The trusted mark of sustainability in over 78 countries around the world

BREEAM empowers those who commission, design, construct and manage buildings, infrastructure and communities to achieve their sustainability goals. A BREEAM certificate demonstrates to everyone that claims of sustainability – and the benefits and value it brings – can be confidently accepted.

BREEAM impartially assesses, rewards and motivates actions to improve our built environment by setting scientifically rigorous standards that take environmental, social and economic sustainability beyond current regulations and practice. Based on a common framework of technical standards, versions of BREEAM have been developed to assess all key elements of the built environment including:

• New Buildings
• Buildings that are in-use
• Buildings that are being refurbished and fitted out
• Infrastructure – civil engineering and public realm
• Communities – masterplanning
• New homes – Home Quality Mark (HQM)

How BREEAM works

The BREEAM assessment process evaluates the procurement, design, construction and operation of a development against targets that are based on performance benchmarks. Assessments are carried out by independent, licensed assessors, and developments rated and certified on a scale of Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent and Outstanding.

BREEAM measures sustainable value in a series of categories, ranging from energy to ecology. Each of these categories addresses the most influential factors, including low impact design and carbon emissions reduction; design durability and resilience; adaption to climate change; and ecological value and biodiversity protection. Within every category, developments score points – called credits – for achieving targets, and their final total determines their rating. Learn how you can bring sustainable value to your development by exploring the icons below. To find out in more detail how you can secure BREEAM certification, visit here to learn more.

Awarding credits

During the assessment process, each category is sub-divided into a range of issues, which promotes the use of new benchmarks, aims and targets. When a target is reached credits are awarded. Once the development has been fully assessed, depending upon the total number of credits awarded, a final performance rating is achieved. To learn more about the certification process and BREEAM performance ratings visit here.

Case Studies