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MAT 03
Information correct as of 15thFebruary 2025. Please see kb.breeam.com for the latest compliance information.
Design stage requirements where specific product details are unknown - KBCN1483
The Mat 03 tool must be completed in accordance with the Methodology, providing all available details and submitted as evidence.
Where products or materials are subject to a performance specification and a specific manufacturer and certificate reference cannot be provided, the missing details should be completed as 'tbc'.
This ensures that a strategy for compliance can be demonstrated, even where some specific details are unavailable.
FSC and PEFC Mixed Sources certified timber - KBCN00091
Products labelled:
- FSC Mix or
- PEFC Mixed Sources
Meet the BREEAM responsible sourcing requirements. This means any such products:
- In HQM, and in BREEAM NC 2016 or older schemes: meet the prerequisite for legally harvested and traded timber.
- In BREEAM NC 2018 or newer schemes: meet the prerequisite for legal and sustainable timber.
- In all schemes: can be used to demonstrate responsible sourcing.
Products carrying the FSC Mix label contain at least 70% FSC certified and recycled material. These products may contain a small proportion of FSC Controlled Wood (KBCN00054). However for BREEAM compliance, the FSC Mix label is sufficient to meet our requirements.
14-Mar-2024 - Wording clarified and expanded. Relevant prerequisites and requirements clarified. Scheme applicability updated.
FSC Controlled Wood - KBCN00054
The
FSC Controlled Wood label minimises the risk that wood comes from illegal or controversial sources, however it does not eliminate this risk.
Therefore, products which are:
- Labelled as FSC Controlled Wood or,
- Where the majority of material in a product is comprised of FSC Controlled Wood,
Do not meet the BREEAM definition of responsibly sourced.
Where FSC Mix labelled products contain FSC Controlled Wood, see KBCN00091.
This means that any such products:
- In HQM, and in BREEAM NC 2016 or older schemes: do not meet the prerequisite for legally harvested and traded timber.
- In BREEAM NC 2018 or newer schemes: do not meet the prerequisite for legal and sustainable timber.
- In all schemes: cannot be used to demonstrate responsible sourcing.
14-Mar-2024 - Wording clarified and expanded. Relevant prerequisites and requirements clarified. Scheme applicability updated.
Legally harvested and traded/Legal and sustainable timber – Reclaimed/recycled timber - KBCN0654
Timber should, wherever possible, be sourced in accordance with the UK Government’s Timber Procurement Policy. However, if for reclaimed timber the original procurement details are unobtainable, robust evidence to demonstrate it has been reclaimed can be acceptable.
The government UK Government Timber Procurement Policy Timber Procurement Advice Note (6th edition) states:
As an alternative to demanding timber and wood-derived products from a Legal and Sustainable source, Contracting Authorities can demand ‘recycled timber’. Documentary evidence and independent verification will also apply to recycled timber and recycled wood-derived products but will focus on the use to which the timber was previously put rather than the forest source.
And defines ‘recycled timber’ as:
“…recovered wood that prior to being supplied to the Contracting Authority had an end use as a standalone object or as part of a structure and which has completed its lifecycle and would otherwise be disposed of as waste. The term ‘recycled’ is used to cover the following categories: pre-consumer recycled wood and wood fibre or industrial by products but excluding sawmill co-products (sawmill co-products are deemed to fall within the category of virgin timber), post-consumer recycled wood and wood fibre, and drift wood. It also covers reclaimed timber which was abandoned or confiscated at least ten years previously.”
As per the above policy, BREEAM requires “Documentary evidence and independent verification” that all reclaimed/recycled timber products meet the definition of ‘recycled timber’ given above.
01/06/2020: Amended to clarify and extended applicability to Mat 03
Legally harvested and traded/Legal and sustainable timber – Reclaimed/recycled timber - KBCN1402
As an alternative to virgin timber and wood-derived products from a Legally harvested and traded timber/Legal and Sustainable source, ‘recycled timber’ is acceptable. For the purposes of these prerequisites, ‘recycled timber’ is defined by BREEAM as:
Recovered wood that prior to being supplied to the assessed project had an end use as a standalone object or as part of a structure and which has completed its lifecycle and would otherwise be disposed of as waste. The term ‘recycled’ is used to cover the following categories: pre-consumer recycled wood and wood fibre or industrial by products but excluding sawmill co-products (sawmill co-products are deemed to fall within the category of virgin timber), post-consumer recycled wood and wood fibre, and drift wood. It also covers reclaimed timber which was abandoned or confiscated at least ten years previously.
BREEAM requires documentary evidence that all reclaimed/recycled timber products meet the definition of ‘recycled timber’ given above.
Mat 01 / Mat 03 calculator not big enough - KBCN0647
If a project has more specifications than there is rows available in the tool you can group specifications that have the same green guide rating/responsible sourcing level with each of the specifications with the same rating listed in the same row. The proportion that they contribute to the overall area is also combined. For example where a project has 30 different upper floor specifications, if 10 upper floor specifications are A+, 10 are A, 5 are B and 5 are C then you would only need to use 4 lines.
On site fabrication - KBCN1292
Where concrete (or another construction product) is produced on site, there is no requirement to provide responsible sourcing certification for the end product. As in this case fabrication on site is effectively part of the onsite building process, the certification of the individual products (e.g. aggregates, cement), as delivered to site, shall be used in the assessment instead.
Outdoor foundations - KBCN0787
Outdoor foundations for lighting poles, bike racks, charging stations, etc., need to be included under hard landscaping, provided they are above the cut-off volume.
Raised access floors - KBCN00018
For the purposes of Mat 03, raised access floors should be considered as part of the floor structure.
HQM - Applies to HQM's Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products assessment issue.
Information correct as of 15thFebruary 2025. Please see kb.breeam.com for the latest compliance information.