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Mat 01 Life cycle impacts

Number of credits available	Minimum standards
Building type dependent	No

Aim

To recognise and encourage the use of construction materials with a low environmental impact (including embodied carbon) over the full life cycle of the building.

Assessment criteria

The following is required to demonstrate compliance:

Up to six credits

BREEAM awards credits on the basis of the building’s quantified environmental life cycle impact through assessment of the main building elements, as set out in Table 38 :

Table 38 Elements assessed by building type

Building type	Element type assessed
Building type	External walls	Windows	Roof	Upper floor slab	Internal walls	Floor finishes/ coverings
Office	✔	✔	✔	✔		✔
Retail	✔	✔	✔	✔		✔
Industrial	✔		✔
Education	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Healthcare	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Prisons	✔		✔	✔		✔
Courts	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Multi-residential	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Other buildings	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔

Credits are awarded on the basis of the total number of points achieved, as set out in Table 39 , and calculated using the BREEAM Mat 01 calculator. This point’s score is based on the Green Guide rating(s) achieved for the specifications that make-up the main building elements (as in Table 38 ).
Note: Where an independently verified third party Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), covering part of or the whole life cycle, is available for a material or product that forms part of an assessed building element, this can be used to increase the contribution of that element to the building’s Mat 01 performance. (Refer to Mat 01 Life cycle impactsin the Methodology section for more details.)

Table 39 Allocation of credits by building type and Mat 01 points

Building type	Total Mat 01 points achieved^{1 and 2}
	≥ 2	≥ 4	≥ 5	≥ 8	≥ 10	≥ 12	≥ 14
Available BREEAM credits
Office	1	1	2	3	4	5	-
Retail	1	1	2	3	4	5	-
Industrial	1	2	-	-	-	-	-
Education	1	1	2	3	4	5	6
Healthcare	1	1	2	3	4	5	6
Prisons	1	1	2	3	4	-	-
Courts	1	1	2	3	4	5	6
Multi-residential	1	1	2	3	4	5	6
Other buildings	1	1	2	3	4	5	6
Please refer to the Methodology section for a description of the methodology used to determine the number of points and BREEAM credits achieved. Where the total points achieved exceeds the level required for maximum credits see the exemplary level criteria as the building may be eligible for an additional innovation credit.

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions (kgCO2 eq.) for each element are also required to be reported based on a 60-year building life. Where specific data is not available for a product or element, generic data should be used. Generic data can be obtained from the online Green Guide for each element and must be entered in to the BREEAM Mat 01 calculator.

Exemplary level criteria

The following outlines the two exemplary level routes available to achieve up to three innovation credits for this BREEAM issue.

Route 1: Using the Green Guide to Specification (elemental approach) - one credit

Where assessing four or more applicable building elements, the building achieves at least two points in addition to the total points required to achieve maximum credits under the standard BREEAM criteria (as outlined in the table above) OR
Where assessing fewer than four applicable building elements, the building achieves at least one point in addition to the total points required to achieve maximum credits under the standard BREEAM criteria.

Where the assessed building does not specify an element listed above, see the compliance note CN3 regarding the exemplary level benchmark.

Route 2: Using compliant life cycle assessment software tools (whole building approach) - two credits

Where the design team has used an IMPACT compliant software tool (or equivalent) to measure the environmental impact of the building.
Where the design team can demonstrate how the use of an IMPACT compliant software (or equivalent) has benefited the building in terms of measuring and reducing its environmental impact. See CN3.13
Where the design team submit the building information model (BIM) from the IMPACT compliant software tool (or equivalent) for the assessed building to BRE Global (via the project’s appointed BREEAM assessor). See compliance note CN3.14.

Further information about IMPACT is provided in the Other information section of this BREEAM issue.

Please note a project can achieve all three innovation credits where it is complying with exemplary level criteria 4 to 8, i.e. one route is not necessarily exclusive of the other: a project can comply with both routes 1 and 2 or choose to comply with only route 1 or only route 2.

Checklists and tables

None

Compliance notes

Ref	Terms	Description
Shell and core
CN1	Applicable assessment criteria	Both options: All criteria relevant to the building type and function apply. Refer to Appendix D – BREEAM UK New Construction and Shell and Core Project Assessments for a more detailed description of the above shell and core assessment options.
CN1.1	Floor finishes and internal walls See criterion 1.	Where floor finishes and internal walls are applicable to the building type being assessed, the following applies to both the options. In addition to the main building elements, all building areas where floor finishes and/or internal walls are being specified/installed by the developer must be accounted for in the assessment of this issue (including those in common areas, show areas and other fitted out areas). Office buildings: If the developer has specified floor finishes in a show area only (for compliance with BREEAM issue Wst 04 Speculative floor and ceiling finishes), the area and Green Guide rating of the floor finishes in the show area must be accounted for in the assessment of Mat 01.
Simple buildings
CN2	Applicable assessment criteria	All criteria relevant to the building type and function apply.
General
CN3	Element not specified See criteria 1, 2, 4 and 5.	Where the building does not contain an element listed above, for example there are no upper floors in a single storey building, the BREEAM Mat 01 calculator allows the BREEAM assessor to exclude the element from the assessment. In such instances the BREEAM Mat 01 calculator will recalculate the standard and exemplary level benchmarks on the basis of the remaining applicable elements.
CN3.1	Element consisting of more than one specification See criterion 2.	Where more than one specification is present for a given element, the Green Guide rating and area for each specification should be entered into the BREEAM Mat 01 calculator. The calculator will then determine the total points on the basis of each specification rating and area as a proportion of the whole element.
CN3.2	Finding exact Green Guide Ratings. See criterion 2.	While exact matches in specifications are not always found, it should be possible to identify a similar specification and use its rating for the purposes of assessment (also see compliance note CN3.3 ‘No Green Guide rating match’).
CN3.3	No Green Guide rating match. See criterion 2.	Where a generic Green Guide rating cannot be found for a specification, the BREEAM assessor can use the online Green Guide Calculator to determine a bespoke Green Guide rating for the specification (for any elements except floor finishes and windows). Licensed BREEAM assessors can access the calculator via www.thegreenguide.org.uk. If a required component is not present via the online Green Guide Calculator, the BREEAM assessor will need to submit a Bespoke Green Guide Query proforma detailing the specification details. BRE Global will respond to the query with a solution and/or guidance to enable completion of a specification. Refer to the Green Guide Calculator online tool guidance for more information.
CN3.4	Environmental Profile Certification of products See criterion 2.	Products with certified Environmental Profiles can be used to demonstrate compliance with this BREEAM issue. Products are certified with a “product specific” Green Guide rating as part of a relevant elemental specification, e.g. a manufacturer’s concrete block as part of an external wall specification. This rating can be used in the same way as a generic Green Guide rating for this BREEAM issue. (See the Additional information section for a screenshot example of a product listing from Green Book Live.) Where a certified product forms part of a different specification, for the same or different element type (i.e. different to that described on the Environmental Profile certificate), the guidance within the Methodology section concerning Environmental Product Declaration types should be followed. This procedure outlines how BREEAM gives additional recognition for materials with robust Environmental Product Declaration types. Refer to the BRE Environmental Profile Methodology under the Additional information section for more information on where to source an Environmental Profile Certificate.
CN3.5	Self-generated Environmental Product Declaration	A company self-generated Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) that has been independently verified would be acceptable, where evidence is provided to demonstrate that the EPD is produced in accordance with requirements of ISO 14020 series.
CN3.6	Reporting life cycle GHG emissions See criterion 3.	Where the data is available, it is a requirement that the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (kgCO2eq.) for each specification are gathered and reported, via the BREEAM scoring and reporting tool. BREEAM assessors can source this information as follows: For generic Green Guide ratings the kgCO₂eq. is reported via the online Green Guide www.thegreenguide.org.uk. Simply click on the relevant specification type (having already defined the building, category and element type) and the kgCO₂eq. are reported along with the individual category ratings for that element, at the bottom of the page (see screen shot in the Additional information section). The information is not available at present for bespoke Green Guide ratings. For Green Guide ratings based on a product manufacturer’s certified Environmental Profile, Assessors will find the kgCO₂eq. in the product’s Environmental Profile Certificate appendix, in the ‘Characterised data’ section (against the ‘Climate Change’ issue).
CN3.7	New elements containing reused materials See criterion 2.	If a new element is specified, e.g. an external wall, and part of that element includes a reused material e.g. reclaimed bricks, the BREEAM assessor will need to submit a Bespoke Green Guide Query proforma. BRE Global will then calculate the rating and confirm the result to the Assessor.
CN3.8	Existing elements reused in the new construction	Only new elements need to be assessed. Existing in situ elements adjoining a new construction, e.g. an existing building façade, do not require assessment. If this BREEAM scheme is being used to assess a major refurbishment project, where the assessed building is reusing existing in situ elements as part of its structure, those elements can be allocated an A+ Green Guide rating. If the existing element will contain substantial new materials, the BREEAM assessor will need to submit a Bespoke Green Guide Query proforma. BRE Global will then calculate the rating and confirm the result to the assessor.
CN3.9	Partial assessments See criterion 1.	Where the assessment covers only some of the floors in the building, the roof must still be assessed as it is protecting the assessed building below. If the roof is directly above domestic accommodation (e.g. flats), the equivalent domestic Green Guide rating for the roof must be used as opposed to the ratings for non-domestic roofs. Roof areas not protecting parts of the assessed building or space can be omitted from the assessment.
CN3.10	Specialist floor finishes in operational areas See criterion 1.	Specialist floor finishes (see definition) in operational areas of buildings fall outside the scope of the Green Guide. In such instances, only non-specialist floor finishes and those in non-operational areas of the building should be included in the assessment of this BREEAM issue. See also the guidance in the Additional information section on floor finishes.
CN3.11	Roof lights, patio doors and glazed conservatories See criterion 1.	For the purpose of this issue any doors with a large expanse of glazing, such as patio doors, should be assessed as windows. Similarly, glazed areas of conservatories and roof lights should be assessed as windows.
CN3.12	Where integral insulated cold storage units form a part of the building fabric	For insulated cold storage units forming an integral part of the building fabric the following must be followed Where the cold storage unit forms part of, or is integral to the external wall element: As an external wall type the insulated units will be assessed in the Green Guide on the basis that it is a normal temperature building without the extra insulation, so a standard thickness of insulation will be considered. As such, the walls of the insulated unit should be treated as part of the external wall element for the assessment of this BREEAM issue. Where the cold storage unit forms part of, or is integral to a ceiling element: As a roof element of the insulated unit, suspended ceilings are not included within the Green Guide. Therefore, the roof of the insulated unit will be assessed as a standard construction from the deck upwards, assuming a standard thickness of insulation. As such, the roof of the insulated unit should be treated as part of the ceiling element for the assessment of this BREEAM issue. Where the cold storage unit forms part of an internal wall element: The insulated unit will be treated as meeting a very specific functional unit outside the scope of the internal wall elements listed in the Green Guide. The wall to the insulated unit should therefore be excluded from the assessment of the internal wall element.
CN3.13	Demonstrating benefit See criterion 7.	This should take the form of a short qualitative statement from the design team providing comments on the following: How and at what stages of the design the tool was utilised. How the tool helped (or did not help) steer the design process to optimise cost and mitigate environmental impacts, giving examples of specific changes to the building design/specification that resulted.
CN3.14	Scope of IMPACT Compliant (or equivalent) Tools and Data Submission Requirements See criterion 8.	Guidance note GN08: Scope of IMPACT Compliant (or equivalent) Tools and Data Submission Requirements, available via the Assessor Extranet, outlines in detail the requirements for submitting the BIM from IMPACT compliant (or equivalent) software tools. The Guidance Note also contains instructions on how tools other than IMPACT compliant software tools can demonstrate equivalency for the purpose of this assessment issue. Assessors should review Guidance note GN08 and ensure that submissions meet the criteria relevant to demonstrate compliance.

Methodology

Determining the number of BREEAM credits achieved as a result of each element’s Green Guide rating

The Green Guide uses an A+ to E rating system, whereby the rating relates to the relative life cycle performance of a specification in comparison with other types of specifications available for a particular building element type e.g. external wall.

Three steps are undertaken to translate the performance of all the separate individual elemental specifications and their Green Guide ratings into an overall building performance score for life cycle impact, against which BREEAM credits can be awarded. Each of these steps is undertaken using the BREEAM Mat 01 calculator and the information collated by the BREEAM assessor. The steps in this process are as follows:

Step 1: Translating the Green Guide rating into points

The first step in the calculation procedure is translating a specification’s Green Guide rating into a number of points. The table below illustrates the points available by Green Guide rating.

Green Guide rating	Mat 01 points
A+	3
A	2
B	1
C	0.5
D	0.25
E	0

The maximum number of points available for an assessed building is a product of the number of elements assessed multiplied by three. For example, for an office building five elements are assessed so there are a maximum of 15 points available; furthermore 12 of those 15 points must be achieved to award all five BREEAM credits.

While it may appear that three points are available for each element assessed, and in many assessments this may be the case, the actual maximum number of points available for a particular element will depend on the impact of the element type compared with the other elements present and assessed (refer to step 3 below). This is because this issue assesses the life cycle impact of the whole building, taking into account the relative performance and therefore contribution of the main building elements towards the building’s overall performance.

Step 2: Weighting the performance of individual specifications within an elemental category

Where an element consists of several different specifications, the overall points achieved for that element are weighted according to the relative area and Green Guide rating of each of the individual specifications.

An example of this is provided below for an external wall element consisting of three different types of external wall specification.

Element type	Specification	Area (m²)	% of element type	Generic Green Guide rating	Points	Area weighted points
External wall	External wall type 1	280	26%	A+	3	0.78
	External wall type 2	350	33%	C	0.5	0.17
	External wall type 3	435	41%	B	1	0.41
Element total		1065	100%	-	-	1.36

This adjustment is made to ensure the contribution of points is balanced in accordance with the life cycle performance of each specification.

Step 3: Weighting the performance of individual elements relative to all elements assessed

Step three is completed in two parts:

Part 1: This weights the performance of the building elements based on its area relative to the overall area of the different elements. This is calculated by multiplying the area of each element by the weighted Green Guide score, adding the total for all elements and then dividing by the total area of the assessed elements.

For example, a 20-storey office block will have a smaller roof area than external wall area, and so the area weighting will take this into account by giving a smaller weighting to the points score for the roof in comparison to the external walls.

Part 2: The range of impacts, measured using Ecopoints, for each of the elements will differ and therefore, so will the increments between each Green Guide rating level. For example, the external walls have a larger Ecopoints range than the internal walls, therefore, if both elements achieve the same Green Guide rating, the rating of the external walls achieves a higher proportion of the overall points than the rating for the internal walls, thus recognising the relatively higher reduction possible in the environmental impact of the external walls, due to the larger Ecopoints range for that element.

Calculation procedure where a specific Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is available for a material

The online Green Guide provides users (design teams and clients) with information on the relative life cycle environmental impacts for a range of different building elemental specifications, e.g. external wall, roof, windows etc. Each specification’s online Green Guide rating is based on verified LCA data for generic construction products assessed according to BRE’s Environmental Profiles Methodology.

There are many different schemes producing EPDs for products or services complying with BS ISO 14025 using life cycle analysis (LCA) according to the BS ISO 14040 series. There is a specific construction product and service variant of BS ISO 14025; BS ISO 21930.

Where a third party verified EPD is available for a product that forms part of an assessed element, for example a concrete block used in an external wall, the EPD can potentially be used to uplift the element’s BREEAM performance, i.e. points and therefore credits achieved. The degree of uplift available in such instances depends on three factors:

The assessed element’s existing Green Guide rating
The proportion of the total environmental mass of the element that the material with the EPD contributes
The manufacturer’s Environmental Product Declaration type for the relevant product/material(s).

Using this information, the points achieved for the existing Green Guide rating of the element is adjusted as follows (using the BREEAM Mat 01 calculator):

The proportion of the total mass of the assessed element that the material with the EPD contributes is determined using the Responsible Sourcing of Materials search tool, available on the assessor extranet. The Responsible Sourcing of Materials search tool will list the relative mass of each constituent material of a defined element as a percentage. Select the percentage for the relevant material and enter this into the BREEAM Mat 01 calculator. If an element cannot be found using the Responsible Sourcing of Materials search tool, the Assessor will need to complete a Bespoke Green Guide Query Proforma and submit it to BRE Global with a notification that mass proportions are required for the EPD uplift calculations. BRE Global will then confirm the relevant proportional mass of the material(s) in question. This will also be required for a material with a BRE Environmental Profile, which is specified as part of an element that differs from the elemental description on which that profile is based (See compliance note CN3.3).

Define the Environmental Product Declaration type and tier level (see Table 40 below) for the material(s) in question.

Table 40 The Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) type and tier ranking

EPD tier level	EPD description
1	A third party, independently verified EPD (See also CN3.5) covering the whole life cycle (i.e. cradle-to-grave).
2	A third party, independently verified EPD (See also CN3.5) covering the partial life cycle (i.e. cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-gate with options*).
*Partial life cycle EPD can cover: The product stage only: such an EPD covers raw material supply, transport, manufacturing and associated processes; this EPD is said to be “cradle- to-gate”; The product stage and selected further life cycle stages: such an EPD is said to be “cradle-to-gate with options”. In both cases, the EPD must be produced in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 14020 series, particularly ISO 14025 and ISO 219301BS EN ISO 21930:2007 Sustainability in building construction. Environmental declaration of building products. BSi, 2007 (concerning environmental labels and declarations) and ISO 140402BS EN ISO 14040:2006 Environmental management. Life cycle assessment. Principles and framework. BSi, 2006 and 140443BS EN ISO 14044:2006 Environmental management. Life cycle assessment. Requirements and guidelines. BSi, 2006 (concerning life cycle assessment).

EPD tier level

EPD description

A third party, independently verified EPD (See also CN3.5) covering the whole life cycle (i.e. cradle-to-grave).

A third party, independently verified EPD (See also CN3.5) covering the partial life cycle (i.e. cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-gate with options*).

*Partial life cycle EPD can cover:

The product stage only: such an EPD covers raw material supply, transport, manufacturing and associated processes; this EPD is said to be “cradle- to-gate”;
The product stage and selected further life cycle stages: such an EPD is said to be “cradle-to-gate with options”.

In both cases, the EPD must be produced in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 14020 series, particularly ISO 14025 and ISO 219301BS EN ISO 21930:2007 Sustainability in building construction. Environmental declaration of building products. BSi, 2007 (concerning environmental labels and declarations) and ISO 140402BS EN ISO 14040:2006 Environmental management. Life cycle assessment. Principles and framework. BSi, 2006 and 140443BS EN ISO 14044:2006 Environmental management. Life cycle assessment. Requirements and guidelines. BSi, 2006 (concerning life cycle assessment).

Once the element’s Green Guide rating and the relevant material(s) proportional mass and EPD type and tier level have been defined, the points uplift can be calculated (see Table 41 below). The BREEAM Mat 01 calculator does this by multiplying the material’s proportional mass by the maximum points uplift available for the Green Guide rating achieved for the element. The points uplift is then added to the points already achieved for that element’s generic Green Guide rating (see worked example below). The BREEAM Mat 01 calculator then continues its calculation procedure, as outlined in steps 2 and 3 above, to determine the number of BREEAM credits achieved.

Table 41 Green Guide points uplift by EPD type

Existing Green Guide rating	Generic Green Guide rating points	EPD tier 1 Max. points uplift	EPD tier 2 Max. points uplift
A+	3	1	0.75
A	2	1	0.75
B	1	1	0.50
C	0.50	0.50	0.25
D	0.25	0.25	0.125
E	0	0	0

The points uplift for tier 1 has been linked to the points available for achieving generic Green Guide ratings. An element whose constituent materials have each had their life cycle masses quantified and independently verified i.e. tier 1 EPD, will achieve a points uplift to the next level above that achieved for the elements generic Green Guide rating. The tier 2 points uplift is set relative to tier 1, based on the fact that a tier 2 EPD covers only part of the material/element life cycle, i.e. cradle-to-gate and not the full life cycle, i.e. cradle-to-grave.

Example: The following is an example of the above calculation for a theoretical external wall specification with a generic Green Guide B rating (which equates to one point).

External wall specification	Proportion of element mass	EPD tier	Points uplift
Load bearing concrete cladding	65%	1	0.65 x 1.0 = 0.65
Limestone finish	17%	None	0
Medium density solid block	10%	1	0.1 x 1.0 = 0.1
Plasterboard and paint	5%	2	0.05 x 0.5 = 0.025
Insulation	3%	None	0
Total points uplift			0.78
Total points achieved for element			1.78

In the above example therefore, having product specific Environmental Product Declarations for 80% (by mass) of the Green Guide B rated element’s materials results in a points uplift of 0.78 (a 78% uplift on the element’s BREEAM performance in this instance). This uplift could make a difference in the number of BREEAM credits achieved for the building.

Evidence

Criteria	Interim design stage	Final post construction stage
1-5	One or more of the appropriate evidence types listed in The BREEAM evidential requirements section can be used to demonstrate compliance with these criteria.
1-5	A copy of the output from the BREEAM Mat 01 Calculator tool, including the Green Guide rating and element number for each specification assessed1. The online Green Guide Calculator output (where relevant).	As per interim design stage
1-5	Documentary evidence detailing how the Calculator tool has been completed.	As per interim design stage
6-8	A copy of the statement demonstrating benefit of using IMPACT compliant software (or equivalent) AND A completed copy of BREEAM UK Mat 01 IMPACT compliant (or equivalent) tool form AND A BRE Global email confirmation for receipt of the model.	As per interim design stage
Element numbers are unique but the available specifications may change. As a result assessors should keep a note of the element numbers they use to give Green Guide rating advice on BREEAM assessments for auditing purposes.

Additional information

Relevant definitions

BREEAM Mat 01 calculator: A spreadsheet-based calculator required to determine the number of credits achieved for this BREEAM issue, based on each applicable element’s Green Guide rating. See Calculation procedures below for a description of how BREEAM determines the number of credits achieved for the life cycle impact of the building’s main material elements.
Ecopoint: The Ecopoint used in the online Green Guide is a single score that measures the total environmental impact of a product or process as a proportion of overall impact occurring in Europe. The annual environmental impact caused by a typical European citizen therefore creates 100 Ecopoints. Green Guide ratings are derived by sub-dividing the range of Ecopoints/m² achieved by all specifications considered within a building element.
Environmental Product Declaration: BS EN ISO 14025:20104BS EN ISO 14025:2010, Environmental labels and declarations - Type III environmental declarations, Principles and procedures. BSi, 2010 defines an environmental label or environmental declaration as a claim which indicates the environmental aspects of a product or service. BS EN ISO 14020:20015BS EN ISO 14020, Environmental labels and declarations - General principles. BSi, 2001 goes on to state that environmental labels and declarations provide information about a product or service in terms of its overall environmental character, a specific environmental aspect, or any number of aspects. The BRE’s Environmental Profile Methodology and the Green Guide to Specification are both examples of EPDs. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the tool underpinning EPD and the LCA should conform to the requirements of the BS ISO 14040 series.
BRE Environmental Profile Methodology: BRE Environmental Profile Methodology and subsequent product certification involves calculating the ‘cradle-to-grave' environmental profile of a building material, product or system, and services. This is a measure of all key environmental impacts, during extraction, processing/manufacture, use (including maintenance and refurbishment) and disposal, over a 60-year study period. Once certified, environmental profiles are reviewed on an annual basis to ensure they remain valid, and are recalculated every three years.
Frequently updated lists of building materials, products and systems assessed and certified under the Environmental Profiles Certification Scheme can be viewed at www.greenbooklive.com. The listing also includes the Green Guide rating for the approved products.
Where a product specified is claiming certification against the BRE Environmental Profiles Methodology, the BREEAM assessor should ask for a copy of the certificate and its appendix (which contains characterised data, normalised data and the Ecopoints score) or the certificate number and certifying body from the relevant manufacturer or, alternatively, they can verify the claim via Green Book Live listings. The BREEAM assessor should include a reference to the BRE Global Approved certificate number in their assessment report. An example screenshot of a product specific Environmental Profile listing on Green Book Live is provided in the Other information section of this issue.
Green Guide to Specification: The Green Guide to Specification is an easy-to-use, comprehensive reference website and electronic tool, providing guidance for specifiers, designers and their clients on the relative environmental impacts for a range of different building elemental specifications. The generic elemental ratings within the online Guide are based on LCA data generated using the BRE Environmental Profiles Methodology. The Environmental Profiles Methodology has been peer reviewed to comply with BS ISO 14040 and represents the Product Category Rules for BRE Global’s environmental labelling scheme (EPD - ISO 14025, Type III) for construction products and elements. www.thegreenguide.org.uk
Green Guide element number: A unique BRE Global reference number given to a Green Guide rating for any particular building element type specification. Both standard Green Guide ratings and those calculated using the online Green Guide Calculator will have an element number.
Online Green Guide Calculator: BRE Global have developed the online Green Guide Calculator to enable BREEAM and CSH assessors to quickly and efficiently generate Green Guide ratings for a significant proportion of specifications not listed in the online Green Guide. The Green Guide Calculator database is based on the components currently used to create specifications within the online Green Guide. These components can be selected and combined to generate instant Green Guide ratings for a multitude of different specifications.
To access the Green Guide Calculator, you must be a licensed BREEAM/EcoHomes/Code for Sustainable Homes Assessor. Please note that, at the time of writing, the Green Guide Calculator is not yet available for public use.
Reused materials: Reused materials are materials that can be extracted from the waste stream and used again without further processing, or with only minor processing, that does not alter the nature of the material (e.g. cleaning, cutting, fixing to other materials).
Specialist floor finishes: For the purpose of BREEAM specialist floor finishes are defined as those which have been designed to meet specific high performance requirement such as chemical resistance, temperature resistance, impact resistance, thermal shock protection, electrical resistivity, anti-microbial and easy decontamination.

Other information

Using the online Green Guide to Specification

The Green Guide categorises ratings by building type and element. When using the online Green Guide, (www.thegreenguide.org.uk), the main page asks the user to select a building type from the following options:

Domestic
Commercial (offices)
Health
Retail
Industrial
Education

To obtain the appropriate Green Guide ratings for the assessed building elements, select the category that corresponds to the assessed building type. See below for guidance on which category to select for building types not listed above.

Please note there are a number of common building elements (see below) and therefore Green Guide ratings. As these elements are common, any building type can be selected to determine the appropriate rating (regardless of the actual non-domestic building type being assessed).

Table 42 Building type and the use of appropriate Green Guide ratings

Building type	Green Guide ratings
Further or Higher Education buildings	When carrying out a BREEAM assessment of a Further or Higher Education building, in most cases the Green Guide ratings listed under the ‘Education’ category can be used. Alternatively, if the elemental specification of the building/space is more akin to a commercial, retail, industrial or health specification in terms of its Green Guide functional unit, then select and use the Green Guide ratings from the relevant the building type.
Prison buildings	To obtain appropriate ratings for elements that are not common (upper floors, roofs and floor finishes), select the ‘healthcare’ category. For prison building types that are more akin to commercial buildings in their construction e.g. visitors’ centres, catering buildings, sports halls select the commercial category. These categories include ratings that are most appropriate to the elemental specifications used for these types of prison buildings.
Law court buildings	To obtain appropriate Green Guide ratings for elements that are not common (internal walls, roof, upper floor slab and floor finishes) select the ‘schools’ category for court buildings. This category includes ratings that are most appropriate to the elemental specifications used for this building type. For floor finishes, it is permissible to select flooring from another building type other than schools, if the function/use in the assessed building is more appropriate to that type.
Other buildings	For many other building types assessed it may be clear which category of building type to select for Green Guide purposes (for elements that are not common). If it is not clear the BREEAM assessor will need to contact BRE Global for advice, supplying a description of the building including the relevant function(s). BRE Global will then confirm to the BREEAM assessor the appropriate category to select.
Common elements	The following elements, for the purpose of non-domestic buildings, have common Green Guide ratings irrespective of the building type: External walls Landscaping Windows - commercial The user can therefore search for ratings for the above elements under any building category.

Guidance for the assessment of floor finishes

The online Green Guide, under each building type, has categories of flooring specifications commonly used for the key floor areas for that building type. For example, the Retail category contains ratings for hard and soft floor finish specifications for public access areas based on the functional unit for that type of space.

However, any given building will normally contain several different floor areas with different wear requirements. Therefore, the BREEAM assessor will need to refer to floor finishes under other building type categories to find the relevant specification and Green Guide rating for the building (if floor finishes are one of the applicable elements). For example, for ‘back of house’ office and corridor areas in a retail development, it will be necessary to search the floor finishes specifications and ratings under the ‘commercial’ category of the online Green Guide. To aid users of the online Green Guide, there is a diagram that will direct you to the appropriate ratings to be used for other floor areas. The diagram is found in the guidance under the Floor Finishes category.

Specialist floor finishes in operational areas of buildings fall outside the scope of the Green Guide. This is due to the specific high performance requirements of the specifications, such as chemical, temperature and/or impact resistance etc., all of which limit the options available for specification. For this reason such floor finishes can be omitted from the assessment.

IMPACT (Integrated Material Profile And Costing Tool)

IMPACT is a specification and database for software developers to incorporate into their tools to enable consistent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC). IMPACT compliant tools work by allowing the user to attribute environmental and cost information to drawn or scheduled items in the BIM. IMPACT takes quantity information from the BIM and multiplies this by environmental impact and/or cost ‘rates’ to produce an overall impact and cost for the whole (or a selected part) of the design. The results generated by IMPACT allow the user to:

analyse the design to optimise cost and environmental impacts.
compare whole building results to a suitable benchmark to assess performance, which can be linked to building assessment schemes.

The benefit of BIM enabled whole building assessment is that the calculations are based on real design data and accurate quantities, rather than generic specifications for particular building elements. IMPACT compliant tools also allow users to accurately model the life cycle performance of primary structures and substructures, which are not covered by the Green Guide to Specification.

IMPACT was developed by an industry consortium led by BRE. The work was funded by the UK’s Technology Strategy Board. Further information about IMPACT and IMPACT compliant software tools (identified by the IMPACT compliant logo) is available from www.impactwba.com

Submission of an IMPACT (or equivalent) BIM

BRE Global requires the submission of the Building Information Model (BIM) from the IMPACT compliant software tool (or equivalent) in order to:

Facilitate the establishment of robust building level life cycle performance benchmarks in BREEAM. This will enable future BREEAM versions to recognise and reward those designs which achieve above average performance.
Fulfil BREEAM Quality Assurance requirements
Conduct further research using data from real life projects.

Any data supplied to BRE Global will be treated in confidence and the use of BIM data for research purposes will ensure individual projects are unidentifiable.

Tools equivalent to but not compliant with IMPACT

Tools that are considered by BRE Global to be equivalent to an IMPACT Compliant tool will be eligible for the same Exemplary credits. Equivalence will be judged by BRE Global based on the following:

Suitability of the BIM content for refining benchmarks
Format in which the BIM is transmitted.

Please contact BRE Global at the earliest opportunity to establish equivalence status of a non-IMPACT compliant software tool.

Indoor Air Quality and the Green Guide flooring category ratings

The online Green Guide does not cover the potential health and wellbeing issues associated with flooring materials and indoor air quality, this impact is covered in BREEAM issue Hea 02 Indoor air quality.

Screenshot of a specification from the BRE online Green Guide

Screenshot of a specification from the BRE Green Guide Online

Screenshot of a product specific Environmental Profile listing on Green Book Live

Screenshot of a product specific Environmental Profile listing on GreenBook Live