BACKGROUND

The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) (see Appendix 6.1) is the most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings in the world. Since its launch in 1990, BREEAM has been enhanced and refined technically to encompass a wide range of environmental issues (ranging from energy to pollution, from water to health and wellbeing of building occupants, from management to land use and ecology) whose impacts are assessed against recognised best practice benchmarks and standards. A number of BREEAM versions have been developed by tailoring the environmental criteria to meet the functionality, opportunities and limitations of different building types, such as BREEAM Education, BREEAM Healthcare, BREEAM Offices and BREEAM Retail. BRE Global also developed a version for domestic buildings, the Code for Sustainable Homes, on behalf of Communities and Local Government (CLG) in April 2007 (CLG, 2009). This method is based on BRE's EcoHomes (early domestic version of the BREEAM methodology) adapted to relate closely to the Building Regulations (England and Wales) (CLG, 2006a) and government policy (see Appendix 6.2).

All environmental compliance requirements in BREEAM* are based on robust scientific evidence, and regular technical updates ensure that the criteria are kept relevant and ahead of typical industry practices. Indeed, the main aim of BREEAM is to encourage the mass of the building stock towards higher levels of environmental performance while recognising the potential barriers that exist. For this reason, compliance with BREEAM requirements is possible only where it is demonstrated that a building is performing above and beyond Building Regulation levels.

This has at times challenged established building design practices. The additional attention needed to integrate BREEAM requirements in standard architectural specifications and tender documents can pose problems of integration if this is not looked at early on in the process. This publication builds on the breadth of feedback collected by BRE Global and BREEAM assessors through the operation of the scheme and from clients and designers to provide guidance on ways of minimising the barriers to achieving higher standards, thus helping the design community and its clients to build more sustainable buildings.

An appropriately integrated procurement process makes it easier to achieve high BREEAM ratings and consequently enhance the environmental performance of the building. This may be of help in maximising economic savings during the operational phase of the building's life, ensuring more comfortable indoor conditions for the building occupants or increasing the market value of the building (Yates, 2003; Eichholtz et al, 2009).

* Whenever the term ‘BREEAM' is used throughout this publication, it also implies the Code for Sustainable Homes unless otherwise indicated.