BREEAM Communities International Technical Standard

Integrating sustainable design into the masterplanning of new communities or regeneration projects

BREEAM Communities International is a simple and flexible route to improving, measuring and certifying the sustainability of large-scale development plans. It provides a framework to support planners, local authorities, developers and investors through the masterplanning process, before embarking on procurement, detailed building level design and construction.

The BREEAM Communities International standard can be used to assess and certify the performance of medium to large scale developments, including new communities and regeneration projects.

 

Register to download the BREEAM Communities Technical Manual for free

What difference does BREEAM Communities International make?

It benefits local authorities, developers, masterplanners and the local people who live and work in its communities by:

  • helping to create sustainable communities that are good for the environment, its people and are also economically successful
  • embedding sustainable principles and goals within the masterplan from the outset helping to create places where people want to live and work, enhancing employee satisfaction
  • providing a framework to improve efficiencies during the masterplanning process, helping to save time and money throughout the project
  • facilitating the planning process with tools and targets to assist with the sustainable decision making
  • giving independent third party certification of the sustainability of a development’s masterplan
  • contributing to project participants and tenants corporate, social responsibility, business reporting and sustainable business leadership

How does it work?

The BREEAM Communities International standard is applied during the early planning and design stages of a development. It offers a holistic framework with key target benchmarks that assists decision makers to better understand and improve upon the impact their decisions will have upon the longer term environmental, social and economic aspects of the development.

The current standard can be used to assess projects in most parts of the world. However for areas with more complex eco-systems and planning requirements, BRE offers a bespoke criteria option which helps tailor the criteria to better reflect a country or region’s environmental, political, economic and cultural climate.

Where is it being used?

BREEAM Communities is being applied internationally and certified assessments of developments can be found across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia. See below for case studies of developments that have been assessed and certified using the BREEAM Communities standard or to search all certified assessments under this scheme visit here.

BREEAM Communities Brochure

Achieving Sustainable Masterplans Achieving Sustainable Masterplans

Client Testimonials

 “BREEAM Communities encapsulates our strategic approach to development. We regard the assessment process as cost neutral as it helps smooth out the planning process and demonstrates the high quality we would be seeking to achieve.”

Dave Bullock, Compendium Living’s Managing Director

“Using a defined set of criteria for the creation of sustainable communities means that it is more likely that these are properly considered and sustainable designs are realised.”

Ross Peedle Architect, John Thompson & Partners

“This structure… give(s) guidance to the architects, the quantity surveyors, infrastructure professionals to start thinking collaboratively in the right direction. … We had to be ahead of the curve, and the BREEAM Communities sustainable framework enabled us to do that”

Iain Taylor, Partnerships Director, Peel Group

“In effect, what BREEAM Communities seemed to offer was a 3rd party assessment of sustainability which I think is worth an enormous amount especially when you’re dealing with controversial planning applications.”

Louise Cutts, Development Management Officer, Eastleigh Borough Council

Case Studies

Continue the journey

Want to find out more about BREEAM Communities or become a licensed BREEAM Communities Assessor, visit our training page for further details. Or if your want to start an assessment of your project, visit our listings page and find a licensed BREEAM Communities Assessor in your location.

Learn More

An introduction to BREEAM Communities 2012

BREEAM Communities – Adding Value

BREEAM Communities at Castleward

Experiences of using BREEAM Communities