BREEAM THE HARSH REALITY. Author: Robert Diamond BEng(Hons) MSc CEng CEnv MCIBSE MEI. Head of Sustainability, Ingleton Wood LLP

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1 BREEAM THE HARSH REALITY Author: Robert Diamond BEng(Hons) MSc CEng CEnv MCIBSE MEI Head of Sustainability, Ingleton Wood LLP Keywords: BREEAM, Environmental Assessment, Case Studies Abstract: The most widely used environmental assessment in the world from the BRE launched in 1990 has enhanced and refined the assessment process for buildings of varying types, and for wide range of relevant issues. The BREEAM process can be difficult, and planning requirements of BREEAM may be the only way to prove environmental compliance. However the harsh reality is that often credits are not feasible, not achievable, and sometimes inflexible, subscribing to the letter rather than the spirit of an environmental assessment. This paper proposes to review the BREEAM process in reality, looking at 3 live case studies from BREEAM Healthcare, Bespoke and Offices Assessment Types. The paper is written by a BRE Accredited Professional, who has experience in BREEAM assessments both as a designer and as an assessor, at grass roots level. The paper will discuss opportunities when utilising BREEAM, and discuss whether it really does improve the building, or if credits are targeted purely as a cost effective box ticking exercise. It may be that the harsh realities of the construction industry mean corners are cut and the refinement of BREEAM is lost on site. This paper therefore proposes to examine the benefits, the negatives, and the realities of using BREEAM on the three aforementioned sites, from an independent perspective.

2 CONTENTS Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION CASE STUDIES BREEAM Bespoke Children s Centre BREEAM Bespoke Children s Centre Results BREEAM Bespoke Children s Centre Discussion Health and Well-Being Section Travel Section Water Section Materials Section Ecology Section Pollution Section BREEAM OFFICES CASE STUDY BREEAM Offices Results BREEAM Offices Discussion Management Section Health and Well-Being Energy Section Travel Section Materials Section Waste Section Pollution Section BREEAM HEALTHCARE CASE STUDY BREEAM Healthcare Results BREEAM Healthcare Discussion Management Section Health and Well Being Section Energy Section Materials Section Waste Section Ecology Section BREEAM Accredited Professional/Suitably Qualified BREEAM Assessor CONCLUSION Bibliography

3 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is the most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings in the world. Since its launch in 1990, BREEAM has been technically enhanced to encompass a wide range of environmental issues. These impacts are assessed against set criteria, and scored accordingly. Many BREEAM versions have been developed depending upon building functionality and type, such as BREEAM Education, BREEAM Healthcare, BREEAM Offices and BREEAM Bespoke. The criteria are developed for the type of building being considered, and consequently different credits are assessed. The BREEAM compliance requirements are based on scientific evidence and expert advice to stay ahead of best practice within the industry. In fact the main aim of BREEAM is to encourage buildings towards a higher level of environmental performance, above and beyond that which is achieved by the current Building Regulation and other statutory minimum levels. BREEAM is primarily a tool used by planning and funding parties in order to provide a measure of the buildings environmental performance. It is to this regard that many buildings are given a BREEAM requirement that the design and contractual team need to meet in order to satisfy these conditions, and often this comes out quite late in the day. However the reality of when BREEAM is implemented is the teams are attempting to meet the rating requirements of BREEAM retrospectively, without giving due respect of the environmental criteria and in essence look at BREEAM as a box ticking exercise rather than as a design tool to use it to increase building environmental performance. The aim of this paper and its discussion is to elucidate this with respect of three real life case studies within the BREEAM Bespoke, BREEAM Offices and BREEAM Healthcare schemes. All three of these projects have been assessed in the last year by the author who is a BREEAM Accredited Professional.

4 2.0 CASE STUDIES BREEAM aims to quantify and reduce the environmental burdens of buildings by rewarding those designs that take positive steps to minimise their environmental impacts. Projects are assessed using a system of credits. The credits are grouped within the following categories: Management Energy Transport Health and Well Being Water Materials and Waste Land use Site Ecological Value Pollution The environmental issues are weighted according to their measure of importance with regards to the BREEAM considerations. It can be seen that a building achieving 1 credit in Management and 1 credit in Transport are not necessarily equal, this is shown by the formula: Credits x Environmental Weighting = Score. Consequently the BREEAM Assessor s skills and the use of the BRE tools can add to the process in targeting credits. In addition to this some credits are defined as mandatory, which means it is obligatory to achieve this in order to achieve the overall rating. The assessment process results in a report covering the issues assessed together with a formal certification giving a rating on a scale of PASS, GOOD, VERY GOOD, EXCELLENT and OUTSTANDING. The BREEAM rating bands are as follows: RATING SCORE PASS >30 GOOD >45 VERY GOOD >55 EXCELLENT >70 OUTSTANDING >85 The following three case studies will be reviewed and discussed in regards to the realities of BREEAM during the design and construction phase and how effective BREEAM was as a tool in helping to improve their environmental credentials. The requirements for both the children s centre and the office were Excellent ; the hospital needed to achieve Very Good.

5 2.1 BREEAM Bespoke Children s Centre The Bespoke building discussed in this paper is a Children s Centre which had a BREEAM requirement of Excellent set by the Planners for this new build facility. The 4-storey innovative designed building encompasses many environmental credentials including ground source heat pumps, a green roof, a rainwater harvesting system and natural ventilation. The Children s Centre has been constructed using a mass concrete structure that has a very highly insulated external finish. This base allows the building to act as a heat sink during the winter months with the concrete structure absorbing heat from the underfloor heating system and heat generated by the building occupiers throughout the day, which is then slowly released back into the building when the outside temperature is cooler than that inside the building. Similarly in the warm summer months the external insulation prevents the concrete structure warming up from solar gain so the internal temperature remains cooler. The advantage of this type of construction is that it reduces the requirements for large plant spaces and effectively reduces the amount of energy required to maintain and achieve a comfortable temperature within the building, thus reducing energy bills. In terms of natural passive ventilation, the building s orientation is designed to maximise the benefit from the sun with high levels of glazing in the south and west elevations to take advantage of the solar gain, whilst smaller windows in the north and east elevations reduce heat loss.

6 To provide adequate natural ventilation a system of windcatchers has been incorporated, which naturally draw air up and down the building depending on internal and external temperatures. Natural ventilation significantly reduces a need for mechanical ventilation. Ground source heating has been provided with boreholes some 30m deep in a closed loop heat fluid system providing underfloor heating. 2.2 BREEAM Bespoke Children s Centre Results The final BREEAM results at Interim Design Stage were assessed and formally certified by the BRE as follows: Building Performance by Section Environmental weighting Credits available Credits achieved % Achieved Weighted Score Management 12.00% % 11.14% Health & Wellbeing 15.00% % 7.32% Energy 19.00% % 15.70% Transport 8.00% % 7.20% Water 6.00% % 4.29% Materials 12.50% % 5.00% Waste 7.50% % 5.00% Land Use & Ecology 10.00% % 8.00% Pollution 10.00% % 5.00% Innovation 10.00% % 2.00% Total BREEAM Score 70.64%

7 2.3 BREEAM Bespoke Children s Centre Discussion This resulted in an Excellent Rating, but as can be seen the resulting score (70.64%) this is only just over the threshold. As each assessment covers approximately 100 credits, only those worthy of discussion are included in this paper: Health and Well-Being Section HEA 11 Thermal Zoning Aim To recognise and encourage the provision of user controls which allow independent adjustment of heating/cooling systems within the building. Assessment Criteria The following demonstrates compliance: 1. The heating/cooling system is designed to allow occupant control of zoned areas within all occupied spaces in the building. 2. The zoning allows separate occupant control (within the occupied space) of each perimeter area Validation Under the BREEAM s definition of non-complaint systems are long-lag systems. The explanation is as follows: These low temperature systems use the thermal mass of the building to provide a consistent supply of heat to the space during the occupied period. As the mass of the building is used to regulate and supply the heat, the temperature in the space lags behind any change required by the occupants via the systems controls. An example of a long-lag system is under-floor heating. The building has specified and installed an underfloor heating matrix, thus improving the EPC rating (A rated, with a score of 22), and allowing control by the occupants in each of the zones via wall thermostats. The only system which currently meet the requirements of this credit would be a radiator based system (including LST s), but through their manufacturing process, and their higher temperature requirement (and thus inability to generally use air source and ground source systems), are not necessarily the better environmental solution. The author would therefore recommend a review of underfloor heating as a non-compliant system, as systems can be fast acting, and appear to meet the spirit of the assessment criteria.

8 2.3.2 Travel Section The building scored particularly highly in this section, primarily due to its central London location, had the building been located in a rural area the Excellent rating would not have been achievable. Consideration could be given as to whether BREEAM should penalise on the basis of a poor travel infrastructure, which is beyond the influence of the design team. Interestingly this section is now excluded from the BRE s Code for Sustainable Homes Water Section WAT 5 Water Recycling A full rainwater harvesting system was specified and installed, however only 1 credit is achieved for this, although a further credit could be obtained under WAT 6 Irrigation Systems, and this may assist if the planting and landscaping is irrigated via rainwater. From a client perspective this is not a cost effective credit, and would not generally be targeted, but was on this occasion due to the client s wishes. A recommendation of increased credits for rainwater harvesting is suggested Materials Section The building could not achieve maximum credits as it is a new-build, which is penalised automatically by the BREEAM as it is said it is more sustainable to re-use a building. It could be considered that a new building with lower U; values and therefore higher fabric performance would mean lower whole life running costs and carbon emissions Ecology Section An ecologist was brought on board, and their recommendations included, as up to 10% of the BREEAM final score is based on the site ecology. However in reality the building had such a low rating to start with due to its city location, very little enhancement was needed to improve the species count and gain the credits. This would not be comparable against a building in a rural location, which ironically would not perform as well, even though the countryside environment would mean a better overall species count, although the potential damage caused by a new construction would be higher Pollution Section POL 4 NOx emissions from heating source By default, where some of the building s space heating is fuelled by electricity from the National Grid, however small the incidence is on the overall consumption, the credits will not be achievable as power stations emit NOx at an average rate of approximately 1200 mg/kwh. This therefore negates the appeal of utilising electricity on site as no credits can be achieved. Electricity could however be described as the fuel of the future, being sustainable long term as it can be produced from renewable systems, whereas gas and oil are not sustainable long term, but could achieve a maximum score under this credit.

9 3.0 BREEAM OFFICES CASE STUDY Norwich s most significant office refurbishment for 10 years has seen a run down 1970 s building transformed into a state-of-the-art workspace, whilst at the same time gaining top level environmental credentials. The building owners saw an opportunity to refurbish this inefficient building and address the overheating problems inherent in the south facing facade. The transformation began with the replacement of the entire front of the building. The new facade features floor to ceiling glass using the first ever UK application of a new type energy efficient curtain wall that allows high levels of natural light to penetrate, whilst blocking unwanted solar gains. This is supplemented with a contemporary steel facade structure which incorporates solar shading louvers which further control the quality of space inside the building. Internally, the building has undergone a full refurbishment with the strip out phase taking the building all the way back to a bare concrete shell. The subsequent works incorporate low-carbon air to air-source heat pumps which provide energy-efficient heating and cooling. A new penthouse-level office has been added to the fourth floor providing prestigious office accommodation with commanding and sought-after panoramic views over the city. A large covered cycle park is provided externally with showers inside to encourage people to walk, run or cycle to work.

10 No planning or funding conditions was required for this scheme; BREEAM was undertaken purely on a voluntary basis.

11 3.1 BREEAM Offices Results The final BREEAM results at Post Construction Stage were assessed and formally certified by the BRE as follows: Building Performance by Section Environmental weighting Credits available Credits achieved % Achieved Weighted Score Management 12.00% % 12.0% Health & Wellbeing 15.00% % 8.08% Energy 19.00% % 10.74% Transport 8.00% % 7.20% Water 6.00% % 5.00% Materials 12.50% % 7.69% Waste 7.50% % 6.43% Land Use & Ecology 10.00% % 8.00% Pollution 10.00% % 2.50% Innovation 10.00% % 4.00% Total BREEAM Score 71.64% 3.2 BREEAM Offices Discussion Due to a strong contractual team achieving innovation credits, and further innovation credits for the appointment of the BREEAM Accredited Professional at an early enough stage of the project, and the utilisation of low carbon technologies in the form of air source heating and cooling, an extra 4 credits was achieved, enabling the project to achieve an Excellent Rating. There was no Planning requirement or grant application, simply the client was keen to take on their social and environmental responsibility, thus promoting themselves, and a wish to generate a higher income by attracting socially responsible blue-chip companies to rent at the office. Again, a review of the credits worthy of discussion follows.

12 3.2.1 Management Section MAN 2 Considerate Constructers The contractor excelled through achieving a final Considerate Constructers Score of 37. Of particular note was that the contractor was fully behind the BREEAM, and was present at all BREEAM meetings, and had considerable experience. They also did well throughout the other management credits and waste credits, monitoring site carbon emissions, reducing waste, having a full ISO14001 Environmental Management System Health and Well-Being HEA 1 Daylighting This credit was targeted, as the building had high amounts of South and North facing glazing. It was believed that evidence could be provided to demonstrate that at least 80% of the total occupied floor area was adequately daylit. The BREEAM assessor cannot ascertain if credits are achievable without full daylighting calculations, in this instance the building did not comply and, as such, did not achieve this credit. This resulted in a costly box ticking exercise, of no benefit to the building occupiers. Fortunately HEA 2 View Out was easily achieved due to the high amount of glazing. HEA 5 Internal and External Lighting Levels No credit was achieved, the existing lighting was retained as it was deemed too new to replace, and not necessarily environmentally responsible to simply throw away the old fittings. Under BREEAM no credit can be awarded if the fittings do not comply with current CIBSE LG7 standards. This would have meant replacing all fittings, and the team felt this was not compatible with the spirit of the BREEAM, even though a full replacement of all fittings would have been required to meet this credit. HEA 9 Volatile Organic Compounds This credit is to recognise and encourage a healthy internal environment through the specification of internal finishes and fittings with low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). At design stage this was not targeted as it was felt that insufficient data would be made available, however as the project advanced to site credits were needed, and so this was then re-visited. Through a minimal additional cost and a change of supplier of some of the paints this credit became achievable, although additional time was spent in the chasing and production of the required documentation.

13 3.2.3 Energy Section ENE 5 - Low or Zero Carbon Technologies A feasibility study was undertaken by the author (there being no conflict of interest between the report writer and the BREEAM assessor) to establish the most appropriate LZC for the project. The study reviewed the following systems: Solar hot water heating Ground source heat pumps Air source heat pumps CHP Photovoltaics Wind turbine And the study covered the minimum requirements outlined by the BREEAM criteria: - a) Energy generated/year b) Payback c) Land use d) Local Planning e) Noise f) Feasibility of exporting from the system g) Life cycle costs h) Grants i) Technologies (as listed above) appropriate to the site j) Reasons for excluding technologies The report concluded that the most appropriate technology for the project was deemed to be air source heating and cooling, covered under ENE 5 as a low carbon technology. An SBEM was undertaken to compare the Building Emission Rate using the air source system against a comparative gas-fired boiler system. This was calculated to be 31.8kg CO 2 /m 2 using the recommended air source heat pump system compared to 44.6kg CO 2 /m 2 for the gas fired boiler system. This equated to a 28.69% reduction in the annual buildings CO 2 emissions, meeting the innovation credit requirements of 20%, thus 4 credits was achieved here. As previously discussed however the use of electricity meant that POL 4 credits could not be achieved. ENE 8- Lifts No credit was achieved, the existing lifts were retained (albeit refurbished) as it was deemed too new to replace it, and not environmentally responsible to do so. To gain a credit a transport analysis would have had to be undertaken, and a comparison made between newly proposed lifts, which would not have been beneficial as there was no intention to change the lifts in their entirety.

14 It is recommended that when assessing existing lifts as part of a refurbishment project, new criteria could be specifically developed Travel Section The building scored particularly highly in this section primarily due to its central Norwich location, had the building been located in a rural area the Excellent rating would not have been achievable Materials Section As the building was a refurbishment, the building scored particularly well, especially under the reuse of the building facade and structure. The Green Guide was used to source additional insulation and build products, with A and A+ rated materials being targeted. Although the concept of environmental ratings is straightforward, evaluating them on an equal basis is very challenging. There are many different environmental impact areas considered rated from A+ to E, as detailed below. Climate change Water extraction Mineral resource depletion Stratospheric ozone depletion Human toxicity Ecotoxicity (to water) Nuclear waste Ecotoxicity to land Waste disposal Fossil fuel depletion Eutrophication Photochemical ozone depletion Acidification Each of the areas used in the Green Guide are measured in different units, which makes it even more difficult to combine them to provide one overall rating, consequently the guide is limited but certainly a useful tool in the designers armoury Waste Section WST 6 Floor Finishes An additional credit was achieved through not fitting out final floor finishes through the building, thus a cost saving to the scheme. The final build had the fourth floor finished with carpet for potential tenants to view, but this did not exceed the 25% of the net lettable floor area allowed to have floor finishes.

15 3.2.7 Pollution Section The building generally scored poorly in this section both through the use of refrigerants in the air source heat pump system and the high levels of NOx thorough the use of electricity as a heating fuel.

16 4.0 BREEAM HEALTHCARE CASE STUDY The 48-bed new-build stroke unit required a Very Good rating as part of the funding requirements through the NHS. This 4m scheme did not have any innovative features as such, relying primarily on mechanical ventilation and air-conditioning systems as the theatres and wards were required to meet the NHS s HTM requirements, which flagged up some conflicts between the two systems. Energy and Waste were targeted, but the final score was very close to the minimum 55% rating required for Very Good.

17 4.1 BREEAM Healthcare Results The final BREEAM results at Post Construction Stage were assessed and formally certified by the BRE as follows: Building Performance by Section Environmental weighting Credits available Credits achieved % Achieved Weighted Score Management 12.00% % 8.00% Health & Wellbeing 15.00% % 7.94% Energy 19.00% % 13.88% Transport 8.00% % 2.46% Water 6.00% % 2.67% Materials 12.50% % 7.50% Waste 7.50% % 6.25% Land Use & Ecology 10.00% % 3.00% Pollution 10.00% % 1.67% Innovation 10.00% % 2.00% Total BREEAM Score 55.37%

18 4.2 BREEAM Healthcare Discussion A strong management and energy section enabled the new stroke facility to meet a Very Good rating without the need for an ecologist to be brought on board, and even with low pollution and transport section scores. The analysis and discussion follows: Management Section A BREEAM experienced contractual team assisted in gaining high marks through most of this section Health and Well Being Section HEA 7 Potential for Natural Ventilation and HEA 8 Indoor Air Quality This credit aims to recognise and encourage adequate cross flow of air in naturally ventilated buildings and flexibility in air-conditioned/mechanically ventilated buildings for future conversion to a natural ventilation strategy. The credit was achievable through opening windows throughout the building, although primarily the building was designed for use with the air source heating and cooling systems. Due to the tight requirements of the NHS HTM s, it is considered unlikely in reality that a natural ventilation philosophy would ever be applied in this case. Referring to HEA 8, this credit targets the air intake locations serving occupied areas, which must avoid major sources of external pollution and the recirculation of exhaust air. Due to openable windows being in close proximity to the car park, this credit is not achieved. If read in conjunction with the previous credit, it becomes even less likely that a natural ventilation philosophy would be applied. It is therefore recommended that for a credit to be awarded for HEA 7 the requirements of HEA 8 should be met Energy Section ENE 2 - Sub-metering of Substantial Energy Uses and ENE 3 - Sub-Metering of High Energy Load and Tenancy Areas These credits were maximised in this assessment, with the aim being to recognise and encourage the installation of energy sub-metering to facilitate the monitoring of energy consumption, although there is no way to ensure that this is actually happening, and could theoretically be applied as a box-ticking exercise. It is therefore a recommendation that a degree of Post-Occupancy Evaluation is carried out for Excellent or Outstanding buildings, to ensure systems are being used as designed, or a confirmation from the final building user that there will be on-going monitoring. It is recognised that a BREEAM In-Use is required to maintain an Outstanding rating, but this does not guarantee that metering is monitored.

19 4.2.4 Materials Section Mat 1 Materials Specification This section achieved maximum credits, the Green Guide was meticulously followed in order for this to be realised. The walls, roof and floors specifications are as follows: Walls Roof Floor 15mm Megadeco plasterboard on 100x42mm galvanised steel studs, 100mm thick Microrib insulated composite wall panels. 100mm insulated roof sheets fixed to joints forming fall, 50mm La Farge polyfoam to beam upstands. 18mm Tongue and Grooved flooring grade plywood over 80mm insulated sheets laid over 70x70x5 SHS floor joists Waste Section WST 1 Construction Site Waste Management Up to three credits are available where evidence provided demonstrates that the amount of nonhazardous construction waste (m 3 /100m 2 or tonnes/100m 2 ) generated on site by the development is the same as or better than good or best practice levels The Site Waste Management Plan records and reports provided evidence that the amount of waste generated was 4.15 tonnes, which was less than the maximum allowable 4.7 tonnes required to achieve 3 credits. In addition the amount of recycled waste was equal to 98.44%, showing that an experienced contractual team with effective and appropriate site management of waste is integral in providing a BREEAM complaint building Ecology Section No ecologist was instructed for this scheme, as other credits were targeted to achieve the required BREEAM rating. This was partially due to the other high requirements of the NHS s HTM documents, and an energy conscious client. The mandatory LE4-Mitigating Ecological Impact credit was however achieved BREEAM Accredited Professional/Suitably Qualified BREEAM Assessor In this and all the case studies discussed, the author, a BREEAM Accredited Professional was appointed early enough in the project (RIBA Stage B) which assisted in the project being awarded an additional 2 credits by default. This also enabled the assessor to give early advice as to which credits to target, and additional advice on the cost effectiveness of individual credits, thus benefitting the project from both a cost and environmental perspective. The late appointment of the BREEAM assessor has had a detrimental effect on a number of projects outside the case studies discussed here, meaning either a higher cost than necessary in achieving credits at a late stage of the scheme, or even meaning some mandatory credits not being achieved, therefore failing the BREEAM entirely.

20 5.0 CONCLUSION The aim of this paper and its discussion is to elucidate the realities of BREEAM through three real life case studies within the BREEAM Bespoke, BREEAM Offices and BREEAM Healthcare schemes. The diversity of projects discussed covers those areas where BREEAM credits are not necessarily feasible, and sometimes shows the inflexibility of the method, subscribing to the letter rather than the spirit of an environmental assessment. However it also shows the benefits of using BREEAM, which still remains the most widely recognised and respected system in the world, and draws some interesting conclusions from the author, an independent BRE Accredited Professional. The conclusions from the BREEAM Bespoke Case Study are as follows: Thermal Zoning Recommendation of a review of underfloor heating as a non-compliant system, as systems can be fast acting, and appear to meet the spirit of the assessment criteria. Travel Consideration could be given as to whether BREEAM should penalise on the basis of a poor travel infrastructure, which is beyond the influence of the design team. Water Recycling Recommendation of increased credits for the installation of a rainwater harvesting is suggested. Materials A new build which has lower running costs and carbon emissions is seemingly penalised unfairly against a refurbishment of an existing building. Ecology It was noted that due to the building city location, very little enhancement was needed to improve the species count and gain the credits. This would not be comparable against a building in a rural location, with a higher enhancement required, to meet the same credit score. NOx emissions from heating source This credit negates the appeal of utilising electricity on site as no credits can be achieved. Electricity could however be described as the fuel of the future, being sustainable long term as it can be produced from renewable systems, whereas gas and oil cannot.

21 The conclusions from the BREEAM Offices Case Study are as follows: Management The author recommends the employment of an experienced and BREEAM conversant contractor to maximise credits in this section. Daylighting This credit could be a box ticking exercise, unless the designer was prepared to change the look of the facade on the basis of the results, and should therefore be done very early during project design Internal and External Lighting Levels No credit could be awarded for retaining the existing fittings; this was felt not compatible within the spirit of an environmental assessment. It is recommended that this is reviewed for a refurbishment project. Lifts No credit was achieved, the existing lifts were retained (albeit refurbished) as it was deemed too new to replace, and not environmentally responsible to do so. It was therefore recommended that when assessing existing lifts as part of a refurbishment project, new criteria could be specifically developed. Green Guide to Specification It was acknowledged that each of the areas in the Green Guide are measured in different units, which makes it difficult to combine them to provide one overall rating, consequently the guide is limited but certainly a useful tool in the designers armoury. The conclusions from the BREEAM Healthcare Case Study are as follows: Management Section A BREEAM experienced Contractual Team assisted in gaining high marks through most of this section. Potential for Natural Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality It is recommended that for a credit to be awarded for HEA 7 the requirements of HEA 8 should be met, Areas Sub-metering of Substantial Energy Uses and High Energy Load and Tenancy A recommendation that a degree of Post-Occupancy Evaluation is carried out for Excellent or Outstanding buildings, to ensure systems are being used as designed, or a confirmation from the final building user that there will be on-going monitoring.

22 Construction Site Waste Management An experienced Contractual team with effective and appropriate site management of waste is integral in providing a BREEAM complaint building. BREEAM Accredited Professional/Suitably Qualified BREEAM Assessor The early appointment of a BREEAM Accredited Professional assisted in the project being awarded an additional 2 credits by default, plus advice as to which credits to target, including their cost effectiveness of individual credits, thus benefitting the project from both a cost and environmental perspective. The late appointment of the BREEAM assessor can even mean some mandatory credits not being achieved, therefore failing the BREEAM entirely. As BREEAM can sometimes appear as box-ticking and inflexible it could put potential users of the system off attempting to go through the assessment process. The vast majority of clients undertake the process due to mandatory planning or funding requirements. It could be suggested by making the system more flexible and user-friendly this would encourage more buildings to go through the process voluntarily. This would improve the overall building stock rather than just those that are required to do so. The BREEAM is the most advanced system of its kind in the world, and goes a long way in meeting the environmental demands on today s society. The development of such a system is an ongoing process (BREEAM 2011 has subsequently been released) and this paper has made some recommendations based on real life case studies, which is hoped will be of benefit to the BRE, the design teams being assessed, and also to other assessors. It is hoped that by refining the system more buildings will undertake the BREEAM, thus benefiting us all.

23 Bibliography Anderson J, Shiers D and Steele K (2009) The Green Guide to Specification: An Environmental Profiling System for Building Materials and Components, 4 th Ed., Building Research Establishment, Watford, UK Cinquemani V, Prior J (2010) Integrating BREEAM throughout the Design Process: A Guide to Achieving Higher BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes Ratings, Building Research Establishment, Watford, UK BRE (2008) Bespoke Manual, Building Research Establishment, Watford, UK BRE (2008) Offices Manual, Building Research Establishment, Watford, UK BRE (2008) Healthcare Manual, Building Research Establishment, Watford, UK