BREEAM Assessment  (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) and the Code for Sustainable homes are currently the most popular methods in the UK for assessing the sustainable credentials of a building.  Both methods have been conceived and are operated by the BRE (Building Research Establishment) with BREEAM assessing non-domestic and CSFSH assessing domestic buildings.

Speller Metcalfe have extensive experience of delivering projects assessed to reach the highest levels of through complete management of the entire design & build process; our staff have been trained in BREEAM and CFSH assessment and as such can offer expert advice.

The schemes award credits for sustainable design & construction over 8 different areas; Management, Health & Wellbeing, Energy, Transport, Materials, Waste, Land Use & Ecology and Pollution.  BREEAM assessments also allow for further ‘innovation’ credits to be achieved and are also specialised to deal with different types of buildings including Education, Healthcare, Offices, Industrial, Courts, Retail, Prisons, Multi-Residential & Bespoke (now ‘Other Buildings).

The sum total of credits gained indicates the overall rating for a scheme.  The graphics below indicate the % score needed for the different assessment levels of BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes.

BREEAM Mandatory Credits

Additionally to the overall % score required for different levels of assessment there are several credits which are mandatory to achieve the higher ratings as the graphic below demonstrates:

It is critical that the design for a project addresses these mandatory credits, otherwise the risk of obtaining the desire BREEAM rating could be compromised.

BREEAM Time Critical Credits

The BREEAM assessment model requires that a significant number of credits be addressed in the early design stage of a project (RIBA Stages B – D) in order that the credits can be awarded; this means that the sustainable criteria of the building has to be considered from a ‘broad-brush’ concept stage.  There is a risk that relatively ‘easy’ credits can be lost if the design does not address the requirements of these credits at an early stage; this then means that the project team could be facing an uphill battle to obtain sufficient credits to achieve a desire rating. 

The PDF document below sets BREEAM credits available across all schemes against the RIBA Project timeline, and indicates the critical time at which they should be addressed.

As well as offering the competency to co-ordinate design to assure BREEAM & CFSH compliance as a main contractor Speller Metcalfe can also contribute a significantly through delivering credits specific to the project construction phase adding up to  15% score to a project BREEAM assessment or 19% to a Code for Sustainable Home Assessment.  Obviously, this could have make or break implications for the sustainability rating of your project.

Specifically we can contribute in the following areas:

Considerate Constructors – We have a track record of achieving high scores on our Considerate Constructors site assessments due to our proactive site management procedures.

Construction Site Impacts – Maximum credits can be achieved due to our ISO14001 accreditation, sustainable sourcing policy and robust systems for monitoring energy, water, waste & transport associated with a project.  Additionally we source all timber from FSC / PEFC certified suppliers.

Life Cycle Costing – Our ability to carry out detailed whole life cycle cost analysis can contribute valuable credits to an assessment. Responsible Sourcing of Materials & Insulation – Our extensive supply chain of material suppliers old environmental management or sustainable sourcing accreditation helps maximise the potential of achieving full credits in this section.

Waste – Our emphasis on waste reduction and application of our comprehensive Site Waste Management procedures we can contribute several credits.

Environmental Management – Active management of site ecology through site specific environmental plans, operative training, site audits and the appointment of biodiversity champions on our projects assist in contributing credits in the Ecology section of assessments.