BREEAM (certification)

Launched in the UK in 1990 for office buildings, and since then for commercial, industrial and residential buildings, BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certification is the most widely used method for assessing and improving the environmental performance of buildings. To date, over 600 office buildings have been assessed using this method.

BREEAM certification assesses the performance of buildings on management systems, energy, health, well-being, pollution, transport, land use, biodiversity, materials and water. Points are awarded for each of these aspects according to the performance achieved. A weighting system makes it possible to aggregate these scores and ultimately obtain an overall score. This score, awarded in the form of a certificate, can then be used for promotional purposes.

The interest of this certification, apart from the simplicity of its 4 performance levels, is that it can be - and is - used for both new and existing buildings.

What LEED and BREEAM have in common is that they offer a rating system. This feature, which HQE certification does not have, has the advantage of allowing comparisons between buildings in terms of sustainable development and of taking into account the performance obtained in the value of the property in question.