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BREEAM scoring and assessment: how it works

Posted by Nick Franks

Learn how BREEAM scoring and assessment works and how our blocks can help you achieve the rating you’re aiming for.

As climate change makes itself felt, developers, architects and builders are changing the way they operate in order to promote more sustainable building practices. To help direct their action, and showcase their success, environmental assessment methods such as the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) are growing in popularity.

But what does BREEAM consist of and how does BREEAM scoring work?

What is the BREEAM assessment process?

It’s advantageous to involve a BREEAM assessor as early in the design process as possible. Recent updates to the scheme, including BREEAM Version 7, place greater emphasis on early-stage environmental data and whole-life carbon analysis. As a result, sustainability performance is increasingly shaped during the concept and design stages.

For projects aiming for high BREEAM ratings, tools such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) are no longer treated as a one-off exercise. Instead, they are used iteratively throughout the design process to test materials, refine specifications and improve a building’s overall environmental performance.

Here’s an outline of the BREEAM process from the very beginning.

Feasibility stage: This stage of the BREEAM certification process is unofficial but plays an important role. It involves engaging a BREEAM assessor during your building’s design phase. This has the benefit of giving you feedback from a pre-assessment. You can then use this information to fine-tune your design to maximise your building’s rating potential.

Design stage: Once your design is finalised, the BREEAM assessor will formally analyse your building’s design against the BREEAM criteria. You will then be issued with a Design Stage Certificate.

Construction stage: When construction is complete, the focus moves towards verifying compliance against the criterion on which design stage certification was based. The contractor will have to provide suitable documentation to the BREEAM assessor and along with site inspections, will culminate in the certification decision.  

This is known as the post-construction assessment.

Review stage: The assessments are then sent to the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to be reviewed. If they are satisfied, you will then receive your final BREEAM rating.

What are the BREEAM assessment criteria?

BREEAM assessments evaluate a building’s environmental performance across a number of categories. Each category contains a set of criteria that award credits for meeting specific sustainability requirements.

With the introduction of BREEAM Version 7, the depth of assessment and evidence requirements have increased in several areas. In particular, categories such as energy, resources and embodied carbon now place greater emphasis on verified data, modelling and lifecycle analysis. This reflects the industry’s growing focus on measurable environmental performance throughout a building’s lifecycle.

The following are all part of the BREEAM assessment criteria:

• Land Use and Ecology: This examines the ecological value, conservation and enhancement of your proposed development site.
• Pollution: This considers your actions to limit air and water pollution.
• Waste: Waste is a huge issue in construction. You must therefore demonstrate how you will use your resources efficiently and minimise waste.
• Energy: This will look at how you manage your operational energy.
• Management: This refers to project management, commissioning, site management and procurement processes.
• Water: How you manage your consumption and maximise efficiency.
• Health and wellbeing: You must demonstrate how you will protect future inhabitants from indoor and outdoor issues, such as noise and light pollution.
• Materials: This part of the assessment will weigh up the embodied impacts of your building materials over their whole lifecycle.
• Resilience: This section is a relatively new addition to the assessment, and it focuses on how you assess climate change risks and mitigate them.
• Transport: How you manage transport carbon emissions and other location-related factors.

Want more detail? Head over to our helpful article on BREEAM v7

How long does BREEAM certification last?

A BREEAM certificate issued under the New Construction scheme reflects the building’s performance at the time it is designed and built. Once awarded, the certification remains associated with that development.

However, BREEAM Version 7 places greater emphasis on performance transparency and the ongoing monitoring of buildings in operation. This reflects a wider shift in the construction industry towards understanding how buildings perform over time, not just how they were designed.

For projects seeking to demonstrate long-term environmental performance, BRE offers the BREEAM In-Use scheme. While New Construction certification focuses on the design and delivery of the building, BREEAM In-Use evaluates how the building is actually performing during occupation.

Under BREEAM In-Use, building owners and managers can assess areas such as operational energy use, water consumption, maintenance practices and occupant wellbeing. Certifications under this scheme are typically reviewed and renewed on a regular basis, encouraging continuous improvement and transparent reporting of building performance.

Together, these two approaches allow projects to demonstrate both sustainable design at the point of construction and responsible management throughout the building’s lifecycle.

How does BREEAM scoring work?

In BREEAM assessments, you are scored according to a weighted system. This means that some assessment criteria are deemed to be more important than others.

For each of the BREEAM assessment categories, you will be awarded points that demonstrate how well you have fulfilled the BREEAM criteria. These points are then multiplied by the weighting factor of each section.

These scores are then added together to produce your BREEAM score.

Points are awarded by independent, licensed BREEAM assessors. Their assessments are then sent to the BRE for review.

What are the different BREEAM ratings?

In a BREEAM assessment, the more points you score overall, the better your BREEAM rating.

The rating boundaries are defined by BRE and may evolve as the scheme develops. Updates such as BREEAM Version 7 occasionally adjust the thresholds to reflect changing industry expectations and sustainability standards.

Under current BREEAM frameworks, the rating levels are broadly defined as follows:

• Outstanding: Scores that are greater or equal to 85%.
• Excellent: Scores that are greater or equal to 70%.
• Very good: Scores that are greater or equal to 55%.
• Good: Scores that are greater or equal to 45%.
• Pass: Scores that are greater or equal to 30%.
• Unclassified: Scores of less than 30%.

What is a good BREEAM score?

In a literal sense, a ‘Good’ BREEAM score is one that has at least a 45% pass mark. For many developments, a ‘Good’ score is a solid achievement as it marks average attainment. For instance, it represents around 50% of commercial buildings submitted for assessment.

However, expectations within the construction industry have evolved in recent years. Increasingly, local planning policies, investor requirements and sustainability strategies mean that a ‘Good’ rating may no longer be sufficient for many developments. In some cases, higher ratings are written directly into planning conditions or contractual requirements.

Many projects now aim for ‘Very Good’ or ‘Excellent’ ratings as a baseline. These levels demonstrate a more comprehensive approach to sustainability, covering areas such as energy performance, responsible material selection and whole-life environmental impact.

A ‘Very Good’ rating showcases buildings that have much more advanced good practices and a higher prioritisation of sustainability. But this is still lower than a building earning an ‘Excellent’ BREEAM score, which will demonstrate better practice in terms of the use of proven, modern technology and concepts. 

To achieve an ‘Outstanding’ score, buildings must be really innovative. This means that designers and builders must think outside the box, employing careful planning and embracing the use of new technologies. Only a small fraction of projects ever achieve this rating. 

How using Lignacite concrete blocks can contribute to BREEAM certification

If you’re aiming for a BREEAM assessment for your next project, our blocks can help you achieve your aims.

For the energy category, you can take advantage of the fact that our blocks can contribute towards reduced energy consumption thanks to their thermal mass. This is particularly the case with our Fair Face products. Their high thermal mass means that they can help to prevent a building from overheating, while also keeping it warmer in the cold months.

In terms of resources and materials, responsible sourcing plays an important role in achieving BREEAM credits. Our products are responsibly sourced in accordance with BES 6001, helping project teams demonstrate compliance with BREEAM’s materials requirements. In addition, we provide Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for our products, giving designers and sustainability consultants the data needed to evaluate embodied carbon and lifecycle impacts as part of a building’s wider assessment.

For projects aiming to reduce embodied carbon, the Lignacite ECO Range provides an additional option. Made with up to 50-70% recycled content and supported by independently verified environmental data, the range helps specifiers demonstrate lower embodied carbon within lifecycle assessments while maintaining the strength and performance expected of concrete masonry units.

Health and well-being is an important category in the BREEAM assessment. Our blocks boast exceptional sound insulation to help protect future inhabitants, earning you valuable points in your assessment.

Talk to us about your next project

If you’d like to find out more about our blocks and see if we’re the right fit for your next project, get in touch! You can call our friendly team on 01842 778485 or drop us an email at info@lignacite.co.uk.