Mat 03 - Responsible sourcing of construction products

Bamboo, cork and other non-timber forest products – Responsible sourcing - KBCN1768

Non-timber forest products, such as bamboo and cork should be responsibly sourced to minimise the environmental impacts and protect local ecosystems. However, as they are not timber or timber-based products, these fall outside the scope of the Prerequisite. Where such products are integrated into a building, they should, nonetheless, be assessed and included in the calculator under ‘Other materials’.

Erratum – 2018 to V6 – scope – external doors - KBCN1651

The scope of this issue includes external doors. Currently, external doors are missing from the Mat 03 scope 'internal finishes'.

This will be corrected in future versions.

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

Meeting the minimum standard requirement – compliance when chain of custody is broken - KBCN1816

Where there is a broken chain in the last link between the purchase and delivery of certified timber from the supplier and the forwarding distribution of the timber to the site under assessment, such as where the timber has been delivered to a subcontractor or fabricator’s premises instead of direct to site (e.g. as part of a bulk order or where limited storage is available on site), compliance can still be achieved if a documented risk assessment confirms that there is low risk of mixing or substitution of certified and non-certified timber. Ways to demonstrate compliance: A. Verification that the subcontractor or fabricator only purchases and uses certified timber. There must be robust mechanisms in place to verify that all timber materials purchased and delivered originate from sustainably managed sources. This includes maintaining documented timber procurement policies and procedures that mandate certified timber orders and delivery checks. Comprehensive supplier details should be readily accessible for review upon request to demonstrate that all timber is certified. B. Where non-certified timber is handled/stored or sourced, that there are robust control measures in place to prevent any substitution or mixing of certified and non-certified timber at every stage of the process. Documentation demonstrating compliance should be maintained and made available upon request. Examples of appropriate control measures are listed below:

Control	Evidence required
Purchasing records	All purchase orders, requisition notes, and contracts must explicitly specify the product details and confirm that materials are to originate from legal and sustainable sources.
Segregated storage of timber	Site layout map, stock control processes and records to confirm that certified timber is stored away from non-certified timber.
Segregated delivery of timber to site	- All timber must be thoroughly inspected and verified before shipment to confirm that it is correctly marked/labelled as FSC/PEFC-certified. - Delivery notes must be accurately maintained. - A second-party verification process to check tickets and stock, must be carried out upon site delivery to confirm certified status of timber.
Documentation	Comprehensive documentation must enable independent assessors to trace any timber back to its sustainable source. This includes maintaining purchase records, goods-inward notices, stock records, and sales documentation such as orders and invoices.

The above is guidance and should not replace any local or national requirements for the sourcing of legally traded and harvested timber.

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.

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

Sustainable procurement plan – timing - KBCN1659

Where a sustainable procurement plan is not in place before Concept Design (as required in the criteria), the credit can still be achieved if:

A sustainable procurement plan is in place prior to the specification documents being developed.
The assessor justifies that the later timing has not compromised the ability of the plan to guide specification and procurement activities.

07 March 2025 - Reference to end of Concept Design removed in lieu of prior to specification documents being developed, to allow more flexibility on D&B projects.  Full justification will be required where this is to be applied.

New Construction / UK / V6 / 06 Materials /