Programme manager claims there are cracks in the green rating system and calls for a review of BREEAM
A client has questioned the BREEAM rating for green buildings, claiming that there is a gap between how a building is rated at design stage with how it ends up as a completed project.
Joanne Davis, a programme manager at the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, called for the BRE to review BREEAM rather than introducing a new level. In a letter in today's Building she says: "I was shocked to find out how the process works. I was under the impression that certification as “excellent” under BREEAM meant the actual building had a BREEAM rating of excellent. This may not be true."
Davis claims a building rated excellent at design stage will not necessarily end up in the same state on completion. "How often does the tender price come back higher than the budget? And what is the first thing to be cut from a budget? All the sustainable benefits that make up the rating."
