BREEAM USA In-Use Version 6

[edit] Introduction

On 11 May 2020, BRE Global announced that following a significant period of development, BREEAM USA In-Use Version 6 was live.

[edit] Key points in the update

This update reflects the latest building research and science, best practices and standards as well as consultation with stakeholders. In addition to improvements in the standard for commercial assets, BREEAM In-Use includes residential for the first time, the result of an 18-month long pilot process with participants around the world.

One of the most significant changes with this update was to pivot BREEAM from not just looking back at past environmental performance but looking towards protecting the asset’s environmental and financial performance in the future. This linking of asset value growth and protection and environmental performance has always existed in BREEAM, but the changing world made it imperative that it was addressed more intentionally.

This update put a significant emphasis on the integration of resilience with environmental performance and occupant health and wellbeing at the asset level. Alongside this, BRE have woven social impact into the standard, acknowledging that asset resilience is deeply connected to the resilience and sustainability of the communities in which they are located. BREEAM is the first global rating system to incorporate these elements alongside environmental performance in a single program and with a focus on existing buildings.

[edit] Tools

Clients and assessors have access to everything they need to start measuring performance using Version 6 for both commercial and residential assets from the BREEAM USA website, including:

• The technical manuals for commercial and residential, with the full technical detail available to download at no cost.
• A summary of changes from the 2016 version for the commercial manual that highlights how residential fits into the programme.
• A summary of the external feedback received globally during public consultation and how it was addressed.
• An updated fee sheet including Version 6’s three-year certificate validity to provide maximum value.

There is also a technical standard summary to provide an overview of the topics covered in the updated version.

Version 6 registrations are open for commercial and residential assets. Commercial assets are able to register and benchmark through an updated online platform.

Online registration and benchmarking for residential assets will come online by late summer 2020, with offline Scoring and Reporting Tools are available for the interim.

v2016 will remain open for registrations for one year from May 2020, giving clients and Assessors time to plan before they have to upgrade. Assets that are due to expire after this one-year window will need to recertify in Version 6.

You can find out more at: https://www.breeam.com/news/breeam-usa-in-use-version-6-is-here/

--BRE Group

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• BRE articles.
• BREEAM In-Use International 2015.
• BREEAM In-Use International.
• BREEAM In-Use Version 6 environmental standard launched by BRE.
• BREEAM USA and Fitwel.
• BREEAM USA.
• BREEAM USA In-Use: Residential Plus.
• BREEAM.
• Building Back Better: Net zero carbon and BREEAM.
• Building Back Better: Resilience.
• Building Research Establishment.