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Jeff Graves (ABO Plan & Arkitektur) - An introduction to BREEAM

Jeff Graves is an architect working for ABO Plan & Arkitektur in Bergen, and the leader of the local BREEAM support network, BREEAM Support Hordaland. On the 17th of October, Jeff gave an introductory presentation to what BREEAM is and how it is used at the Bergen Energy Lab.

Jeff Graves
Jeff Graves (Abo Plan & Arkitektur)
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Bergen Energy Lab

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BREEAM was launched in England in 1990, and is the world’s oldest and Europe’s leading certification system for sustainable buildings. Today it is used in 76 countries, there are more than 550 000 BREEAM certified projects and more than two million buildings have been registered for certification since 1990.

The assessment method consists of several rating systems (schemes) and manuals for various project types and buildings. Not only new buildings can be BREEAM-certified, but also buildings in use, refurbished buildings and even communities.

In BREEAM, buildings are assessed in ten different categories (e.g. energy, water, land-use, materials, pollution etc.). There are minimum requirements for each category, and the building receives points based on their performance. Each category is then weighted in relation to environmental priorities, which leads to a final score used to classify the building.

There are 99 BREEAM-certified buildings in Norway, two of which have received an “outstanding” classification (the highest classification possible), Fornebu S and Powerhouse Kjørbo.

BREEAM-NOR is the Norwegian version of BREEAM, launched in October 2011. It was realized after a massive voluntary effort, with over 120 volunteers donating more than 5 000 000 NOK in hours.

For more information, see Jeff’s presentation below and check out the website of the Norwegian Green Building Council.