BREEAM

The pioneering UK-based sustainability assessment method for buildings.

Quick Answer

BREEAM, the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, is a sustainability assessment and certification scheme for buildings developed by BRE in the United Kingdom. Assessors score a project across categories such as energy, health and wellbeing, materials, and management. The result is a rating from Pass up to Outstanding.

The Full Picture

BREEAM was launched in 1990 by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and is widely regarded as the first major green building assessment method. It is used in the UK and in many other countries, with schemes covering new construction, refurbishment, communities, and in-use buildings.

Projects are evaluated by licensed assessors against criteria grouped into categories. These typically include management, health and wellbeing, energy, transport, water, materials, waste, land use and ecology, and pollution, plus innovation. Weighted scores determine a rating on a scale from Pass through Good, Very Good, and Excellent to Outstanding.

BREEAM is voluntary but is commonly written into planning conditions, owner requirements, or tenant expectations, especially in the UK and parts of Europe. Criteria are tailored to local contexts through national schemes, so a project outside the UK follows the relevant national version where one exists.

For a US audience, BREEAM is most often encountered when comparing it with LEED or when working on international projects and multinational clients. The two systems share goals but differ in structure, credit weighting, and assessment process, so teams should not assume credits map one to one.

Real Examples

→UK office development: A developer targets a BREEAM Excellent rating to satisfy a planning requirement and tenant expectations, appointing an assessor during early design.

→Multinational client: A global company asks for BREEAM on its European facilities and LEED on its US sites and needs each team to follow the right scheme.

→In-use assessment: A building owner uses an in-use scheme to benchmark and improve the performance of an existing building.

Common Misconceptions

People assume: BREEAM and LEED are the same system under different names.

Actually: They are separate programs from different organizations, with different categories, weightings, assessment processes, and rating scales.

People assume: BREEAM only applies in the UK.

Actually: It originated in the UK but has national schemes and international use in many countries.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does BREEAM stand for?

Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method.

What are the BREEAM rating levels?

Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent, and Outstanding.

Who develops BREEAM?

BRE, the Building Research Establishment, develops and maintains the scheme, and independent licensed assessors carry out the assessments.

Is BREEAM mandatory?

Generally not by itself, but planning policies, owners, or tenants may require a minimum rating.

How does BREEAM differ from LEED?

Both assess sustainability, but they use different credit structures, weightings, and assessment processes, and BREEAM relies on licensed assessors under national schemes.