Guide to BREEAM

BREEAM is the leading environmental assessment method for buildings, setting the standard for best practice in sustainable design. Yet many professionals find BREEAM difficult to understand and often miss out on opportunities to optimise the credits that can be scored from a scheme.

This practical, accessible guide comes to the rescue – providing a much-needed explanation of BREEAM for all building professionals, whether architects, clients, contractors or engineers.

Focussing on those key areas to the assessment that can frequently cause confusion, it explains who needs to do what, and when – and also includes useful tips for ‘quick wins’ in relation to the 2011 BREEAM update. This guide provides a clear introduction to how to make the most of BREEAM.

Stuart Barlow is a qualified BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) Accredited Professional and BREEAM Assessor for the BREEAM Offices, Retail & Industrial schemes. He has a detailed knowledge of the whole range of BREEAM Assessment methods, and has provided BREEAM training presentations both in-house and to other organisations.

Stuart is an architect with his own sustainability consultancy, SPB Sustainability Ltd (www.spb-sustainability.com) and has an MSc in Sustainable Development & Climate Change. He was 3DReid’s Head of Sustainability, overseeing their response to sustainability issues and has provided sustainability expertise on a wide range of projects, providing environmental strategies for submissions, energy statements and daylight studies. He has briefed clients and designers on such issues as the changes in sustainability-related legislation such as changes to the Building Regulations (including Part L), the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme, and the energy ‘cash back’ scheme for feed-in tariffs, to name a few.