations of both the Czech Republic and the European Union. Its arrangement is a dynamic process because regulations and requirements are constantly changing. Almost all versions of the BREEAM certification are therefore updated every three years so that they are relevant to current legal conditions.

The Certification Process

Arrangement of the BREEAM certificate usually consists of three phases:

First, a preliminary evaluation of the project or the building is made. This evaluation determines how many credits may the building seek to get in the individual categories and what are the goals to achieve in the final rating.
In the second phase, the draft of the project plan is evaluated and the plan is certified.
In the last phase, the finished construction is inspected in order to find discrepancies between the plan and reality. Subsequently, the certificate is issued.

BREEAM Accredited Professional

Preparation for an assessment in the BREEAM standard, which is an uncompromising, thorough process, is helped with by a certified professional (BREEAM Accredited Professional - BREEAM AP). The assessment criteria are described in the BREEAM certification manual in great detail. If the project aims at a high score in the final evaluation, even the work of the members of the project team, who prepare all the necessary documents, should be excellent. During the process itself, the accredited professional usually give the team advice concerning sustainability and eco-friendliness. He helps to coordinate the team and to organize the work so that the highest possible score is eventually achieved.

BREEAM Assessor

A specialist in the BREEAM assessment process (BREEAM Assessor) specializes in the technical details of the whole certification process. He interprets and explains the requirements in the individual criteria, he evaluates the documents arranged by the project team, and he gives or revokes credits. Following the evaluation, the BREEAM Assessor also writes the conclusion of the certificate.

Development of BREEAM

The BREEAM certification method (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) was developed at the end of the 1980s. It became instantly popular both in and outside of Great Britain. LEED, an American certification standard, was derived from BREEAM in 1998. The BREEAM Europe Commercial 2009 certification, the current version of BREEAM also used in the Czech Republic, is designed for buildings of administration, business, and industrial nature. To evaluate other types of buildings in the BREEAM standard, the modification of the certificate entitled BREEAM International is used. The BREEAM In Use method is used for finished buildings that have already been constructed and it is becoming increasingly popular.

Since the launch of BREEAM in 1990, around 200,000 buildings have been certified and 1 million buildings have been registered for evaluation.

BREEAM Certification by Enerfis

BREEAM may be used for assessment of both project plans and actual buildings. We can either take care of the whole certification process or we can arrange documents for the individual categories. We can provide you also plenty of references for main projects in central Europe.

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BREEAM is a registered trademark of BRE (the Building Research Establishment Ltd. Community Trade Mark E5778551). The BREEAM marks, logos, and symbols are the Copyright of BRE and are reproduced by permission.