BRE to launch new Green Guide

The BRE is to launch a new version of its Green Guide to Specification on Friday.

The new version of the guide, which helps designers select environmentally friendly materials, will be available on the web.

Last updated in 1999, the guide gives details of the points required for the materials section of the Code for Sustainable Homes and environmental assessment method BREEAM. The new version contains 1300 generic specifications compared to the previous 300.

It rates materials for environmental impact against 13 different criteria which includes climate change, toxicity to land and humans and acid rain potential, and rates them from A+ to E. The previous version only had three bands.

The BRE will also license the assessment process to other certification bodies including the BBA so the green guide rating can appear on product certificates.

The new version is web based and will be regularly updated. A paper based guide will be available later this year. A new version of BREEAM is also launched on Friday.