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Launched back in 1990, the Building Research Establishment鈥檚 Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is the world鈥檚 longest-established green building certification system. Delivered by BRE (Building Research Establishment), a non-profit centre for building science, more than 600,000 BREEAM certificates have been awarded to date in 93 countries worldwide, with more than 2.3 million buildings having been registered for assessment.

BREEAM certifications for commercial real estate span three main categories:

• New Construction
• In-Use
• Refurbishment and Fit-Out

Across these categories, BREEAM assessors apply tailored rating systems to evaluate the green credentials of buildings at different stages in the lifecycle, recognising success from the design-stage of new-build projects, through to the renovation and retrofitting of older premises. As such, BREEAM accreditations are common in commercial real estate.

Across project categories, BREEAM positions its certifications as a tool for improving the sustainability and, in turn, the quality and long-term value of real estate for occupiers and the wider community.

How are buildings rated?

BREEAM scores are primarily based on credits awarded by the assessor across nine weighted categories.

The nine core categories for New Construction assessments are:

•  Energy
•  Health & Wellbeing
•  Materials
•  Management
•  Land Use & Ecology
•  Pollution
•  Transport
•  Waste
•  Water

Each of these categories covers a range of assessment items, each with their own targets and benchmarks. The BREEAM assessor will award credits in recognition of the building projects meeting these targets and benchmarks.

For example, in its New Construction assessments, BREEAM鈥橲 Energy category comprises items across nine sub-categories:

•  Reduction of energy use and carbon emissions (max. 12 credits available)
•  Energy monitoring (building type dependent - max. 2 credits available)
•  External lighting (max. 1 credit available)
•  Low carbon design (max. 3 credits available)
•  Energy efficient cold storage (max. 2 credits available)
•  Energy efficient transportation systems (max. 3 credits available)
•  Energy efficient laboratory systems (building type dependent - max. 5 credits available)
•  Energy efficient equipment (max. 2 credits available)
•  Drying space (max. 1 credits available)

In each of the nine core categories, the assessor will calculate the percentage of credits awarded against the maximum available, multiplying the result by the category鈥檚 weighting to produce a weighted percentage score.

A project鈥檚 final performance rating will be determined by the sum of these weighted category scores, plus a potential boost in relation to BREEAM鈥檚 tenth category.

With the Innovation category, BREEAM offers additional credits as a 鈥渙ne-time recognition鈥� of an innovative technology, design or process that delivers 鈥渦nique outcomes, benefits or learning opportunities鈥�. Applications must be submitted for each eligible innovation, and credits will only be added to projects鈥� final performance ratings if the corresponding applications are approved centrally by BRE. Each 鈥榓pproved innovation鈥� will add an additional percentage point to a project鈥檚 final performance rating, up to a maximum of ten.

Upon completion of their assessments, projects will have a BREEAM percentage score that indicates how their sustainability credentials compare to BREEAM鈥檚 five rating benchmarks:

PASS (30% or more)
GOOD (45% or more)
VERY GOOD (55% or more)
EXCELLENT (70% or more)
OUTSTANDING (85% or more)

BREEAM can add value for occupiers

博鱼体育集团 Frank research has shown that BREEAM adds value from an investor and landlord perspective. It was found that 鈥榁ery Good鈥�, 鈥楨xcellent鈥� and 鈥極utstanding鈥� rated office buildings in London have achieved rental premiums of between 3.7% and 12.3% over the past decade. Nevertheless, occupiers similarly benefit from these accreditations, which add value as an assurance of sustainability across a broad scope of factors.

This rating tool is notable for how it weights Health & Wellbeing factors among its highest-scoring elements, with this category worth nearly 14% of the maximum possible total. This highlights how the BREEAM rating must not be viewed as singularly an indicator for buildings鈥� environmental credentials, but as a more holistic rating tool that incorporates buildings鈥� influence on the health, safety and comfort of its occupants, visitors and others within the vicinity.

This is a distinction that should attract occupier attention, with 37% of our survey鈥檚 respondents viewing their real estate as a strategic device for supporting employee wellbeing.

We could therefore conclude that BREEAM may be better aligned with many occupiers鈥� broader ESG strategies than competing rating systems.

The Innovation category, and the potential for as much as a ten percentage point boost to a project鈥檚 score for approved innovations, also highlights something distinct about what BREEAM scores represent and the underlying aims of BRE.

While it does not make it easy for projects to earn Innovation credits, BRE handsomely rewards buildings that incorporate unique solutions, within a framework where just ten percentage points can take a project鈥檚 rating up a full tier. This mechanism is fitting, considering BRE is ultimately a research organisation: a partnership of scientists, engineers and technicians, working to improve the built environment, and funnelling all profits into its research activities. As such, we could read this side of the BREEAM scoring as an appreciation and encouragement of innovators that, in their own way, are working towards BRE鈥檚 own aims.

Occupiers鈥� activities

BREEAM scores are the result of thorough assessments, leveraging a multifaceted rating system. Evaluating building at various stages in the lifecycle, assessors score performance against a host of sustainability benchmarks, comprehensively spanning and transcending environmental considerations, to generate ratings that represent successes across efficiency metrics, embodied carbon, resource management and sustainable operations, whilst also heavily reflective of societal considerations and recognising investment in innovative solutions. While the headline ratings of 鈥楨XCELLENT鈥� and 鈥極UTSTANDING鈥� seem simplistic, BREEAM is a complex and nuanced accreditation: projects achieving these top-tier ratings are, by all accounts, excellent and outstanding.

In turn, buildings with high BREEAM scores represent a valuable opportunity for prospective occupiers. BREEAM-rated buildings 鈥� especially those achieving scores exceeding 70% 鈥� represent a strategic tool for reducing occupiers鈥� carbon footprint, whilst also improving resource efficiency, bolstering employee wellbeing and exploring new innovative real estate solutions. BREEAM-rated buildings offer an ESG solution that goes beyond basic compliance and, in turn, adds significant intrinsic value to occupiers鈥� activities.