Episode 84:

Hello and Welcome to the Part3 with me podcast. 

The show that helps part 3 students jump start into their careers as qualified architects and also to provide refresher episodes for practicing architects. I am your host Maria Skoutari and this week we will talking about BREEAM. Todays episode meets PC1&2 of the Part 3 Criteria.

Lets start by looking at what is BREEAM exactly:

It is a sustainability assessment method that is used to masterplan projects, infrastructure and buildings. It was first established in 1990 by the Building Research Establishment also know as BRE to as mentioned, set the standards for the environmental performance of buildings through the design, specification, construction and operation phases ensuring projects meet sustainability goals and continue to perform optimally over time. BREEAM can be applied to both new builds and refurbishment schemes non-domestic buildings. BREEAM standards and certification is not only restricted to the UK but can be used anywhere in the world. 

Before I expand further on BREEAM itself, lets look at the organisation that established it, the Built Research Establishment, more widely known as BRE:

BRE is a unit within the Department for Business and Trade and leads the regulatory reform agenda across government and works with the government to monitor the measurement of regulatory burdens and coordinate their reduction. Its aim is to become a world-leading innovation, science and data hub for the built environment. 

Now reverting back to BREEAM, what is the process:

The process consists of firstly, deciding which BREEAM standard applies to the development, finding a licensed BREEAM Assessor, then the project needs to be registered with the BRE, step three is then to undertake the assessment, at step four a quality assurance check is carried of the assessment and at the fifth step the Certificate is issued. 

BREEAM can be used by:

• Clients, planners development agencies, funders and developers 
• Property agents to promote the environmental credentials and benefits of a building to potential purchasers or tenants
• Design Teams use it as method to improve their buildings performance 
• Managers use it to reduce running costs and measure and improve the performance of their buildings 

Now, what does the assessment method actually measure:

It evaluates procurement, design, construction and operation of a development against a range of targets based on performance benchmarks. It focuses on sustainable value across a range of categories and awards points or ‘credits’, with regards to:

• Energy
• Land use and ecology
• Water consumption and efficiency
• Health and wellbeing - indoor and external
• Resources
• Resilience
• Pollution
• Transport
• Materials by assessing embodied carbon 
• Innovation
• Waste
• Management

Each of these categories focuses on the most influential factors including reducing carbon emissions, low impact design, adaption to climate change, ecological value and biodiversity protection. Integrating sustainability measures at the earliest possible stage of a project using the BREEAM framework enables reduced life cycle costs and increases in asset value, building user experience and health, corporate image and CSR requirements and risk mitigation. 

Using these categories, the independent licensed assessor carries out an assessment of a scheme and each of the criteria is scored and given a number credits which is then multiplied by a weighting. They carry out two assessment/certification stages at the design stage which results in an interim certificate and a post-construction assessment resulting in a final certificate being issued and a rating awarded. 

A BREEAM certified rating reflect the performance achieved by a project and its stakeholders as measured against the BREEAM standard and its benchmarks. 

The BREEAM ratings range from:

• Unclassified which is a score below 30% of the criteria achieved and met
• Pass is above 30% and up to 45%
• Good is above 45% and up to 55%
• Very Good is above 55% and up to 70%
• Excellent is above 70% and up to 85%
• Outstanding is a scoring of above 85%

These benchmark levels enable a client or stakeholder to compare an individual buildings performance with other BREEAM rated buildings and the typical sustainability performance of new non-domestic buildings in the UK.

In addition to the certification criteria, BREEAM also supports solutions with regards to:

• Net Zero Carbon by minimising carbon emission in new development, refurbishment and operation assets, providing assessment methodologies for carbon emission, including embodied carbon, encouraging the use of onsite renewables and providing credits for energy and carbon reduction
• Whole Life Performance by facilitating a complete circular journey for built assets throughout the entire built environment lifecycle, providing a holistic approach to sustainability assessment across environmental, social and economic impacts, providing a scientific framework to balance various goals and targets and helping clients, designers, etc. to identify performance gaps between design intent and operational performance to support continuous improvement in real estate performance.
• Health and Social impact by providing scientifically backed methods for health, wellbeing and social impact assessment at all lifecycle stage, providing methods of health and social data collection, management and verification and delivering third-party assurance of outcomes.
• Circularity and resilience by encouraging durable design for resilient and longer-lasting asset, ensuring materials are sourced responsibly, reducing water and energy consumption and providing methods of waste reduction.
• Biodiversity by developing strategies that restore and protect biodiversity, aligning with initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals to help apply high-level nature protection principles and through nature to improve the health and wellbeing of building users.
• Disclosure and reporting by supporting environmental, social and corporate governance reporting and solutions, informing and knowledge sharing around EU and UK taxonomies, mapping the BREEAM schemes with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, providing a mechanism to obtain green finance and measure success and providing third-party verification and assurance of sustainability claims.

The benefits of using BREEAM is that:

It inspires developers and creators to improve, innovate and make effective use of resources. BREEAM’s focus on sustainable value and efficiency make certified developments attractive property investments and generates sustainable environments that enhance the wellbeing of the people who live and work in them. Working towards a BREEAM certified building reduces operational costs, helping to limit investor and developer risk in building for the future. 

BREEAM provides:

• Market recognition for low environmental impact buildings
• Confidence that tried and tested environmental practice is incorporated in the building
• Inspiration to find innovative solutions that minimise the environmental impact
• A benchmark that is higher than regulation
• A system to help reduce running costs, improve working and living environments
• A standard that demonstrates progress towards corporate and organisational environmental objectives
• Echoes the UN Sustainable Development Goals and sets out how it aligns with the targets of each of the goals

Although, BREEAM is not mandatory it is becoming a requirement by some Local Authorities by stipulating within planning conditions or as part of their local plan for a building to achieve BREEAM certification. The UK Government also makes it clear that an environmental assessment should be carried out on all public projects with the aim of achieving an Excellent rating. 

Increase in demand in terms of awareness of global climate change and demand for sustainable buildings makes BREEAM assessments more attractive as they enable buildings to be benchmarked in terms of sustainability and making BREEAM buildings more valuable than standard buildings. 

Using BREEAM also benefits in reducing running costs in the long run and also offers social, health, community, economic and environmental benefits. 

BREEAM also offers five Technical Standards for different types of projects, such as: 

The BREEAM In-use scheme which helps building managers to reduce running costs and improve the environmental performance of existing buildings by assessing their operational performance against the BREEAM assessment categories. It uses an easy-to-use assessment methodology and a 3rd party certification process that provides a clear and credible route map to sustainability. So the In-Use scheme can assist users to:

• Reduce operational costs
• Enhance the value and marketability of property assets
• Give a transparent platform for negotiating building improvements with landlords and owners
• Provide a route to compliance with environmental legislation and standards
• Give greater engagement with staff in implementing sustainable business practices
• Provide opportunities to improve staff satisfaction with the working environment with the potential for significant improvements in productivity

And these standards can be used anywhere in the world. 

The second is BREEAM Communities, which provides a framework to support planners, local authorities, developers and investors to integrate and assess sustainable design in the masterplanning of new communities and regeneration projects by supporting routes to net zero, also contributing to the environmental, social and corporate governance goals, reducing costs, mitigating environmental impact, enhancing economic and social value, providing one assessment for multiple sustainability outcomes, supporting disclosures and reporting requirements, providing independent, third party assurance on asset performance and sustainability and supporting the planning process in sustainable decision making. BREEAM Communities is a certification scheme to independently certify development proposals at the planning stage. And these standards can be used anywhere in the world. 

Another type of certification is the BREEAM Refurbishment and fit-out standards which provides a framework for the verification and certification of refurbishment and retrofit to assess the refurbishment of the external envelope, structure, core services, local services and interior design of the existing. Each standard uses a common framework that adapts to the location of the asset and supports international consistency and comparability. Using the Refurbishment and Fit-out standards benefits property investors, developers, owners and occupiers by:

• Driving sales and rental values up 
• Supports the route to net zero
• Contributes to the ESG goals 
• Mitigates environmental impact 
• Assists in reducing operational costs
• Assists in retaining, improving and future proofing existing assets 
• Provides one assessment for multiple sustainability outcomes
• Assists in enhancing economic and social value
• Supports disclosures and reporting requirements 
• Provides and independent third-party assurance on asset performance and sustainability 

These standards can be used anywhere in the world. 

The fourth type of certification is the BREEAM New Construction standards which provides a framework to deliver high performing and sustainable newly built assets that support commercial success and create positive environmental and social impact by assessing the design, construction, intended use and future proofing of new building developments including the local, natural or manmade environment surrounding the building. Each standard is adaptable to the assets location, allowing for international consistency and comparability. The New Construction standards benefit property investors, developers, owners and occupiers by:

• Driving sales and rental values up 
• Supports the route to net zero
• Contributes to the ESG goals
• Reducing operational costs
• Providing one assessment for multiple sustainability outcomes
• Assists in enhancing economic and social value
• Supports disclosures and reporting requirements 
• Provides and independent third-party assurance on asset performance and sustainability

And the fifth type of certification is BREEAM Infrastructure which assesses the sustainability, rating and awards scheme for civil engineering, infrastructure, landscaping and public realm projects tackling key issues regarding climate change, carbon and resilience to achieve more sustainable infrastructure promoting cohesive teamwork, management and efficiency driving best practice and performance across projects. 

So to sum up what I discussed today:

• BREEAM is used to specify and measure the sustainability performance of non-domestic buildings, ensuring that projects meet sustainability goals and continue to perform optimally over time.
• A BREEAM assessment uses recognised measures of performance, which are set against established benchmarks, to evaluate a building’s specification, design, construction and use. The measures used represent a broad range of categories and criteria from energy to ecology. Each category focuses on the most influential factors, including reduced carbon emissions, low impact design, adaptation to climate change, ecological value and biodiversity protection.
• The criteria is then assessed and assigned credits providing the overall building rating ranging from Unclassified, Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent and Outstanding
• The process of getting certified with BREEAM includes, deciding which BREEAM standard applies to the development, then appointing a licensed BREEAM Assessor, registering the project for assessment through the Assessor, carry out a pre-assessment with the Assessor, collect and pass on all necessary information to the Assessor during the project and the assessment progresses, then the BREEAM expert Assessor will review all information and submits it to the certification body and finally the development receives the BREEAM certificate 
• BREEAM also offers a suite of schemes enabling consistent and comparable assessment and verification across the entire built environment lifecycle which includes standards in New Construction, Refurbishment and fit-out, In-use and Communities

Now instead of a scenario, I wanted to talk you through a Case Study demonstrating how BREEAM was applied and its benefits:

The Case Study looks at the use of the BREEAM Refurbishment & Fit Out Standards that were applied to the Hoover Building in London. It was designed by architects Wallis, Gilbert & Partners in 1931 and was refurbished in 2014 to achieve a rating of BREEAM ‘Excellent’ with a score of 77.2% at the Post Construction Review Stage. After several years of sitting vacant, IDM Properties acquired the Grade II* Hoover Building in 2015, with plans to redevelop it into residential accommodation, converting it into 66 apartments comprised of studio, 1, 2 and 3-bedroom homes. The projects goals were to ensure the building is protected and its lifetime extended, ensuring the building is restored to its former glory and the new homes are environmentally friendly and able to work harmoniously within the existing envelope of this iconic national treasure.

The key carbon saving features of the Hoover Building renovation and conversion included:

• The existing original windows to be retained, with a secondary glazing system added to meet the design team’s preservation goals whilst enhancing thermal performance.
• Provision of generous cycle storage to meet the highest standards available under BREEAM and reduce reliance on cars.
• Use of air Source Heat Pump technology providing space heating and hot water, coupled with low loss cylinders.
• Use of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery used as part of the buildings ventilation strategy.
• Use of energy monitoring devices allowing the occupants to view and record data for electric and water consumption, emissions and costs, in real time. This has allowed the project to score the maximum possible credits under Ene 08 and Wat 03.
• Energy efficient appliances were provided in line with BREEAM requirements, achieving all credits available in this area and helping to reduce emissions.
• Air tightness enhancement and testing were undertaken to ensure that high standards are met.

The project decided to use BREEAM to meet the developer company’s forward thinking in specialising in the refurbishment of existing heritage assets adopting a positive sustainable framework providing buildings with a new lease of life. BREEAM was, therefore, an excellent tool to ensure that there is an industry standard that can be followed and referred to, in order to achieve such goals. Achieving an Excellent BREEAM certification has been an integral part of the design and refurbishment process and considered in great detail as the purpose of this project was to, not only preserve and restore the heritage value of the Hoover Building, but also to enhance the performance of the development beyond the scope of energy and carbon saving requirements.