Delivering Sustainable Buildings: Savings and Payback - Office Case Study for BREEAM UK New Construction 2014
While the multitude of benefits associated with investing in sustainable development practices are increasingly being recognised, for all new construction projects there is always a bottom line impact to consider.
It is for this reason that, in December 2017, a report exploring the cost implications of achieving BREEAM Very Good and Excellent assessment ratings has been undertaken and published.
The latest BREEAM Briefing Paper, titled 'Delivering Sustainable Buildings: Savings and Payback – Office Case Study for BREEAM UK New Construction 2014', uses a speculative office building project that was the basis of a similar report three years ago to review the costs of sustainability today.
The new work takes account of several factors including the increased energy performance demands of Building Regulations Part L2A and the updated assessment criteria of BREEAM UK New Construction 2014. It also examines the difference between BREEAM uplift costs for a building meeting London Plan energy requirements and the same building not so constrained.
The report is published by researchers at BREEAM and Currie & Brown, the leading international asset management and cost consultancy.
Gavin Dunn, Director at BRE, said:
“This Briefing Paper gives developers an updated picture of the cost implications of sustainable development. Both capital and lifecycle costs are considered. In particular, lifecycle costs are examined in respect of energy strategies, and water consumption, including different water supply tariffs.”
The report found that the cost uplift of achieving BREEAM UK New Construction 2014 Excellent ratings is typically less than one per cent of the total construction cost. Analysis of additional costs associated with BREEAM certification at a high standard in terms of energy efficiency and water saving technologies also showed that these costs are relatively modest and that forecast paybacks are quick – typically less than five years for energy and less than two years for water.
Adam Mactavish, operations director at Currie & Brown, points out: “Achieving a high rating under BREEAM 2014 can incur additional costs, but these are less than 1% of the total construction cost. Moreover, long-term savings on energy and water are substantial.”
The challenge for developers and clients is to make sure they consider these issues at an early stage in the design process to secure the benefits and take advantage of a building’s potential to deliver high performance standards by operating them efficiently.
To download a copy of this report see here.
This article was originally published here by BRE Buzz on 17th Dec 2017. It was written by Simon Guy.
--BRE Buzz
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[edit] Management:
- BREEAM Sustainability champion
- BREEAM Environmental management
- BREEAM Considerate construction
- BREEAM Monitoring of construction site impacts
- BREEAM Aftercare support
- BREEAM Seasonal commissioning
- BREEAM Testing and inspecting building fabric
- BREEAM Life cycle cost and service life planning
- BREEAM Stakeholder consultation (ac)
- BREEAM Commissioning (ac)
- BREEAM Handover (ac)
- BREEAM Inclusive and accessible design (ac)
- BREEAM Post occupancy evaluation
[edit] Health and Wellbeing
- BREEAM Visual comfort Daylighting (partly ac)
- BREEAM Visual comfort View out
- BREEAM Visual comfort Glare control
- BREEAM Indoor air quality plan
- BREEAM Indoor air quality Ventilation
- BREEAM Thermal comfort
- BREEAM Internal and external lighting (ac)
- BREEAM Indoor pollutants VOCs (ac)
- BREEAM Potential for natural ventilation (ac)
- BREEAM Safe containment in laboratories (ac)
- BREEAM Acoustic performance
- BREEAM Safety and security (ac)
[edit] Energy
- BREEAM Reduction of energy use and carbon emissions
- BREEAM Energy monitoring
- BREEAM External lighting
- BREEAM Low carbon design
- BREEAM Passive design
- BREEAM Free cooling
- BREEAM LZC technologies
- BREEAM Energy efficient cold storage (partly ac)
- BREEAM Energy efficient transportation systems
- BREEAM Energy efficient laboratory systems
- BREEAM Energy efficient equipment (partly ac)
- BREEAM Drying space
[edit] Transport
- BREEAM Transport assessment and travel plan
- BREEAM Public transport accessibility
- BREEAM Sustainable transport measures
- BREEAM Proximity to amenities
- BREEAM Cyclist facilities
- BREEAM Alternative modes of transport (ac)
- BREEAM Maximum car parking capacity
- BREEAM Travel plan
- BREEAM Home office (ac)
[edit] Water
- BREEAM Water consumption
- BREEAM Water efficient equipment
- BREEAM Water monitoring
- BREEAM Water leak detection (ac)
[edit] Materials
- BREEAM Hard landscaping and boundary protection
- BREEAM Responsible sourcing of materials
- BREEAM Insulation
- BREEAM Designing for durability and resilience
- BREEAM Life cycle impacts
- BREEAM Material efficiency (ac)
[edit] Waste
- BREEAM Construction waste management
- BREEAM Recycled aggregates
- BREEAM Speculative floor & ceiling finishes
- BREEAM Adaptation to climate change
- BREEAM Operational waste
- BREEAM Functional adaptability (ac)
[edit] Land Use and Ecology
- BREEAM Site Selection
- BREEAM Ecological value of site
- BREEAM Protection of ecological features
- BREEAM Minimising impact on existing site ecology
- BREEAM Enhancing site ecology
- BREEAM Long term impact on biodiversity (ac)
[edit] Pollution
- BREEAM Impact of refrigerants
- BREEAM NOx emissions
- BREEAM Flood risk management (ac)
- BREEAM Surface water run-off (ac)
- BREEAM Reduction of night time light pollution (partly ac)
- BREEAM Reduction of noise pollution
Once an ISD has been initially created the '(ac)' marker can be removed
This particular index is based around the structure of the New Construction and RFO schemes.