Sustainability Assessments
Help your project meet the highest environmental standards by completing a BREEAM Assessment and benefit from expert guidance with our BREEAM Advisory Professional services.
BREEAM UK Non-Domestic New Construction
New Construction BREEAM assessments are designed to measure and certify the environmental performance of new non-domestic buildings. The method uses an evidence-based assessment process with a straightforward scoring system to achieve an internationally recognised certification. New developments with the BREEAM badge are high-performance buildings that have many benefits, including:
- Reduced energy costs
- Reduced operational costs
- Lower operational carbon emissions
- Improved working atmosphere, including user comfort
- Increased market value and reputation
SRL are licensed and qualified to complete New Construction assessments. Our Assessors will collect, assess and provide feedback on the evidence you submit for BREEAM to help your project meet BRE’s specific requirements. Our Assessors are also experienced in various complementary disciplines including project management and programme delivery.
We are well prepared to get you from the pre-assessment stage through to full BRE certification.
BREEAM UK Non-Domestic Refurbishment and Fit-Out
Refurbishment and Fit-Out (RFO) BREEAM assessments focus on improving the environmental performance of existing non-domestic buildings by renovating or replacing a building’s fabric and structure, core services, local services and/or interior design. Like New Construction assessments, RFO assessments cover wide-ranging criteria, including energy efficiency, water usage, health and wellbeing, materials, waste and more. Developments that undergo RFO assessments will transform into more modern buildings with an improved environmental performance.
SRL are also licensed and qualified to complete RFO assessments.
BREEAM Advisory Professional
SRL also provide BREEAM Advisory Professional (AP) services, alongside our Assessor services. Our BREEAM APs will provide expert guidance and support throughout the project lifecycle to help you achieve the Man 01 and Man 03 credits. Furthermore, a BREEAM AP also offers you:
- strategic advice, including identifying the most cost-effective credits to achieve your target score and additional credits if you’re falling short,
- help with planning and design to optimise the environmental performance of the development, and
- assistance navigating the BREEAM assessment process if it’s something you’re unfamiliar with.
Our Approach
SRL has worked on many BREEAM assessments for projects ranging from £500k to £500M. We have developed a proactive approach to being part of the design team which makes BREEAM part of the design and not an afterthought.
Our positive approach to BREEAM includes:
- providing letter templates to evidence the criteria which reduces the work required by the team and speeds up project certification,
- communicating in Plain English to avoid miscommunication,
- using the industry-leading Tracker+ software to streamline the assessment process, and
- regular BREEAM progress updates.
Since April 2021, BRE have changed their audit and certification process. They will entirely reject assessment submissions where evidence is poor or where major non-conformances are noted. In the last few years, SRL has received no major non-conformances and certification is, more often than not, achieved first time. This shows the effectiveness of our thorough assessment and QA processes that save time on projects we work on.
As a result, our BREEAM team members have been described as “knowledgeable, proactive, responsive, a pleasure to work with”. BRE has also been impressed with our assessments and recently said “Thanks for also producing a very well-referenced and presented audit… I wish more assessments could be like this”.
Green credentials
Increasingly we are asked for ‘green acoustic advice’ which entails assessing our solutions’ consequences and their impact on the environment.
To support these requests we are developing a tailored programme to consider such elements as plasterboard partitions, suspended ceilings, mechanical ventilation and acoustic quilts. This will look not only at the carbon footprint of the materials and how sustainable they are, but also at the ‘in use’ impact when installed and the building is operational.
Industry recognition
For added reassurance, our BREEAM Assessors and APs have been trained and are fully licensed by BRE. Our environmental consultants are members of the Institute of Environmental Management Assessment (IEMA), Institute of Environmental Sciences (IES) and Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM). All our site visiting staff hold valid CSCS cards.
CASE STUDY
Westgate Shopping Centre, Oxford
We were appointed to complete the BREEAM assessments for both the Design and Post Construction stages of Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford.
We were appointed to complete the BREEAM assessments for both the Design and Post Construction stages of Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford.
The Bigger Picture
Whether it’s consultancy, research, testing, implementation or monitoring – or a comprehensive project involving all of these – our consultants will always deliver the optimum solutions.
The Bigger Picture
Whether it’s consultancy, research, testing, implementation or monitoring – or a comprehensive project involving all of these – our consultants will always deliver the optimum solutions.