Articles
Should I get a BREEAM assessment?
Posted by 
BREEAM is a widely recognised sustainability assessment for buildings. Read on to find out if you need it for your next project.
Do I need a BREEAM assessment?
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is not a legal requirement for every building project in the UK. However, for many commercial, public-sector and higher-value developments, it is increasingly a requirement in practice.
That is because BREEAM targets are often built into planning expectations, planning conditions, Section 106 agreements, funding criteria, or employer requirements. In some cases, a pre-assessment may be needed at application stage, with final certification required after completion. Some investors and lenders also look for recognised sustainability benchmarks when assessing long-term asset quality, risk and value.
So, while you may not be legally obliged to pursue BREEAM, it is worth checking whether it is expected by the local authority, client, funder or wider project team. If it is, bringing in a licensed assessor at an early stage can make the process more manageable and improve your chances of achieving the target rating. BREEAM itself says New Construction V7 places greater emphasis on whole life-cycle carbon, climate resilience and biodiversity, which makes early-stage decisions even more important.
Benefits of BREEAM certification can include:
- Being able to clearly demonstrate your commitment to environmental sustainability.
- An increase in the value of your building. BREEAM estimates that a certified building can add around 8-12% of value when compared to a non-BREEAM certified structure.
- Reduced operational costs for the finished building.
- Improved occupant health and wellbeing.
Is BREEAM a planning requirement?
It is possible that some local authorities will require you to have BREEAM certification, particularly if you are building a large commercial structure or a public building.
Increasingly, however, BREEAM is tied to planning. Many local authorities now have sustainability frameworks, local plan policies or supplementary planning guidance that expect major developments to demonstrate measurable environmental performance. For non-domestic buildings, BREEAM is often the recognised route for doing that.
That means BREEAM may appear as part of a planning submission, as a condition attached to permission, or through wider project obligations and requirements. Planning obligations, including Section 106 agreements, are legally binding and enforceable, so it is worth checking early exactly what your local authority, client or funder expects.
Even where BREEAM is not mandatory, there is growing alignment between planning policy and the areas BREEAM assesses, including energy, materials, water, waste, resilience and wider sustainability performance. In practice, this means a BREEAM assessment can be one of the clearest ways to demonstrate that a scheme is meeting local sustainability expectations.
When do I need a BREEAM assessment?
Under BREEAM New Construction V7, appointing an assessor is now much more important than it used to be. BRE says V7 places stronger emphasis on whole-life carbon, including predicted embodied and operational carbon, which means key sustainability decisions need to be addressed in the design process.
For that reason, you should ideally appoint a BREEAM assessor at the concept design stage, rather than waiting until technical design is advanced. In many cases, it is critical if you want to shape the scheme effectively, protect credits and avoid making significant changes during construction.
By appointing an assessor early, you can benefit from a pre-assessment that highlights opportunities for improvement while there is still time to act on them. This is particularly useful where a planning submission may need to include a BREEAM pre-assessment or where the project is targeting a high rating such as Excellent or Outstanding.
Once your assessor is appointed and the design has developed, a full design assessment can then be carried out. This reviews the building against the BREEAM criteria and may lead to a Design Stage Certificate. After construction, the completed building is assessed to confirm that the intended sustainability measures were actually delivered, leading to the final rating.
How much does BREEAM certification cost?
The cost of BREEAM certification is really dependent on several factors.
These include:
- The type of project you're building.
- The stage at which you introduce a BREEAM assessor.
- The services offered by that particular independently verified assessor.
- You will also need to factor in registration fees.
However, under BREEAM New Construction V7, it is helpful to think about cost in a wider sense. It can also be a way to reduce design, planning, compliance and asset risk by identifying issues earlier, while there is still time to respond efficiently.
If BREEAM is only considered once planning has progressed or technical design is largely fixed, there may be fewer opportunities to improve performance without redesign, additional reporting or changes to specification.
For that reason, the upfront cost of early assessment may be better viewed as part of risk avoidance and decision-making, rather than as an optional extra. This is especially relevant under V7, which places greater emphasis on whole-life carbon, climate risk and lifecycle thinking from the early stages of a project.
Should I go for BREEAM or LEED? What are the differences?
When it comes to choosing between BREEAM assessments and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), you need to weigh up their differences and see what best suits your end aims.
Recognition
BREEAM is an assessment scheme that is very well established in Europe, which means it is closely aligned with regulations in the UK and on the continent. BREEAM New Construction V7 also places greater emphasis on meeting regulatory requirements and streamlining reporting for internal and external frameworks, which further strengthens its position for UK and European projects. LEED, on the other hand, has particularly strong recognition in North America and internationally through the U.S. Green Building Council network.
Assessment method
The two systems work differently. BREEAM uses an assessor-led process in which evidence is reviewed against a structured framework covering a wide range of sustainability issues. BREEAM describes this as a holistic assessment framework for buildings and infrastructure. LEED is also evidence-based, but is generally understood through its points-led structure and credit system.
That said, the gap is narrowing: both systems are becoming more focused on carbon across the life of the asset. BREEAM V7 expands whole-life carbon requirements, including benchmarking and reporting for both predicted operational and embodied carbon. LEED v5 likewise includes operational carbon projection and decarbonisation planning, showing that both schemes are moving towards a more lifecycle-based approach.
Ratings
Both assessment types have different ratings.
BREEAM ratings are as follows:
- Pass
- Good
- Very Good
- Excellent
- Outstanding
LEED ratings are:
- Certified
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
Categories
BREEAM has a broad range of assessment categories, while LEED has its own criteria.
The BREEAM assessment categories are:
- Materials
- Land use & ecology
- Pollution
- Waste
- Energy
- Management
- Water
- Health & wellbeing
- Resources
- Resilience
- Transport
- Innovation
LEED looks at:
- Sustainable sites
- Water efficiency
- Energy and atmosphere
- Materials and resources
- Indoor environmental quality
- Innovation in design
- Regional priority
- Location and transport
- Integrative process, planning and assessments
You can find out more about the benefits of BREEAM and its categories in our helpful article.
Find the right materials for your BREEAM assessment
If you’d like to find out which of our concrete blocks could be the right fit for your next project, get in touch! You can call our friendly team on 01842 778485.
