General

Assessing multiple commercial buildings - KBCN1686

BREEAM In-Use has been developed as an environmental assessment method to assess existing assets. Typically, an asset consists of a single building or part of a single building. However, BREEAM In-Use provides an exception where certain criteria have been met, and this is set out in the relevant Technical Manual under the Eligibility Criterion 5 and reproduced below with clarifications noted in Italics. The requirements to assess multiple buildings as a single asset Criterion 5 states: An asset cannot normally include more than one building. The only exception is where several buildings meet the following criteria:

a) All buildings must be located on the same site. The site boundary must be drawn where responsibility for management or ownership of the site changes. The site interior may include public roads, such as industrial or office business parks, but the properties on which the buildings sit must otherwise be contiguous.

b) All buildings must have the same building function, similar performance, and be of similar design and age. This includes Subtype as well as Type. For example, three Industrial buildings, all of which function as warehouses, could be grouped. However, if one is a cold storage facility, another is advanced manufacturing, and the third is warehousing, this would not be acceptable.

c) Building management and maintenance policies, procedures and approach must be the same across all the buildings that make up the asset to ensure consistent implementation. Where maintenance policies, procedures, and approaches are the tenant’s responsibility through the leasing arrangements (for example, in industrial properties), these can vary, but overall building management needs to be the same for all properties.

d) Evidence must be collated from each building that is included in the asset and where performance against the BREEAM requirements varies, the final score will be determined by the space with the lowest level of performance. The whole data set for all buildings in the assessment must be gathered and provided to the Assessor by the Client.

Demonstrating compliance for certification

The Client will be required to demonstrate how each criterion has been met and provide evidence to support the approach.
The Assessor must then confirm the criteria have been met through their evidence review and on-site verification.
Site level assessments, such as an outdoor retail asset, should use a floor-area-weighted average method to confirm compliance.
For other commercial assessments involving multiple buildings, representative sampling is permitted to confirm compliance. Assessors are required to confirm that the worst-case performance was applied by the Client. Assessors are required to create and document a robust representative sampling method and demonstrate that they conducted their assessment in accordance with their methodology.
Where the Assessor is unsure how to interpret or apply the criteria, they should contact the Technical Team for clarification using the BREEAM Projects webform before submission for certification. Where relevant, a copy of the technical clarification response should be submitted as supporting evidence.

Considerations before undertaking this approach

The rating will reflect the worst performance of all the buildings included within the assessment. This will limit the visibility of buildings within the grouping that may have better performance and opportunities at individual assets to improve performance. Assessing the buildings separately allows for the granularity of the assessment to provide owners with more detailed information on how improvement plans can be rolled out and the value to be gained from driving performance.
Should the buildings be sold individually, the certification status does not transfer with the individual buildings. The building(s) sold would need to undergo the full certification process, including benchmarking and the on-site visit with a licensed Assessor, to be considered certified and claimed by the new ownership.
The certificate may be updated through a mid-cycle process to remove the assessed area of the building(s) sold. This could increase the score if the building sold represented the worst-case performance. If the building removed from the certification formed the basis of the score as the 'worst-performing', the Assessor would need to complete another site visit for the mid-cycle to ensure that the new data representing the worst performance is accurate.

Asset classification – co-living developments - KBCN1568

The following is a guide only. Every co-living project will combine a varying mix of residential with managed spaces, and assessors must in all cases review the suitability of the criteria to determine the most appropriate asset classification. Co-living features Co-living developments generally combine:

Self-contained residential apartments with private kitchens and bathrooms.
Apartments are typically rented for long-term stay (i.e. for periods of more than one month).
Managed communal facilities such as spaces for leisure, co-working spaces and common grounds.

Classification

For NC or RFO, generally the most appropriate asset classification is 'Residential institutions - long term stay.'
For BIU, it is generally Residential.

Using building regulation classifications as a guide As a guide, assessors can also consider how their asset is classified according to local regulations. For UK NC assets, KBCN1225 provides additional clarification:

Projects classified under UK building regulations as Part L Volume 1: Dwellings (Previously Part L1) is considered residential and covered under HQM.
Projects classified as Part L Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings (Previously Part L2) is considered a residential institution.

Asset performance eligibility criteria – Industrial assets - KBCN1471

The following guidance seeks to clarify how the eligibility criteria within the Scope section of the technical manual should be interpreted, particularly (though not exclusively) for industrial-type assets. 1) The asset must be a complete and finished structure. A complete and finished structure means an enclosed, permanent structure with a roof and walls intended to accommodate people and/or processes. a) Asset Performance No more than 20% of the Gross Internal Area (GIA) can be classified as ‘unfitted’ at the point of submission. The assessment information provided must be correct at the point of submission to BRE Global for certification To demonstrate that no more than 20% of the GIA (the assessed area) is ‘unfitted’, 80% of the GIA of the asset must be ‘ready for occupation’. This means it must be in a finished state, ready for occupation, or already operating in the intended function/process. This ‘finished’ state could be a controlled environment for a manufacturing process, warm or cold storage, IT or other technical operation. Alternatively, this could be an unconditioned internal environment, such as storage or packing and where most likely the only service fitted is electric lighting. The requirement for 80% of areas to be operational or ready for occupancy applies to the total assessed area, including areas fitted out for processes and spaces conditioned for human occupancy. 2) The asset must contain occupiable or occupied space(s) which is designed to be continuously occupied for 30 minutes or more per day by a building user. This is required to assess some criteria and award credits relating specifically to human occupation. In order to demonstrate that a space is designed to be continuously occupied for 30 minutes or more per day by building users these spaces must be conditioned for human occupation and provided with basic services. Some examples of asset areas that meet this definition are offices, homes, retail, leisure areas which have ventilation, light and energy and water supplies, e.g. heating and/or cooling and access to a toilet and hand washing facilities. However, process-based assets, which have any areas that are environmentally controlled by building services systems for human occupation OR processes, are eligible for assessment. a) Asset Performance An asset not yet occupied can still be assessed. Provided that it meets the criteria above and is ready for occupation

09 Aug 2021 Eligibility Criteria relating to occupied space updated

Asset performance eligibility criteria – Self-storage assets - KBCN1514

The following guidance seeks to clarify how the eligibility criteria within the Scope section of the technical manual should be interpreted for Self-Storage assets.

Defining self-storage assets

Self-storage provides space for individuals to rent and store their personal or business belongings. The storage space - also referred to as storage units - is typically rented on a month-to-month basis. This space will make up the most space for any self-storage asset type. Typical Scenarios:

Local electric heating and cooling to front desk and small office space (relative to storage units)
Hot water in the bathroom for staff or the public
Space conditioning
- Storage units are naturally ventilated
- Storage units are mechanically ventilated but conditioned only to prevent extremes of temperature
- Storage units are mechanically ventilated and conditioned for temperature, and in some cases humidity

Scope

Eligibility Criteria

Criterion 1(a): no more than 20% of the Gross Internal Area (GIA) can be classified as 'Unfitted'. As per KBCN1471, this means that at least 80% of the GIA “must be in a finished state, ready for occupation, or already operating in the intended function/process. This ‘finished’ state could be a controlled environment for a manufacturing process, warm or cold storage, IT or other technical operation. Alternatively, this could be an unconditioned internal environment, such as storage or packing and where most likely the only service fitted is electric lighting.” Criterion 1(b): no more than 20% of the Gross Internal Area (GIA) can be classified as 'Vacant'. This requirement would only apply to office or staff spaces within the Self-Storage asset rather than the storage units themselves. The Storage units must be in a condition ready to be leased but do not need to be occupied during the period of assessment. Criterion 2: The asset must contain occupiable or occupied space(s) designed to be continuously occupied for 30 mins or more per day by a building user. This is required to assess some criteria and award credits relating specifically to human occupation. Within Self-Storage assets, office and amenity areas will meet this requirement. The Self-Storage space will also meet this requirement provided it has ventilation, light and energy and access to water supplies. Criterion 2(b): The asset must have been occupied at least 12 months prior to the start of the assessment. For Self-Storage assets “occupied” means that office areas must have been occupied and the storage units must be ready to be occupied 12 months prior to the start of the assessment.

Asset Type/Sub-type

This asset type shall be classified as Industrial. The asset sub-type shall be Distribution and Storage.

Recognising future performance - KBCN1538

BREEAM In-Use recognises an asset's operational performance at the time of certification. Compliance cannot be based on commitments to improve the performance of an asset in the future. Where changes to an asset are made during a 3-year certification cycle:

BREEAM In-Use V6 allows the asset's mid-cycle performance to be updated and reflected in an updated certificate.
Legacy versions of BREEAM In-Use recognise updated performance via re-certification.

Volume Approach – Site visit requirements - KBCN1644

This guidance applies only to assessments for clients who have entered into a formal agreement with BRE to enter the Volume Approach. The aim of the Volume Approach is to assist clients with large numbers of assets, and their assessors, to conduct assessments in a robust manner, whilst also taking a practical view. From the clients’ assets that have entered the process, BRE will identify which assets may undertake a virtual site visit. The assets and their assessments cannot be new to the BREEAM In-Use process and must be identified and communicated to BRE prior to undertaking the site visits. The requirements of the virtual site visits are as follows: Gathering evidence for site assessments: In cases where BRE has identified an asset can undergo a virtual site visit, the assessor is not required to personally visit or gain access to the site, they can use the following methods:

Appoint a suitable individual, for example a main contractor or asset manager, to undertake a formal site assessment on their behalf. The appointed individual would be expected to provide a robust account to the assessor of evidence in place of their own site assessment report. We would expect the report to contain photographs and/or virtual tour stills from the building and be signed off by both the appointed individual and assessor.
For assessment issues relating to external spaces beyond the site, we will accept stills/images from Google Street View (or equivalent), provided it is demonstrated that such evidence is current.
Desk-based evidence will be accepted where evidence demonstrates that the criteria are being met as far as possible without a site assessment.

It is important to note that where one of the above 3 options has been selected, the assessor is responsible for assessing the evidence and for the awarding of any credits. Timing of workshops, testing and other subsidiary evidence submissions: Given the widespread availability of remote communication technologies, it is generally possible to undertake the majority of activities relating to our assessment criteria without the need for face-to-face contact or site assessments. With respect to workshops, the key consideration is that they take place at a time when they have a meaningful impact and achieve the aim of the criteria. With respect to subsidiary, third party assessments such as ecological site inspections or audits, desktop surveys based on available information (e.g. planning surveys, agent’s reports, photographs, Google Earth), can be used as an alternative provided there is enough material for a confident recommendation and/or outcome to be achieved.

In-Use / BIU International Commercial V6 /