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

BREEAM Assessments Throughout the UK

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 Are The Benefits of BREEAM?

It's not unheard of that making a building more environmentally friendly will increase the cost of construction - but BREEAM aims to show that by building this way you will save on operational costs in the future that in turn limit investor costs and makes the property more attractive when reselling.

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.

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 Is A BREEAM Rating?

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%)

The maximum score a building can achieve in the UK is 100% from a BREEAM assessment. It used to be that 'Good' was the maximum level that could be achieved, however in 2008 a new 'Outstanding' category was added. The percentage required for each level remained the same despite this.

How To Achieve BREEAM Excellence

The scoring for a BREEAM assessment in the UK is as follows:

• Outstanding: 85%+
• Excellent: 70%+
• Very Good: 55%+
• Good: 45%+
• Pass: 30%+
• Unclassified: <30%

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.