The BRE is best known for its building certifications, yet its infrastructure rating system also deserves rightful attention.
The Building Research Establishment, with a history spanning more than a century, provides research services, consultancy, training, measurements, certifications and standardisation for both public- and private-sector organisations in the United Kingdom and abroad.
The name of the certification refers to the environmental assessment method introduced by BRE: the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, which has been applied to buildings since 1990. The infrastructure assessment was originally founded in 2003 by another UK-based organisation focused specifically on civil engineering. This market-leading infrastructure rating system, known as CEEQUAL, was acquired by BRE in 2015, and from 2022 it has been rebranded and updated as BREEAM Infrastructure, with the aim of offering a single, well-established certification that also carries the BRE name.
A benchmark and support tool for civil engineering, infrastructure, land development and public-realm projects
The certification provides a comprehensive framework for responsible planning and delivery: among other aspects, it examines resource efficiency, the reduction of environmental impacts, biodiversity protection, climate adaptation, social value creation and the quality of project management. Its goal is to help developers and designers create more sustainable, more resilient and long-lasting infrastructure—whether new road sections or roundabouts, railway bridges, tunnels, public parks, residential neighbourhoods, airports, ports, water or thermal power plants, and more. Separate editions apply to international projects and to those delivered in the UK/Ireland, with the main differences relating to the applicable standards. Worldwide, more than 900 projects have obtained a BREEAM Infrastructure rating to date. (One of the most exciting ongoing investments is the multimodal transport hub being developed near—though at a respectable distance from—Warsaw. According to the CPK’s presentation, it is a good example of how even such a mega-project can be implemented in a way that not only avoids increasing emissions, but actually reduces them, while also shortening travel and transport times.)
We certify what has been built!
BREEAM Infrastructure contains thematic elements similar to those of an environmental impact assessment, but unlike an EIA, it evaluates the completed project itself based on the evidence submitted for each criterion, in a highly holistic way, according to the following thematic areas:
In addition, it is possible to certify individual project phases separately. This is justified when the goal is to clearly delineate and demonstrate—at the highest possible level—the effectiveness of the work carried out within specific areas of responsibility.
Who pays for the certification?
The certification is undeniably costly and also requires significant time investment. However, it increases the likelihood that the project will meet the requirements of a green bond, green loan, or ESG-driven investment. It does not always result in an automatic interest rate reduction, but the certification strengthens the ESG arguments within the project documentation. In addition, the credible and internationally recognised benchmark helps create well-considered and long-term viable projects without the usual degradation—by which we mean the process where the initially high technical standards can deteriorate significantly by the time of handover.
With BREEAM Infrastructure Assessor accreditation
and an environmental engineering background, we welcome your enquiries regarding the certification process. To support financing, we provide project-specific ESG assessments and evaluate feasibility through preliminary reviews and gap analyses.