Existing assessment tools

BREEAM

BREEAM (the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method) was introduced by the BRE, then part of the Government, back in 1990. BREEAM assesses the environmental performance of both new and existing buildings looking at a wide range of issues that cover the sustainability spectrum, coming under a series of environmental categories and weightings:

  • management;
  • health and well-being;
  • energy;
  • transport; 
  • water;
  • materials;
  • waste; 
  • land use and ecology; 
  • pollution;
  • innovation.

The overall environmental performance across the categories is then calculated as a percentage score and expressed as a single rating on a scale of ‘Unclassified’ (no certificate),  ‘Pass’, ‘Good’, ‘Very Good’, ‘Excellent’ or ‘Outstanding’.

BREEAM ratings and percentage score
Rating Percentage score

Performance equivalence

Unclassified <30
Pass ≥30 Represents top 75% of UK new non-domestic buildings
Good ≥45 Represents top 50% of UK new non-domestic buildings
Very good ≥55 Represents top 25% of UK new non-domestic buildings
Excellent ≥70  Represents top 10% of UK new non-domestic buildings
Outstanding ≥85 Represents less than top 1% of UK new non-domestic buildings

The actual assessment process comprises:

  1. formal certification, in which compliance evidence is audited by a trained and licensed BREEAM assessor;
  2. formal verification by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), as the third-party certification body.

You can read more by visiting isurv’s dedicated BREEAM section.