Environmental Leader reports that BREEAM, Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology, has now arrived to the United States. It is the leading green building rating system in the United Kingdom having completed more than 542,868 certifications and registered more than 2,242,262 buildings in 77 countries. BuildingWise, a US-based LEED certification consultancy, and BRE, the London-based Building Research Establishment which manages BREEAM, announced on June 8th a new partnership that brings BREEAM to the US. BREEAM USA “will focus on the BREEAM In-Use standard to address the 5.6 million existing commercial buildings in the US that are not currently benchmarking their sustainability efforts using a ‘scientifically-based green building certification’ such as LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED EB).” BuildingWise CEO, Barry Giles, is a founding member of the LEED EB Core Committee. In an interview with Environmental Leader Giles said, “LEED EB has really only focused on the top 10, maybe top 5 percent of the marketplace, and new versions of LEED are making it harder and harder for existing buildings to get into the program….There’s this huge market that’s not currently using a building certification program and BREEAM is a perfect tool for them.” Read More >
