January 7, 2009—A record number of buildings were assessed under BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) in 2008, for an estimated reduction of 4.5 million tons of CO2 emissions by UK buildings, equivalent to the emissions of 40,000 homes. Over 2,000 buildings were assessed in 2008, a 40 percent increase on 2007 and the highest number in any one year since BREEAM’s inception.
Next year will see the launch of BREEAM In Use, which will help reduce the running costs and environmental impact of existing buildings. BREEAM In Use is a powerful business management process that helps organizations improve the performance of built assets and increases organizational effectiveness, according to BRE Global.
Key facts for BREEAM in 2008 are:
- 4.5 million tons of CO2 have been saved since the launch of the first BREEAM for offices in 1990;
- The BREEAM method now has 11 published versions tailored to specific building types ranging from courts to offices to retail. Specialist and mixed-use buildings not covered by the main schemes are assessed using a bespoke approach;
- BREEAM underwent its most radical update for 10 years with the introduction of mandatory post-construction reviews, credits to recognize exemplary and innovative design, and a new Outstanding rating to reward leading-edge buildings;
- BREEAM was launched into the Gulf in October and pan-European versions of BREEAM were piloted this year for retail and other sectors;
- Assessments are carried out by a growing legion of licensed assessors. There are now over 3,000 licensed assessors in the UK and the first group of assessors were trained this year for Europe and the Middle East; and
- A wide range of free, public resources are now available for BREEAM. Assessor manuals and pre-assessment checklists can now be downloaded free of charge from the BREEAM Web site.
