Opinion of tools

Name of the tool
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) for office designs

Positive comments about the tool
• Use of BREEAM in the Environment Agency building in Llandarcy has ensured that a number of environmental best practice features were incorporated into the building design including rain water harvesting, low flush toilets, tap restrictors, and a state of the art Building Management System which monitors, controls and optimises energy consumption (BP D’arcy, 2004).
• The BREEAM assessment is regarded by the UK's construction and property sectors as the measure of best practice in environmental design and management to assess the environmental performance of both new and existing buildings. Therefore comparisons can be easily made between buildings.
• By implementing this tool at the very beginning of the project, it reveals areas where improvements can be made and then the assessment can be redone upon completion of the development.

Negative comments about the tool
• However, this is an expensive tool to use (£1,000s) and requires a BREEAM approved assessor to make the assessment.
• This method is building specific and requires detailed information to be collected – e.g. knowledge of whether an air cooling tower is designed to CIBSE TM1312 .