A building’s sustainability performance cannot yet be considered final at the time of its handover. Actual energy and water consumption, the quality of maintenance, the indoor environment and operational decisions continue to shape the building’s environmental impact and usability over years or even decades. The performance of a building delivered with state-of-the-art technical specifications may deteriorate over time, while an older property can be significantly improved through refurbishment and conscious operation.

This performance during operation is assessed by BREEAM In-Use, an internationally applied assessment and certification scheme that provides a verifiable picture of buildings already in use, based on a consistent set of criteria.

What is BREEAM In-Use for?

BREEAM stands for Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method. Different versions of the scheme have been developed for different stages of a building’s life cycle. Certification for new construction primarily evaluates how the development was designed and delivered. BREEAM In-Use, by contrast, focuses on properties that are already operational: it examines their existing technical characteristics and operational practices.

The methodology can be applied to both commercial and residential properties. In the case of an office building, logistics facility, shopping centre, hotel or residential building, it can help identify the property’s current sustainability performance, the areas in which it performs well and those where improvements are required.

The scope of certification can be adapted to the property concerned. The entire building may be assessed or, in certain cases, a clearly defined part of it, such as the common areas. This is particularly important in multi-tenant properties, where the owner, operator and tenants are responsible for different areas, systems and data.

The same building from two different perspectives

BREEAM In-Use consists of two independent assessment parts.

Asset Performance measures the physical performance of the building. This includes, among other things, the building structure, building services systems, technical solutions affecting energy and water use, transport-related characteristics, and the features of the site and its surroundings.

Management Performance assesses the quality of building management and operation. The assessment covers policies, responsibilities, the measurement and monitoring of consumption data, maintenance, procurement and waste management practices, as well as how the parties involved work together to improve the building’s performance.

The two parts can be certified separately and receive separate scores. This is important because the technical condition of a building and the quality of its operation do not necessarily develop in parallel. A modern property may achieve a lower score if data collection is incomplete, clear objectives are lacking or practices are not documented. An older building may still demonstrate strong operational performance despite its technical limitations, particularly if it is regularly modernised, its consumption is measured and the identified risks are managed consistently.

What do the nine sustainability categories assess?

The methodology assesses the property across nine interconnected categories. Management and Health and Wellbeing focus on governance practices and the indoor environment provided for building users. The Energy, Water, Transport and Resources categories examine consumption, technical efficiency and the use of materials. Resilience, Land Use and Ecology, and Pollution address the building’s longer-term risks and its relationship with the environment.

The categories have different weightings, so the final result is not simply based on the number of requirements met. Specific minimum requirements must also be fulfilled to achieve the higher rating levels. As a result, strong performance in a single area cannot, on its own, conceal fundamental shortcomings.

The overall result may be one of the following rating levels: Acceptable, Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent or Outstanding. The category-level breakdown is at least as important as the score itself: it shows which factors improve the property’s performance and where intervention is required.

What makes the certification credible?

Self-assessment can provide a useful starting point, but to obtain certification, an independent, licensed BREEAM In-Use assessor verifies the answers provided and the supporting evidence. The score is therefore based on performance substantiated by documents, technical data and verified information.

This process is often instructive in itself. Many properties have the necessary technical solutions and operational practices in place, but the related data are scattered, responsibilities are unclear or processes have not been properly documented. Certification also brings these organisational shortcomings to light.

The BREEAM In-Use result can be used to compare properties, determine refurbishment and operational priorities, and support ESG data reporting. At the same time, the certificate verifies performance in accordance with a specific methodology. It does not replace a separate assessment of compliance with the EU Taxonomy, for example, and does not in itself prove that the building meets every sustainability objective.

The next version of BREEAM In-Use is under development

BRE has already introduced Version 7 in several areas of the BREEAM family of standards and has indicated that an update to BREEAM In-Use is also under development. However, the detailed requirements, release date and transition rules for BREEAM In-Use v7 have not yet been published.

The Version 7 standards published to date place greater emphasis on decarbonisation, whole-life carbon emissions, climate resilience, biodiversity, the health and wellbeing of building users, and alignment with reporting frameworks. These indicate the overall direction of BREEAM’s development, but the exact differences between BREEAM In-Use v6 and v7 can only be presented responsibly once the relevant technical documents have been published.

Regardless of this, the current scheme provides a clear picture of how an operational building performs and the areas in which progress is required. Alongside the certificate, the most important outcome of the assessment is therefore the structured knowledge on which technical, operational and investment decisions can be based.

In the next part of the series, we will explain how the BREEAM In-Use assessment and certification process works, from the initial collection of data to obtaining the certificate.