Get started with BREEAM New Construction: Understand the manual and achieve your desired level of certification

A BREEAM certification is an important tool to increase your building's environmental performance. However, the BREEAM manual, which is the basis for this certification, can seem overwhelming. Therefore, it is essential to understand how the manual is structured and how it can be used to achieve the desired level of certification. In this article, we have made an overview of the most important elements of the Breeam manual, and how they interrelate.

Certification Levels: The Points System for BREEAM

To understand the BREEAM manual, it is important to begin with the certification levels. There are six different levels, based on percentage points gained by a total score score. Certification levels go from “Pass” at 30% to “Outstanding” at 85% (Applies to BREEAM New-Construction). Although in theory you can choose which points you want to bet on, there are a few things to watch out for:

1. Available points: Total points available depend on the building type and other construction specifications. For example, you cannot take points for a well-performed lab if you do not have a laboratory in the building.
2. Weighting Chapters: The scores in different chapters, such as Materials (MAT) or Water (WAT), are weighted differently. This means that 1 point in one chapter may have more meaning than in 1 point in another chapter.
3. Minimum requirements: For each certification level, there are specific minimum requirements that must be achieved. The higher the level of ambition, the stricter the requirements.
4. The step norm: This is a plan that indicates when various criteria and points need to be implemented in the construction process. It is critical to follow this one to avoid losing points that need to be documented at the right time. Implementation of requirements according to the step norm will also ensure the best cost-efficient implementation of the project. Read more about the stegnorm HERE

Core Elements of the Breeam Manual

Chapters and Topics

• Chapters: These are the overarching categories in the manual, covering various aspects of the construction process (e.g. Energy, Materials, Health and Wellness).
• Topics: Subcategories of each chapter, further detailing the requirements. (e.g. ENE01, MAN04). Under each topic, a purpose is also described that explains why this topic is included in a BREEAM certification and how the measures can help strengthen the environmental performance of buildings.

Points and Criteria

• Points: A course consists of one or more points, and you can often choose whether you want to take all, or only some of them. The scores are eventually counted together to arrive at the BREEAM certification level on the project.
• Criteria: These are the specific requirements that must be met to achieve a given point. A point may have one or more criteria. By and large, you have to take all the criteria to get the point approved. Criteria can sometimes be associated with the step norm.

Minimum Requirements and Prerequisites

• Minimum requirements: Each certification level has a set of mandatory criteria that must be met if one is to reach a certification level, in addition to the percentage of points required.
• Prerequisites: Points or criteria that must be taken before one can obtain points in dependent categories. These do not necessarily award points per se, but count as part of other points or criteria.

Innovation Points

These are additional points one can take to get an even higher BREEAM score. These scores are weighted higher than the rest of the scores in the manual, and each individual score has a weighting of 1% off on top of the total achievable points for the project. The project cannot achieve more than 100% in total. Innovation points can be earned in two different ways:

• Points for pattern-valid level: in the score sheet of the course you will find which additional measures can give innovation points.
• Innovation application: an opportunity to submit an innovation application to BRE in order to obtain further points for environmental measures related to the construction project, but which are not specified in the BREEAM manual.

Additional Info

• Documentation requirements: The criteria underlying the scores often describe what needs to be achieved, but not always how. To prove the achievement of various criteria, referring to the documentation requirements, live one of the options where several are provided. In Kvist, one can see relevant documentation requirements directly related to the relevant criteria, which greatly simplifies the process.
• Method: a procedure on how to document achievement. Here you can find formulas or other aids to help calculate the metric by which the subject is measured. For BREEAM-NOR V.6, there are also several requirements under the method section of the topic.
• Additional Info and Definitions: Further clarifications are made here about what is meant by terms used in the manual text.

The EU taxonomy in BREEAM

In the latest version of BREEAM-NOR (V.6.1), the EU taxonomy is included. All buildings that qualify for the Excellent level are automatically EU taxonomy compliant, as these are the minimum requirements for this level. Kvist offers a special filter to identify these EU requirements, which is a great help for projects that are not necessarily aiming for Excellence level but still want to be in line with the EU taxonomy.

You can read more about BREEAM and the EU taxonomy at BRE

FAQ

Grønn Byggallianse occasionally provides clarifications of various topics or points in the manual. They write these under a FAQ on their website. In Kvist, you have the opportunity to view these directly in the platform, related to the topic in question.

In conclusion

Understanding the BREEAM manual, and using it effectively is the key to successful certification. By navigating through the various aspects of the manual and optimizing the use of available tools such as Kvist, one can ensure that construction projects not only achieve their environmental ambitions, but also do so in a cost-effective manner. For more detailed guidance, please refer to the Green Building Alliance and their resources.

By understanding and applying the principles of the BREEAM Manual, one contributes not only to the environment, but also to the creation of buildings that are sustainable, functional and forward-looking.

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