BREEAM International New Construction 2016: rating thresholds, section weights, and credit strategy (SD233 Issue 2.0)

85%. That’s the minimum score for BREEAM Outstanding, performance of less than the top 1% of buildings, per BREEAM International New Construction 2016, SD233 Issue 2.0, Table 3. A score below 30% is Unclassified and earns no rating. Between those two numbers sit five rating tiers, ten weighted environmental sections (including Hazards) plus Innovation, and a set of mandatory minimum standards that grows with each rating level. Energy carries 20% of the score in the example weighting used by the manual. Plan credits against the section weighting structure. This article covers BREEAM International New Construction 2016 (SD233, Issue 2.0); BREEAM UK schemes and newer BREEAM versions are not covered.

Rating numbers at a glance

What are BREEAM’s five rating tiers?

BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is the UK-originated green building certification system that awards ratings across five tiers based on a weighted percentage score, per BREEAM International New Construction 2016, SD233 Issue 2.0, Table 3.

Outstanding requires 85% or above. Excellent requires 70%. Very Good requires 55%, Good 45%, and Pass 30%. Buildings scoring below 30% are Unclassified. Each tier broadly represents performance equivalent to a share of the building stock: Outstanding is less than the top 1% (innovator), Excellent the top 10% (best practice), Very Good the top 25% (advanced good practice), Good the top 50% (intermediate good practice), and Pass the top 75% (standard good practice).

To achieve a rating, the project must reach the minimum overall percentage and comply with the minimum standards for that rating level listed in Table 4. SD233 describes the approach as a balanced scorecard: most credits can be traded, so non-compliance in one area can be offset by compliance in another. But the minimum standards are a hard floor. A project that scores 78% but misses a minimum standard for Very Good cannot be rated Very Good, and one that misses a Pass-level minimum is Unclassified.

How are BREEAM’s environmental sections weighted?

Section weighting is a strategic variable for credit planning. SD233 Table 5 shows how weightings vary by project type, using Luxembourg as the example. For a non-residential, fully fitted building in that example, the sections carry these weights: Energy 20%, Health and Wellbeing 19%, Materials 13%, Management 11%, Pollution 10%, Land Use and Ecology 8%, Water 7%, Transport 6%, Waste 6% and Hazards 0%, totaling 100%. Innovation credits work outside the base 100%: each innovation credit adds 1% to the final score, up to 10 credits, and the final score is capped at 100%.

These are not fixed values for every project. SD233 states that weightings are adapted for local conditions: they are reviewed for the first project that registers for assessment in a country or region, then set for all later projects there for the life of the current BREEAM International New Construction version. Some sections are treated as fixed and others as variable. Check the weightings that apply to the project’s country before planning credit strategy. In the example above, Energy and Health and Wellbeing together carry 39% of the score.

What mandatory minimum standards does BREEAM require?

Mandatory minimum standards in BREEAM International NC 2016 are requirements listed in Table 4 that must be met at a given rating level regardless of tradable credits elsewhere.

Five issues carry a minimum standard from Pass level onward: Man 03 (Responsible construction practices, criterion 2 only: Health and Safety), Hea 01 (Visual comfort, criterion 1 only: high frequency ballast), Hea 02 (Indoor air quality, criterion 1 only: no asbestos), Hea 09 (Water quality, criterion 1 only: minimise legionellosis risk) and Mat 03 (Responsible sourcing of construction products, criterion 1 only: legal timber).

More minimums are added as the rating rises. From Good: Wat 01 (Water consumption, one credit) and Wat 02 (Water monitoring, criterion 1: mains water meter). From Very Good: Ene 02a (Energy monitoring, first sub-metering credit). From Excellent: Man 03 (one Considerate construction credit), Man 04 (criterion 10, building user guide), Man 05 (one credit, seasonal commissioning), Ene 01 (six credits) and Wst 03a/b (operational waste, one credit). At Outstanding: Man 03 (two credits), Ene 01 (ten credits), Wat 01 (two credits), Wst 01 (one credit), Hea 08 (private space, one credit) and Hea 06 (two credits, residential buildings and residential institutions only).

Minimum standards work as a hard floor, not a deduction. A project reaching 73% but missing the Hea 02 asbestos minimum fails the Pass-level requirements and is Unclassified, regardless of its percentage. No volume of tradable credits substitutes for a missing minimum.

How does the BREEAM assessment process work?

The BREEAM International New Construction scheme covers two life cycle stages: the design stage (DS), which leads to an interim rating and certificate, and the post-construction stage (PCS), which leads to a final rating and certificate.

At the design stage a licensed BREEAM Assessor evaluates the proposed building from design information available at scheme design or detailed design. The rating is labeled interim because it does not represent the final as-built performance. The post-construction stage confirms final as-built performance after practical completion, either through a post-construction review of a completed interim assessment or through a full post-construction assessment where no interim assessment was certified. Credits lost between stages reduce the final rating.

For existing buildings in operation, BREEAM In-Use International V6 applies. Its certificates are valid for 3 years, which removes the annual “confirmation of no significant changes” renewal step of the 2015 scheme. The Significant Change threshold was changed from 5% to 10% of the overall score per assessment part. V6 introduced Resilience and Resources categories that replace the Materials and Waste categories of the 2015 scheme. Part 3 (Occupier management) is excluded from V6; users who need all three parts use BREEAM In-Use International 2015, which stays open for registrations for up to one year after V6 launched.

Why do these numbers exist?

SD233 explains the benchmarks as broadly equivalent to positions in the building stock: Outstanding is less than the top 1% of buildings, Excellent the top 10%, and so on. The balanced scorecard lets teams trade credits within the percentage score while the minimum standards stop key issues such as energy, water and waste from being overlooked in pursuit of a rating. The manual describes the section weightings as derived by an independently peer-reviewed, consensus-based methodology to rank the relative impact of environmental issues. This article does not add explanations beyond the manual.

How does BREEAM compare across jurisdictions?

BREEAM schemes are developed and operated locally by National Scheme Operators (NSOs). BREEAM International New Construction applies to projects outside the UK and adapts its section weightings to local conditions, as described above. Which system a project uses, and which rating is expected, depends on the client, the lender and any local planning or procurement rule. This article does not tabulate national requirements or rating expectations; confirm them with the NSO or the authority concerned. The UK operates its own BREEAM New Construction scheme, whose requirements differ from the International scheme described here.

The part everyone almost gets right

Strategic and documentation mistakes to avoid, because they can cause a project to miss its target rating.

1. Treating BREEAM like a point-count system. BREEAM uses weighted section scores. In the Luxembourg example, Energy (20%) and Health and Wellbeing (19%) carry more weight than other sections, so credit planning should follow the weightings that apply to the project.

2. Missing a Pass-level minimum. Man 03 criterion 2, Hea 01 criterion 1, Hea 02 criterion 1, Hea 09 criterion 1 and Mat 03 criterion 1 apply from Pass onward, per Table 4. Missing documentation for one of them makes the project Unclassified.

3. Presenting the interim certificate as final. The design stage certificate is interim. As-built deviations from design-stage submissions can reduce the post-construction stage score.

4. Ignoring local weightings. BREEAM International adapts weightings per country or region. Do not assume the Luxembourg example values apply elsewhere.

5. Over-relying on Innovation. Each innovation credit adds 1% to the score, up to 10 credits, and the final score is capped at 100%. Innovation credits do not replace the minimum standards or the percentage needed in the base sections.