The BREEAM certifications sustainability challenge

BREEAM certifications, launched in 1990 by the Building Research Establishment, set the environmental standard for buildings. The purpose behind the methodology is to measure and, by measuring, encourage sustainable building, energy efficiency, reduced environmental impact, enhanced quality of life, and to benchmark building sustainably.

By any measure, it is popular with approximately 550,000 BREEAM certified developments and 2.2 million buildings registered for assessment when the figures were last calculated in 2016. It seems a reasonable assumption that the numbers would now be significantly higher. Of course, BREEAM certifications are not the only option, with other examples including LEED in the USA, Greenstar in Australia; the CASBEE, and the French HQE. But BREEAM, which is applied in over 70 countries, is the predominant certification globally and accounts for about 80% of the market in Europe.

It is also becoming an increasingly important part of the planning process in the UK with a number of local authorities having incorporated it into their requirements. Further, because it can be used for both residential and commercial property, it has a wide application across the entire industry.

Sustainability, defined by the UN as ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’, is both a standard for the construction industry to aim for and a reflection of the challenge it faces. We cannot down tools across all construction projects, but equally given construction is one of the largest consumers of natural resources construction we must focus on reducing our impact on the environment. Having reliable metrics such as BREEAM prevents sustainability from being abused and provides a bulwark against ‘greenwashing’. But we must still ask whether the journey started by the BRE in 1990 has delivered as much as it could have?

It has certainly gone some way to placing building and construction in the UK at the forefront of sustainability, creating more confidence and credibility in its ongoing development. However, to ensure continued success, it is essential that sustainability and sustainable certifications are available to all projects across the UK. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case currently.

The process for gaining a BREEAM certification is both expensive and time consuming, which is presenting an almost insurmountable obstacle for many smaller projects and organisations. That is particularly true for those outside London where lower property values make it more difficult to account for the costs of securing a BREEAM certification.

For instance, there are over 5,500 BREEAM certified projects in London, but less than 500 in Manchester and only 236 in Birmingham. The greater population and size of London will inevitably result in a higher number of projects in the capital, but not a discrepancy that large. However, this discrepancy is perhaps unsurprising given the costs for BREEAM certifications vary only depending the size and complexity of a project, but not the huge differences in prices for residential and commercial property across the UK.

For instance, prime office rents in the West End in London run to £135 per sq ft and in the City are £77.50 per sq ft; the equivalent cost in Birmingham is £41 per sq ft and in Manchester £43 per sq ft. Similarly, whilst the average price for a flat in London is £539,086, in Manchester this drops to £200,849 and in Birmingham to £157,791. Given these sharp differences, it clearly isn’t feasible to pass on the same levels of costs for a project outside of London.

Despite this, a Part 1 Certification Credit – Asset Performance assessment costs either £500 or £1,125 per asset (depending on whether it is valid for one or three years), and the same flat fee structure exists across the BREEAM certification process. These fees also do not take into account the additional costs of a certification which may include, for instance, additional materials or hiring a consultant.

Ultimately, unless BREEAM certifications, and indeed other sustainability measures, take into the account that a one-size fits all approach runs a serious risk of reinforcing regional inequalities, progress will stall. Which is why support to ensure that sustainability is an achievable ambition whether you’re in London, Leeds or Leicester is so important. After all, buildings do not suddenly become carbon neutral just because you’ve gone beyond the M25.

Bill Barton is a director at Barton Legal