Le 02 - Ecological value of site and protection of ecological features

GN13 Relating ecologist’s report and BREEAM - KBCN0626

Introduction This guidance note is to be used for registered BREEAM UK New Construction 2014 and RFO 2014 and International New Construction 2016 and RFO 2015 assessments, where an ecologist has been appointed by the client and has produced an ecology report for the proposed development. The purpose of this guidance note is to help the BREEAM Assessor relate the content of the ecologist’s report to the BREEAM Land Use and Ecology section criteria (assessment issues LE 02, LE 03 (UK only), LE 04 and LE 05). The guidance within this document has been produced to support the assessment of the aforementioned BREEAM issues and should not be interpreted as criteria. If the BREEAM Assessor chooses to use the template provided within this guidance note as evidence in the assessment (use of this document is optional) the assessor or the appointed suitably qualified ecologist must complete all relevant sections View full Guidance Note (licensed assessors only) View all Guidance Notes (licensed assessors only)

01/04/2020 Clarified applicability to UK RFO 2014 and International RFO 2015 schemes

Risk to Ecologist’s safety - KBCN0704

In some situations a significant safety risk may prevent a suitably qualified ecologist from attending the site to undertake a site survey. In these cases a desktop study can be used to demonstrate compliance, where the ecologist confirms that it is an acceptably robust substitute. In these cases, the assessor must provide evidence to confirm the type of significant safety risk present.

Suitably Qualified Ecologist – Other recognised organisations - KBCN0192

With regards to the definition of a Suitably Qualified Ecologist, in addition to the organisations already listed within the manual, full members of the following organisations are also deemed SQE's;

Royal Society of Biology
Institute of Environmental Sciences

Provided the individual meets all other requirements as outlined in the definition of a Suitably Qualified Ecologist (SQE).

Suitably Qualified Ecologist – Professional membership - KBCN0743

With reference to the definition provided in the technical guidance, ecologists can be considered as meeting Requirement 3 based on full membership of the organisations listed.

Those who are not full members may be considered as meeting Requirement 3, however the assessor must ensure and demonstrate, that the ecologist is covered by a professional code of conduct and is subject to peer review.

In all cases, Requirements 1 and 2 must also be met.

24 May 2024 - Updated to clarify that where ecologists who are not full members of a professional body meet the above guidance for Requirement 3, other than also meeting Requirements 1 and 2, no additional evidence or confirmation is required.

Temporary ecological enhancements prior to development - KBCN00065

Where a site has been acquired but development is not scheduled to start immediately, it is possible to determine the baseline ecological value of the site at this point. Furthermore, to recognise where positive measures to enhance ecology have been taken to manage the site until development starts, these enhancement measures will not impact on the baseline value for the purposes of the BREEAM assessment, provided that the following have been met:

Following acquisition of the site and prior to any site clearance which involves the removal of any relevant features, the ecological value of a site is recorded in accordance with the relevant BREEAM methodology by a suitably qualified ecologist (SQE) to establish the baseline.
The SQE confirms and records details of the temporary ecological enhancement and management strategy being implemented on the site for the period prior to scheduled development.
For a period of up to 10 years, the initial baseline determined for the site is valid for the purposes of BREEAM assessment.
Any enhancements prior to scheduled development that are not being carried forward into the design, construction and operational phases can be disregarded for the purposes of establishing the baseline ecological value at development.
The assessment report shall provide documentary evidence of the above for certification.
Any enhancement and management practices implemented prior to scheduled development that will be maintained and continued through the design, construction and into the operational phase can contribute toward the awarding of credits via the BREEAM calculator tools.

Clarification: This guidance is currently under development. Please contact BRE Global with specific project details for confirmation of whether this approach may be used. The aim of these issues is to demonstrate the impact that a project has had on the site ecology, but comparing the site pre and post development. BREEAM does not want to penalise sites that have put in temporary ecological enhancements that enhance the ecology while waiting for development to begin.