BREEAM Certification Themes
To acquire a BREEAM International New Construction certification, buildings and spaces need to meet specific requirements in the following key areas: Energy, Management, Health and Well-Being, Transport, Water Consumption and Efficiency, Materials, Waste, Pollution, Resilience, and Land Use and Ecology.
BREEAM Certification Levels
Excluding “Unclassified”, BREEAM certification has five rating levels:[5]
- Unclassified
- Pass
- Good
- Very Good
- Excellent
- Outstanding
The rating scheme is according to BREEAM International New Construction Version 6 scheme. Each BREEAM score is additionally accompanied with a star rating.
WELL Certification (v2)
Launched in October 2014 by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the WELL Building Standard is one of the leading certifications for buildings, interior spaces, and communities seeking to support occupant health and well-being.
WELL mainly focuses on human-centric elements and building criteria and less occupied with environmental building performance than many other building certifications focused on sustainability. Nonetheless, the schemes complement each other in working towards a diverse set of sustainable development goals. In fact, WELL grants up to five points in their own certification system when a project achieves approved third-party certification, such as those from BREEAM, DGNB, and LEED.
The certification is well-known for its evidence-based approach for choosing performance metrics. According to IWBI Chief Commercial Officer Jessica Cooper, WELL v2 draws expertise from thousands of WELL users, practitioners, medical professionals, public health experts, and building scientists around the world.
Some quick facts about WELL:[7]
- The certification is issued by the International WELL Building Institute, a public benefit corporation based out of New York.
- WELL v2 came to replace WELL v1 in 2018.
- The WELL building certification can be requested in most countries.