Man 03 - Responsible construction practices

Changes to CCS – January 2022 - KBCN1500

UKNC2011, UKNC2014, RFO2014 and Domestic Refurbishment 2014 schemes: In response to the 2022 changes to the structure and scoring in the CCS, the adjusted points for credits are as follows for each of the three new sections (Community, Environment, and Workforce): One credit requires a minimum of 9 points per section and 27 overall. Two credits require a minimum of 11 points per section and 35 overall. Exemplary credit requires a minimum of 13 points per section and 39 overall. UKNC2018, UKNCV6, HQM ONE and HQM V6 schemes and UKNCR V6.1: No changes have been made to the criteria or the requirement to demonstrate compliance with items g, p and q for the exemplary credit. GN33 has been updated to demonstrate the mapping of the updated CCS to these schemes, see KBCN1215. For assessments not following CSS, the criteria remain unchanged. More information on the changes to the CCS scheme are outlined on the CCS website.

29-Oct-2025 - Applicable to HQM V6 and UKNCR V6.1
12-Apr-2023 - Updated to clarify the applicability of the new guidance.
28-Feb-2023 - Note updated to refer to the updated version of GN33.
29-Apr-2022 - Note added to clarify that this information supersedes the requirements in the technical manuals.
25-Mar-2022 - Updated to provide the new scoring requirements for BREEAM standards.

Changes to CCS – May 2026 – For BREEAM 2018, V6, V6.1 and HQM - KBCN1872

In response to the 2026 update to the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS), the equivalent CCS score requirements for achieving credits are set out in the orange columns of the table below. Credits will be awarded based on the site’s average performance across all visits, as reported on the final certificate. Where a project has received site inspections under both the previous and updated versions of the CCS scheme, the higher score may be used to determine credit achievement. For example, where a project achieved an Excellent rating under the 2022 CCS scheme but a Very Good rating under the 2026 CCS scheme, the higher (Excellent) rating can be used. This approach ensures that projects are not disadvantaged during the transition between CCS versions. Where using the 2022 CCS Scheme score, please refer to Table 2 of GN33 for the mapping of the CCS score against the Responsible Construction Management Checklist (items a–s), and provide any additional evidence as required (e.g. for items g, p and q for the exemplary credit). When using the 2026 CCS scheme score, credits may be awarded based on the CCS score alone, in line with the table below.

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.

30-Oct-2025 - Applicable to HQM V6 and UKNCR V6.1

Fleet operator definition – Responsible construction management items p and q - KBCN1473

The definition of the fleet operator states that “transportation to the project is likely to be by several fleet operators many of which will not be under the control of the constructor. The criteria relate to all fleet operators, nonetheless.” Following feedback on the difficulties of applying the requirements to fleet operators who do not directly work with the contractor, these requirements will only apply to those who are under the control of the principal contractor. ‘Fleet operators’ should now, therefore, be read as ‘all vehicles used or present on site which are owned, leased or hired by the principal contractor’. For clarity this may include, but is not limited to:

company vehicles (cars and vans)
movable plant or powered equipment (such as dumpers, diggers, cranes)
trucks, lorries or waste removal wagons

Item P should, therefore, read: For any company vehicles or plant owned, leased or hired by the principal contractor; driver or operator training and awareness is undertaken to promote safety within the development footprint and off-site. Item Q should read: The principal contractor records, investigates and analyses any vehicular accidents, incidents and near misses; and learnings are incorporated in updated policies and training. This will be amended in the next reissue of the technical manual and GN33.

26 September 2024: This has been updated to provide additional clarification on what is meant by fleet operators under the control of the principal contractor.
20 January 2025: Reference to HQM added.

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.

30-Oct-2025 - Applicable to HQM V6 and UKNCR V6.1
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.

30-Oct-2025 - Applicable to HQM V6 and UKNCR V6.1
14-Mar-2024 - Wording clarified and expanded. Relevant prerequisites and requirements clarified. Scheme applicability updated.

Legally harvested and traded timber – Examples - KBCN0956

The following examples are considered compliant for BREEAM: Legally harvested:

Evidence of compliance with the UK government Timber Procurement Policy (see here, timber bought inside the UK only)
FSC, PEFC, SFI or GiB certification
Evidence of compliance with the EUTR (timber bought inside the EU only)
Risk assessment/due diligence documentation demonstrating a low risk of non-compliance with the ‘legally harvested’ requirements given in the manual.

Legally traded:

Evidence of compliance with the UK government Timber Procurement Policy (see here, timber bought inside the UK only)
FSC, PEFC, SFI or GiB certification
Risk assessment/due diligence documentation demonstrating a low risk of non-compliance with the ‘legally traded’ requirements given in the manual.

04-Dec-2025 - Examples updated to include Grown in Britain (GiB) certification. Previous reference to 'CPET' clarified as 'UK government Timber Procurement Policy'.
KBCN applied more widely to all relevant scheme issues in BREEAM and HQM

Prerequisite – Reused temporary site timber - KBCN1769

Timber formwork or scaffold boards, that are being reused and are verified as such, can be excluded from the criteria. It is more sustainable to reuse existing timber than to potentially promote the use of virgin timber just to ensure responsible sourcing paperwork is available, which may be logistically hard to obtain for reused timber.

New Construction / UK / V6 / 01 Management /