What is the BREAAM certificate?

BREEAM stands for Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method. It is a certification system that assesses the sustainability of buildings. It was developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in the UK and is now used worldwide.

BREEAM certification assesses buildings on various aspects, such as energy consumption, water use, waste management, transport, material use, health and comfort. The aim is to make buildings more sustainable and thereby have a positive impact on the environment and the health of their occupants.

How does the certification system work?

The BREEAM certification system works with different assessment categories, each of which yields a number of credits. The more credits a building scores, the higher its sustainability performance. There are different levels of certification: Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent and Outstanding.

The assessment looks at different aspects of the building:

• Management;
• Health and well-being;
• Energy;
• Transport;
• Water;
• Materials;
• Waste;
• Land use and ecology;
• Pollution;
• Innovation.