How to achieve BREEAM Outstanding or BREEAM Excellent for your building

BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is an international classification method for buildings, and is one of the most common methods used for environmental certification of buildings. BREEAM Outstanding is the highest rating a building can achieve, out of a total of 6 different BREEAM ratings. It a prestigious award that shows that the building has achieved very good sustainable results. Less than 1% of new builds achieve a BREEAM-NOR Outstanding certification. To reach the highest classification, the building must document best practices in sustainability, as well as have implemented innovative solutions to minimize its environmental impact.

Not only is it a great accolade to have the building classified BREEAM Outstanding, it can also lead to additional benefits for the building by increasing its market value, reducing operating costs and meeting tenants' sustainability and environmental friendliness requirements, which can make a BREEAM certified building a more attractive rental property.

💡 Wondering what a BREEAM certification is? Read more HERE

The scoring system in BREEAM works in that a maximum score of 100% is prepared based on information of the building. The lowest score one can have for achieving a BREEAM certification is 30% which gives the BREEAM Pass. In case of lower performance than this, the project will not achieve certification. To achieve BREEAM-NOR Outstanding, the building's performance must cover a minimum of 85% of the total available point score. In addition to this, there are a number of minimum requirements that must be met in order to qualify for the best grade. The minimum requirements for Outstanding itself amount to more than 20% score. A construction project is thus already very close to a certification with the lowest classification only with the minimum requirements for an outstanding certification.

BREEAM Outstanding Buildings are also called Innovators by BREEAM, as you really need to think outside the box to create a building that is so sustainable that it reaches the requirements for an Outstanding building. BREEAM Excellent is also known as best practice for sustainable buildings. To manage to reach the high score required for outstanding classification, it may be a good idea to use the opportunity to take innovation points. In the BREEAM manual, it is possible to get up to 10 percentage points extra if you can document innovative actions that have been taken. Examples of what can give innovation points are following FutureBuild's criteria set, plus housing, advanced stormwater management solutions or submitting an innovation application that is approved by BRE Global, the criteria set can be found on the Green Building Alliance website HERE.

It is important to plan the process carefully and include BREEAM in all phases of a construction project. By doing so, you will increase the likelihood of achieving higher certification rates, and reduce the costs associated with completing the certification. It is therefore recommended to make the decision to undertake a BREEAM certification as early as possible in the process. Several of the points are not possible to take, or are very costly to take if the construction process takes too long. Green Building Alliance has developed an overview of which BREEAM requirements are step dependent, you can see it HERE. It is important that all stakeholders to the building are well rooted in the process and have the same aspirations for certification. If all partners involved in the construction process are also involved in the BREEAM process, certification can be carried out more efficiently.

Examples of BREEAM-NOR projects classified as Outstanding projects

Fornebu Centre - Bærum

Powerhouse Steep Dry Quay - Trondheim

Financial Park - Stavanger

The article is intended as indicative information only, we recommend contacting a BREEAM-AP or Assessor and seeking out the BREEAM-NOR manual for information. For more information about BREEAM, BREEAM-NOR and the process of obtaining a BREEAM certification, read more on the Green Building Alliance and Building Research Establishment pages.