06 - Materials

Evidence requirements – responsible sourcing of materials at post-construction - KBCN1599

Whilst the UK BREEAM manuals are less prescriptive in the evidential requirements to allow flexibility, to ensure consistency across the schemes, it is expected that robust evidence should be provided to verify the source of any certified materials and how the assessor has confirmed the products and manufacturers used. Evidence supplied at post construction stage must reflect the completed building and confirm the responsibly sourced materials that have been procured and installed on the project. Supporting documentation is required to validate letters of confirmation or schedules of materials. Evidence provided could include proof of purchase, for example, invoices, delivery tickets, purchase orders or correspondence from suppliers. This may be an example for each material sourced, rather than every delivery ticket for instance.  Alternatively, evidence of the use of the responsibly sourced materials may include as-built drawings, O&M documentation or site photographs.

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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.

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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.

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Responsible sourcing certification – validity - KBCN1693

Where it can be demonstrated that the responsible sourcing certificates were valid either at the time of specification, or at the time of purchase, they may contribute to the awarding of the credits. BREEAM is primarily trying to encourage designers to take responsible sourcing into consideration when specifying or selecting products and as such it is not necessary for certification to be valid at the time of design or post-construction stage submissions.

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