BREEAM & Climate‑Intelligence
The next wave of climate‑intelligent buildings is being defined not just by striking façades or smart gadgets, but by how well they perform on carbon, comfort, resilience and long‑term value. BREEAM, one of the world’s leading sustainability assessment methods for buildings, has evolved into a powerful framework for delivering these outcomes at scale. As expectations around net zero, climate risk and ESG transparency rise, the latest BREEAM standards are shaping what “good” looks like for developers, investors and occupiers alike.
From checklist to climate strategy
BREEAM started life as a way to rate the environmental performance of buildings, but newer versions increasingly integrate decarbonisation, resilience and circularity into a single framework. With Version 7, BREEAM expands whole‑life carbon requirements, strengthens criteria on lifecycle assessment and aligns with emerging net zero and taxonomy expectations, turning certification into a practical roadmap for climate‑aligned design and operation.
For climate‑intelligent projects, this means BREEAM is no longer just a planning or marketing badge; it becomes a way to structure decisions around energy, carbon, materials, health and risk from the very first brief. By embedding these criteria in a rigorous, third‑party‑verified standard, BREEAM gives stakeholders confidence that climate claims are backed by method and evidence.
Whole‑life carbon and net zero pathways
Climate‑intelligent buildings must address both operational and embodied carbon, and BREEAM now explicitly reflects that reality. The latest framework requires more detailed assessment and reporting of whole‑life emissions, encourages low‑carbon material choices and reuse, and is moving toward a dedicated carbon category that combines operational and embodied performance.
This whole‑life lens is crucial for credible net zero strategies, where reducing demand and emissions comes before any offsetting or residual balancing. By aligning benchmarks, modelling requirements and performance evidence, BREEAM helps projects demonstrate that they are genuinely on a pathway consistent with decarbonisation policies and investor expectations rather than relying on headline pledges alone.
Health, resilience and nature as core design drivers
Climate‑intelligent buildings must also be safe, healthy and resilient in a changing climate, and BREEAM continues to expand its focus on these dimensions. Updated criteria in areas such as indoor air quality, daylight, glare control, thermal comfort and non‑visual effects of light recognise that wellbeing and productivity are integral to building performance, not optional extras.
At the same time, new and strengthened requirements around climate resilience, natural hazard risk assessment and biodiversity ensure that assets are better prepared for future conditions and environmental pressures. This combination of human‑centred design and resilience planning is a defining feature of climate‑intelligent buildings, where the aim is not only to emit less, but also to support people and ecosystems over the building’s life.
Data, smart operation and ESG alignment
Modern BREEAM schemes increasingly reward buildings that use data and smart systems to manage performance over time. Enhancements to energy and carbon issues, including credits for model verification, demand‑side response and smart controls, recognise the role of digital tools in optimising energy use, supporting grid decarbonisation and maintaining comfort.
BREEAM also aligns more closely with external frameworks such as net zero definitions and ESG reporting standards, making it easier to connect building‑level performance with portfolio‑level disclosures and investor benchmarks. For owners and managers, this turns certification into a bridge between the plant room and the boardroom: performance data gathered for BREEAM can feed directly into sustainability reporting, risk management and value‑creation narratives.
How Climery uses BREEAM to create climate‑intelligent buildings
For Climery, BREEAM is not a box‑ticking exercise but a structured way to design and deliver climate‑intelligent buildings that work technically, commercially and socially. That starts with aligning BREEAM targets with project objectives around carbon, comfort, cost and risk, then using building physics, engineering and design decisions to achieve the credits that truly shift performance.
By integrating BREEAM thinking across RIBA stages—from early concept, massing and fabric decisions through to systems design, commissioning and in‑use evaluation—Climery helps clients turn the standard into a live performance framework rather than a static certificate. The result is a new generation of climate‑intelligent buildings where low‑carbon, resilient, people‑centred outcomes are measurable, verifiable and clearly linked to long‑term value.
