News
BREEAM Higher Education is live!
Released on 21/08/2009
A new scheme for higher education buildings is now available under BREEAM to help university estates professionals promote sustainability and cut carbon in the sector.
BREEAM Higher Education has been developed by the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE), working with BRE Global, Higher Education Funding Councils and sector bodies.
The new scheme is going live at a critical time, when funding councils and the government are looking to higher education to lead the effort in reducing U.K. carbon emissions and provide exemplars of good practice for others to follow. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has recently proposed that universities should aim to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2020 (against 1990 levels) and 100% by 2050.
BREEAM Higher Education, developed following extensive consultation, will assist the sector by providing an independent, high quality and rigorous standardised set of criteria, through which teaching, research and mixed use universities buildings can be assessed.
Patrick Finch, Chair of AUDE and Bursar at the University of Bristol, said:
“The development of a dedicated BREEAM assessment for higher education buildings is something that AUDE values highly and has championed for some years now. The HE sector makes a major contribution to the UK construction industry, both with new building projects and refurbishment of existing stock. Many universities are pressing ahead with carbon reduction plans and the implementation of BREEAM for HE will add significantly to the toolkit of support available.”
Virginia Cinquemani, Project Manager for the development of BREEAM Higher Education for BRE Global, said:
“Over the past 18 months we have worked with the HE funding councils, AUDE (Association of University Directors) and HEEPI (Higher Education Environmental Performance Improvement) to develop a standard set of BREEAM assessment criteria tailored to the needs of the higher education sector. That gives estates managers and developers a benchmark for high levels of sustainability and gives them the opportunity to demonstrate environmental credentials.”
BREEAM Higher Education incorporates a campus-wide approach to assessing transport and waste issues. Facilities such as laboratories have been given special consideration, with the addition of a number of new credits aimed to encourage energy efficiency without compromising safety. This includes rewarding the use of fume cupboards with reduced air flow, the use of appropriately sized heating and air-conditioning systems and the use of heat and cooling recovery.
Previously higher education buildings were assessed under other schemes within the BREEAM family. The dedicated criteria now available for higher education buildings makes the scheme more accessible and relevant to the sector and reduces the time taken to assess buildings. It should also help save money by reducing the number of bespoke BREEAM assessments needed and assist with benchmarking.
Notable recent assessments include Newcastle University’s Medical Sciences Building and the London School of Economics’ New Academic Building - both achieved design-stage Excellent ratings under BREEAM.
Further information on the scheme for higher education buildings can be found at: http://www.breeam.org/page.jsp?id=158
List of assessors: http://www.breeam.org/filelibrary/Copy_of_University__College_Assessors_-_Updated_09-06-09.pdf
ENDS
Press enquiries : SIMON GUY, BRE, +44(0)1923 664305; HELEN BALL, BRE, +44 (0)1923 664303, ballh@bre.co.uk
Notes for Editors
1 BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) is the leading and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings around the world, with over 110,000 buildings certified and over half a million registered. It sets the standard for best practice in sustainable design and has become the de-facto measure used to describe a building’s environmental performance. Credits are awarded in eight categories according to performance. These credits are then added together to produce a single overall score on a scale of Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent and Outstanding which is also reflected in a star rating from 1 to 5 stars. The operation of BREEAM is overseen by an independent Sustainability Board, representing a wide cross-section of construction industry stakeholders. www.breeam.org.
2 AUDE promotes excellence in the strategic planning, management, operation and development of Higher Education estates and facilities. AUDE's members are the Universities and Higher Education Institutions of the United Kingdom. E. executiveofficer@aude.ac.uk Website: www.aude.ac.uk
3 BRE Global Limited (incorporating LPCB & BREEAM) is an independent third party approvals body offering certification of fire, security and sustainability products and services to an international market. BRE Global mission is to ‘Protect People, Property and the Planet’ and is a trading subsidiary of the BRE Trust, the registered research and education charity which owns the BRE Group. For further information please contact: BRE Global, Garston, Watford, WD25 9XX, Tel: 01923 664100, Fax: 01923 664910, Email: enquiries@breglobal.com or visit www.breglobal.com
