BRE launches open consultation on net zero update to BREEAM

Net Zero Consulting: BREEAM Standards Update

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has today launched an open consultation to seek views on a major update to its world-leading sustainability assessment method, BREEAM.

BREEAM V7 will address the need to account for embodied carbon in performance assessments, helping building owners and developers to make more informed decisions about the materials and products they use in order to meet environmental targets.

The new version of BREEAM Version 7 (V7) – will see the first modular update across multiple BREEAM schemes, introducing improved Energy and Carbon science across New Construction, In-Use, and Refurbishment and Fit Out.

The consultation will gather views from the wider industry to enable BRE to ensure the BREEAM suite of products reflects the latest science in relation to net zero carbon and developments in international regulation.

The BREEAM V7 approach to address whole life carbon includes measuring and reporting on operational carbon emissions as well as embodied carbon. V7 will therefore provide a valuable tool for investors in assessing the climate risk of a building. It will support building owners and operators to set benchmarks for their carbon emissions as an important step to reducing them and showing whether a building is on track for net zero.

Gillian Charlesworth, BRE Chief Executive, said: “By looking at Energy and Carbon science across the board, BRE continues to provide the leading assessment and certification method for the built environment, helping owners and occupiers around the world to address the most pressing sustainability challenges in a holistic way.

“We want to ensure that BREEAM reflects the latest developments in net zero science and regulation to ensure users can drive sustainability projects beyond best practice, confident that their sustainability goals really are being met.

“Public consultations like these have proven an invaluable exercise in helping to develop BREEAM to users’ ambitions to reduce carbon in and from buildings. I urge all relevant stakeholders to take part.”

The consultation opens on 24 May and will close on 30 June.

Take part in the consultation

Learn more about BREEAM

BRE recently announced its largest single real estate sustainability certification in the world through its leading certification scheme, BREEAM. Vesteda, a Dutch residential investor obtained sustainability certification through a BREEAM In-Use scheme, which Vesteda helped BRE to develop. In just under a year, all of Vesteda’s portfolio – 27,500 homes in the Netherlands was certified, demonstrating Vesteda’s commitment to sustainability. Read more about BREEAM’s largest single real estate certification.

Notes to Editors
For all press enquiries, please contact brepress@pagefield.co.uk

About BRE
BRE is a world leading, multi-disciplinary, building science centre with a mission to improve buildings and infrastructure, through cutting-edge research and knowledge generation. BRE maintains a range of products, services, standards and qualifications that are used around the world to bring about positive change in the built environment.

About BREEAM
BREEAM is the world’s leading science-based suite of validation and certification systems for sustainable built environment. Since 1990, BREEAM’s third-party certified standards have helped improve asset performance at every stage, from design through construction, to use and refurbishment. Millions of buildings across the world are registered to work towards BREEAM’s holistic approach to achieve ESG, health, and net zero goals. It is owned by BRE – a profit-for-purpose organisation with over 100 years of building science and research background.