General

Approved Standards and Weightings (ASWL) – Applicability to BREEAM INC V6 - KBCN1489

The International New Construction 2016 country weightings in the Approved Standards and Weightings List (ASWL) are applicable to International New Construction V6. This includes:

The country weightings
Approved country specific standards
BREEAM International 2016-Weightings Questionnaire

The latest version of the ASWL template must be used for newly registered assessments (see KBCN0910).

23 Mar 2022 - Updated to include additional information and align title with other content

Approved Standards and Weightings List (ASWL) – Guidance on completing the ASWL where new standards are/are not being proposed - KBCN1669

No new standards proposed: If you are not proposing any new standards/tools for use in your assessment, it is not necessary to submit an ASWL to the technical team at BRE Global for approval.
New standards proposed: Only when new standards are being proposed does the ASWL need to be submitted to the BREEAM Technical Team via the ‘Assessor Queries’ section on BREEAM Projects. Please see details about how to do this in the KBCN0762 ASWL submission protocol – Knowledge Base (breeam.com).
Completed ASWL: A project-specific ASWL must be submitted with all International Refurbishment and Fit Out and International New Construction assessments. The ASWL needs to include any recently approved standards that are not listed in columns N (International or European Standard reference) or Q (Approved National Best Practice Standard / Tool Reference / Weighting) of the country specific sheet or in the new country sheet (if a country sheet does not exist for the country the project is in). Rows in the ASWL are not required to be completed when an issue is not targeted/not applicable or if pre-approved standards are used on the assessment. If the assessment is selected for a Quality Assurance audit and any unapproved standards/tools are included in the ASWL, these will be given non-conformances. Please note: An ASWL always needs to be submitted with your assessment even if no new standards are being proposed and only pre-approved standards are being used. Where this is the case, a blank ASWL should be included within the assessment so the QA auditor knows which version of the ASWL has been used.
Using columns T and V: The standards/tools proposed for technical approval should be stated in column T (Proposed National Best Practice Standard/Tool Reference) of the country specific sheet or in the new country sheet (if a country sheet does not exist for the country the project is in). Column V (Assessor Comments) does not need to be filled out; this can be used when a standard/tool is submitted for approval to the technical team.
Referencing standards in an assessment: Within the Assessor’s commentary section in an assessment, clear referencing should be present in line with KBCN0522 Getting the referencing right – Knowledge Base (breeam.com) indicating where the standard has been included in the evidence within individual applicable issues. If a QA Auditor cannot confirm which standard has been used and that the used standard is approved, this can result in a non-conformance.
Correct ASWL versions: Please use the correct version of the ASWL in accordance with: KBCN0910 Version of ASWL that should be submitted to QA – Knowledge Base (breeam.com).

Assessment tools – Applicability to BREEAM INC V6 - KBCN1503

The following offline (Excel) spread-sheet tools for BREEAM International New Construction 2016 remain applicable for assessments using BREEAM INC V6:

Tra 01 calculator
Wat 01 calculator
Mat 01 calculator
Mat 03 calculator
Pol 01 calculator

The referencing of these tools will be updated shortly, to confirm this.

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.

ASWL – submission timescales - KBCN0425

If no new standards are being proposed for use on a project, it is not necessary to submit an Approved Standards and Weightings List (ASWL) to BRE Global for approval. Please note that a completed list must always be submitted as part of the report submission to the Quality Assurance (QA) team. Where new standards are being proposed for use, the ASWL should be submitted to the BREEAM technical team at least 3 months prior to the submission of the assessment for QA. Those received at the same time as the report may result in a delay to the QA process. BRE Global aims to review new standards within four weeks, however this may be exceeded in cases where further investigation into the applicability of proposed new standards is required. BRE Global will keep the assessor updated of the status of the review in these instances.

Evidence – Photographs not permitted for security reasons - KBCN0389

Where photographs are not permitted during a site visit for security reasons, in addition to any alternative evidence requirements listed in the Schedule of Evidence for each issue, the assessor will also need to provide a detailed site inspection report and/or as-built drawings (where permitted by the client). If following this approach, full justification and documentary evidence from the client will be required for QA purposes.

Fit-out level – Selecting the appropriate assessment type - KBCN1627

Projects designed and constructed as fully fitted should not be evaluated as ‘Shell and core’ or ‘Shell-only’ where the intent is to limit the scope of the BREEAM assessment without further justification. Where the fit-out level of a project is not consistent, the BREEAM assessment type should be considered in line with KBCN0702

Guidance Notes – Applicability to BREEAM INC V6 - KBCN1502

Some Guidance Notes that apply to BREEAM International New Construction 2016 (INC 2016) remain fully or partly applicable to assessments using BREEAM International New Construction Version 6 (INC V6): Fully applicable

Partly applicable

GN30 Scheme assessment timeline for BREEAM International New Construction 2016 – this remains applicable for all sections except Energy. We are likely to release a separate, updated scheme assessment timeline for INC V6 later this year.

Not applicable

GN25 Ene 01 calculation methodology for BREEAM International New Construction 2016 – this is not applicable to INC V6. The new Ene 01 calculation methodology for INC V6 is now described in GN48.

Knowledge Base – Applicability of INC 2016 KBCNs to INC V6 - KBCN1501

The transition from BREEAM International NC2016 to V6 includes a significant update to the Energy section of the technical manual, however most of the criteria in other categories remain unchanged. We are in the process of migrating KBCNs from NC2016 to V6 and adding new V6-specific content. In the meantime, assessors should consider that where the criteria have not changed in the transition, all relevant NC2016 KBCNs are valid for V6. If, having compared the criteria of both schemes, you are unsure whether a KBCN can be applied to V6, please contact us for clarification using the assessor webform.

Time critical requirements – Concept / Technical Design stages - KBCN1711

The intent of the criteria relating to project stages in BREEAM is to ensure that actions are taken at a time when they can have the intended influence. Where projects are following these defined stages via a traditional procurement route, referring to the project programme and work stages are a robust and convenient way to demonstrate that the intent is met. However, not all projects will follow these work stages. In such cases, the project can show that the intent is met by demonstrating that, for the relevant BREEAM requirement, the activity has happened when the project is at an appropriate stage of development. Concept Design The project stage at which fundamental aspects of the design are developed.

What has happened already: the architectural concept is established.
What is in progress: the design is undergoing spatial coordination and design development for detailed planning approval.
- Detailed planning approval is an approval that covers all major aspects of the asset's external appearance and form. Typically this means the detailed massing, external materials, and site layout are confirmed.
- Achieving outline planning permission does not mean that the project has left Concept Design. An outline approval is an approval for architectural concept but with many of the above details still missing, and yet to be developed.

Technical Design Once a detailed planning application has been submitted, many aspects of the design will be fixed, and the project is at Technical Design stage.

What has happened already: full planning approval has been granted.
What is in progress: detailed spatial coordination and developed design information is being used to develop the information needed to construct the asset.

Depending on the procurement route, there may be an overlap between technical design and the construction phase of the works. Additional guidance Sometimes different aspects of the design might be at different project stages. KBCN1156 gives detailed guidance on how to define the project stage for each construction element, based on the design information available for that element. Although it was originally written specifically to address Mat 01 LCA for UK NC 2018 and V6, it may be useful in other situations.

New Construction / International / V6 /