BREEAM is sometimes referred to as BREEAM Assessments, BREEAM Rating, BREEAM Reports, BREEAM Assessment Ratings, BREEAM Assessors.

BREEAM Assessments Throughout the UK

How Is BREEAM Assessed?

Covering a range of environmental issues in the UK, BREEAM looks at a building's impact on transport, waste, energy, health, water, pollution, materials, management and ecology to assess whether a building is Outstanding, Excellent, Very Good, Good or a Pass. Covering more than 50 countries and 250,000 buildings, BREEAM's aim is to educate building owners, designers and occupants about their impact on the local area.

What Does BREEAM Stand For?

BREEAM stands for Building Research Establishment's Enviromental Assement Method and was first published in 1990 by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) that covers the UK.

What Is A BREEAM Rating?

It used to be that 'Good' was the maximum level that could be achieved with 100% being the maximum score in the UK from a BREEAM assessment. However, in 2008, a new 'Outstanding' category was added - although the percentages required for each level remained the same.

The BREEAM ratings for a new, non-domestic building in the UK are:

• Pass: standard good practice (top 75%)
• Good: intermediate good practice (top 50%)
• Very Good: advanced good practice (top 25%)
• Excellent: best practice (top 10%)
• Outstanding: innovator (top 1%)

How To Achieve BREEAM Excellence

To achieve an Excellent score in the UK you'll need to score 70% or above where an Outstanding rating is for 85% and up. To just pass the assessment the building will need to score 30% or above with anything lower marked as Unclassified.

What Are The Benefits of BREEAM?

BREEAM aims to show that by building with the local area in mind, though capital costs may increase, you should save on operational costs in the long-term. This limits investor costs and makes the building more attractive when it comes to selling.

It's the hope that the BREEAM assessment will help building owners and designers improve their carbon footprint across the UK and make better use of their resources. A BREEAM certification is a way of validating how good a building is in terms of the environmental impact through a globally recognised standard.

Book Your BREEAM Assessment

For further information or to book your BREEAM assessment in the UK, call one of your BREEAM assessors on 0800 043 8100 or email breeam@e2consultants.co.uk.