BREEAM evidence requirements: what you need to collect and when

If you fail to submit the relevant evidence at the relevant stage, you could end up losing out on valuable BREEAM credits and falling short of your targeted score.

It’s vital that you understand the BREEAM evidence requirements early on. This will ensure you’re in the best possible position to achieve your desired rating and avoid missed credits later down the line. In this guide, we’ll walk you through what evidence you need to collect at each stage of your project and who should supply it, so you can start preparing now.

BREEAM evidence is essentially any paperwork that clearly proves that you’ve met a credit’s requirement. The BREEAM Technical Manual sets out types of evidence that you can submit for each credit, which typically includes:

• Design drawings or specifications
• Calculations or modelling outputs
• Signed letters of confirmation
• Test certificates
• Policy documents
• Photographs

Your BREEAM Assessor can accept other types of documents too, as long as they prove the requirement. The key is to make it simple and traceable, so make sure everything is dated, signed and clearly labelled, so it can easily be traced back to the credit it supports. If your Assessor can’t verify it, then it won’t count towards your score.

Design stage

You need to gather evidence as decisions are made during the design stage. This mainly consists of commitments to meet the BREEAM criteria. We recommend collecting credit evidence early on, rather than leaving it until your drawings are finalised, as this will save you a lot of time and stress.

You’ll need to collect:

• Drawings and specifications, including layouts, glazing schedules, landscape plans and material specifications. These are usually supplied by your architect or landscape architect.
• Calculations and modelling outputs, like energy modelling (SAP/SBEM), daylight and glare assessments and water consumption calculations. Your energy consultant or M&E engineer should give you these.
• Strategy documents, such as travel plans, ecology reports and habitat management plans, drainage strategies and waste management plans. These may be produced by your transport consultant, ecologist, or other members in the design team.
• Policy statements and letters, including your commitments on responsible sourcing, considerate construction and aftercare. You or your project sponsor will need to sign these.

Construction stage

It’s important to ensure that BREEAM evidence requirements don’t slip through the cracks when you’re on site. Although everyone is focused on the building work, you need to make sure that the correct paperwork is still completed and filed.

You’ll need to capture:

• Commissioning certificates and test results, such as building services commissioning, air tightness testing and acoustic testing. Your M&E contractor or specialist testers will be responsible for issuing these.
• Site records e.g. waste transfer notes, site waste management data and considerate constructors scheme registration. These are usually supplied by your main contractor.
• Responsible sourcing certificates, including FSC/PEFC certification and EPDs for key materials. Your contractor will collect these from your suppliers.
• Photographic evidence of cycle storage, external lighting and ecological features. Your site staff will usually capture these.

Post-construction stage

As your project nears completion, now is the time to pull everything together ahead of the final review. 

This includes:

• As-built information, like final drawings and O&M manuals. Your design team and contractor will issue these.
• Building User Guide, prepared by your design team for future occupants.
• Final commissioning sign-off and aftercare commitments, to confirm your systems have been commissioned in line with requirements and perform as expected.

1) Assign ownership of each evidence type from the outset

At your project kick-off meeting, agree who in the team will be providing each piece of credit evidence (architect, engineer, contractor or client). Don’t wait until the final review to work out who’s responsible for what. That way, nothing will fall through the gaps. 

2) Build a shared evidence tracker

Map every credit you’re targeting against its evidence requirements, the person responsible for collecting it and a realistic deadline. At Encon Associates, we offer IES TaP (Track-a-Project) free of charge to help keep everyone aligned and make it easy to see what’s outstanding. 

3) Request certificates and sign-offs as work completes

Don’t leave commissioning certificates, test results or sign-off letters until the last minute. Make sure you request the evidence at the appropriate time, so they’re captured while the relevant specialist is still involved in the project and the details are fresh.

4) Review outstanding items at every project meeting

Make evidence collection a standing agenda item for every meeting, rather than just an afterthought in the run-up to submission. This will allow you to identify any gaps and resolve them before it’s too late.

5) Bring your BREEAM AP in early

A BREEAM Accredited Professional (AP) can help review your evidence against the criteria as the project progresses. They’ll be able to spot any shortfalls well before they become expensive problems.

Struggling to juggle all the BREEAM evidence requirements? Our leading BREEAM Assessors and APs are here to help manage the process for you. We’ll work with your project team from the outset to help you identify exactly what evidence each credit needs, flag gaps while there’s still time to correct them and review your documents to ensure you’re in the best possible position to obtain your targeted rating.

Get in touch to discuss your requirements and discover how we can support your project.