In the continually evolving and growing landscape of green building certification programs, BREEAM USA In-Use has emerged as one of the newest players in the US market. BREEAM USA launched in October 2016 to provide an affordable option to benchmark sustainable building performance against global best practices. BREEAM identified a need to engage the 5.6 million existing commercial buildings in the U.S. market on issues of sustainability. The program benchmarks performance across 9 environmental sections: Management, Health & Wellbeing, Energy, Transport, Water, Materials, Waste, Land Use & Ecology, and Pollution.
BREEAM is owned by BRE, the Building Research Establishment, which has been developing standards for the built environment for nearly 100 years and is based out of the United Kingdom. BRE is owned by the BRE Trust which uses the profits from BREEAM and other BRE products to fund scientific research that helps improve the built environment, the BREEAM standard and other BRE components. Interestingly, BRE history began with research on fire prevention and extinguishing as well as construction methods for rebuilding after the First World War informing BREEAM’s coverage on value protection which other standards lack. BREEAM In-Use is a methodology backed by scientific research to rate existing buildings based on performance benchmarks. There are also no prerequisites to get started.
While the BREEAM program is new to the US, it is the most widely used program in Europe and globally, with over 2,200,000 registered projects and over 550,000 certified assets globally. The retailer Macerich has paved the way by earning the first BREEAM certification in the US for its Oaks Shopping Center in Santa Monica in March 2017.
The BREEAM standard is developed and administered by BREEAM USA team; however, certification is awarded by BREEAM Assessors through a rigorous review process and site visit. CodeGreen is thrilled to be the first BREEAM Assessor organization in New York and among the first in California. CodeGreen’s experience as a market leader and inclusive provider of services positions our team to provide comprehensive BREEAM Assessor and consulting services to our clients.
The BREEAM USA In-Use program may be a good fit for clients looking to understand how their assets are performing, provide value protection against early obsolescence, and gain environmental recognition where budget and resources are limited. We respect the inclusivity of the program and its focus on best practice as well as health and safety, which can have a large impact on value protection for any asset.
To learn if BREEAM is a good fit for your building, contact us at info@codegreensolutions.com.
