BRE

San Francisco,  CA 
United States
http://www.breeam.com/usa

• Booth: 1040

Sustainable, resilient, healthy, productive buildings.

Created in 1990 by BRE (the Building Research Establishment), BREEAM was the first green building certification program and today is recognized as the world’s leading sustainability assessment method with over 2.2 million assets registered in 83 countries and over 565,000 certifications issued.  BRE currently offers two programs in the United States, In-Use and New Construction.

BREEAM In-Use is a rigorous, cost-effective and globally recognized online benchmarking and certification program for building sustainability performance. The standard integrates environmental performance (energy water and waste) with human health and well-being and resilience to protect the asset''s future value. BREEAM is developed using peer-reviewed building science.

BREEAM In-Use allows the independent assessment of the physical asset''s performance and building management, delivering valuable business information through benchmarking to improve performance and providing an option to certify the performance for global recognition of achievement.

Brands: BREEAM, CEEQUAL, LPCB, SABRE

 Press Releases

• WashREIT Announces $350 Million of Green Bonds for Eligible Green Buildings that Achieve BREEAM Certification (May 10, 2021)

  Leading US-based REIT leverages globally recognized certification program as core element towards achieving Environmental, Social and  

  Governance (ESG) commitment  

  San Francisco, US – WashREIT (NYSE: WRE) in Washington, D.C. recently announced an expansion of its Green Bond Framework for eligible green projects, including eight multifamily assets acquired in 2019. As outlined in WashREIT’s Green Bond Framework, WashREIT intends to achieve BREEAM In-Use Very Good certifications for the majority of these assets. 

  WashREIT will allocate the majority of the proceeds to buildings that achieve BREEAM certification as part of its multipronged approach to address energy efficiency, water efficiency, and renewable energy projects. This commitment will be an essential part of WashREIT’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) roadmap, particularly for demonstrating alignment with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and other disclosure reporting frameworks. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, WashREIT’s commitment represents a part of the booming green bond market expected to exceed $1 trillion globally by the end of 2021.  

  “This is a momentous achievement for the US REIT market to recognize the caliber and rigor of the BREEAM certification program, particularly for WashREIT’s multifamily assets in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area”, said BREEAM Director Shamir Ghumra. “The challenge in meeting a Very Good certification, which represents the top 25% of BREEAM certified assets, demonstrates an important next step in WashREIT’s commitment to benchmarking, verifying, and sharing sustainability best practices across their portfolio. We applaud WashREIT as a trailblazer in the U.S. for this high-performance investment.” 

  WashREIT intends to move forward with BREEAM certification for The Assembly, a portfolio of seven multifamily properties across Northern Virginia and Montgomery County, Maryland, in addition to the Cascade at Landmark in Alexandria, Virginia. These eight properties represent roughly 2,400 units. The green bonds also come on the heels of WashREIT’s energy consumption reduction goal of 20% by 2025, below a 2015 baseline, mitigating the portfolio’s impact on climate change. As part of this effort, WashREIT will continue tackling environmental impacts of asset development, climate risk, waste management, and transportation. 

  “Not only are these certifications a way to elevate operations to the WashREIT sustainability standard, but we are raising the bar for the entire value-add multifamily sector, which has often lacked investment in sustainability and efficiency opportunities,” Steve Riffee, CFO of WashREIT, said. “We intend to be among the first in the country to achieve BREEAM certifications for existing multifamily properties.” 

  This news is the second in a wave of firsts with BREEAM and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Montgomery, MD became the first jurisdiction in the United States to recognize BREEAM for building tax credits and includes both BREEAM In-Use for existing buildings and BREEAM New Construction for new buildings. The green building program awards building owners with tax credits by achieving a BREEAM Excellent certification or better. We look forward to continuing to see BREEAM as an integral component of regional green building programs across the U.S. 

  About WashREIT 

  WashREIT owns and operates uniquely positioned real estate assets in the Washington D.C. market. Backed by decades of experience, expertise and Our portfolio of 43 properties includes nearly 7,000 multifamily apartment units and approximately 3.4 million square feet of commercial space. Our shares trade on the NYSE and our company currently has an enterprise value of approximately $3 billion. With a track record of driving returns and delivering satisfaction, we are a trusted authority in one of the nation's most competitive real estate markets. To learn more, please visit washreit.com. 

  About BRE Group 

  BRE is a world leading, multi-disciplinary, building science center with a mission to improve buildings and infrastructure, through cutting-edge research and knowledge generation. BRE maintains a range of products, services, standards and qualifications that are used around the world to bring about positive change in the built environment. Learn more at www.bregroup.com. 

    

  BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment methodology for masterplanning projects, infrastructure and buildings. It recognizes and reflects the value in higher performing assets across the built environment lifecycle, from new construction, through performance in operation, to refurbishment. BREEAM does this through third party certification of the assessment of an asset’s environmental, social and economic sustainability performance, using standards developed by BRE. This means BREEAM rated developments are more sustainable environments that enhance the well-being of the people who live and work in them, help protect natural resources and make for more attractive property investments. Learn more at www.breeam.com. 

  Twitter: @BRE_BREEAM  

  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/showcase/breeam-official  

  For press inquiries, please email: breeam@antennagroup.com or call (201) 465-8034. 

•  Global Sustainability Assessment Standard BREEAM Accepted Under Fannie Mae’s Green Financing Program (May 14, 2021)

  BREEAM’s Residential Plus standard will open up new possibilities for the multifamily market, offering ‘Group 1’ preferential rates to developers who meet the assessment’s sustainability standards   SAN FRANCISCO, US (May 13, 2021) — BREEAM, the leading sustainability assessment method developed by BRE Global (‘BRE’), has announced that its Residential Plus assessment program for existing developments has been approved by national mortgage association Fannie Mae under its Green Financing Program.   The Green Financing Program, established in 2015, is an initiative through which Fannie Mae offers preferential pricing for mortgage loans to real estate assets that have been certified by one of its pre-approved green certification assessment platforms. Currently, there are 18 green building standards — including BREEAM USA — which are recognized by Fannie Mae.   “As BREEAM expands its presence in the US real estate market, we are thrilled to be recognized by Fannie Mae’s Green Financing Program, further solidifying our position as one of the most rigorous sustainability assessments globally,” said Breana Wheeler, Director of Operations at BRE. “Fannie Mae has done exemplary work providing financial incentives to building owners and operators to focus on lower energy use and more sustainable operations and verify through third-party certification. We look forward to partnering with asset owners through this program to establish better living conditions for tenants and more valuable assets for owners.”  BRE is a world leading building science center that has spent the past century pursuing research and knowledge generation which improves the built environment. Established in 1921, BRE launched BREEAM in 1990 to encourage a focus on sustainability that drives higher value assets, and over 594,000 certifications have been issued globally to date. Building on these historied efforts, BREEAM developed the Residential Plus assessment program to meet Fannie Mae standards and to support multifamily assets seeking the financial incentives associated with these energy performance requirements. Some specific requirements of the Residential Plus program include:   A 20% or greater reduction in energy use over a fixed baseline  A minimum score of 55% or better (“Very Good” rating or higher under BREEAM certification) All residential units and all buildings/spaces must be included in the assessment of an asset Fannie Mae’s Green Building Certifications include four possible groups — Towards Zero, Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 — with varying certification requirements. BREEAM certifications will be eligible under Group 1 certification, offering one of the top tiers of preferential pricing outside of buildings that are striving to achieve Net Zero energy standards. The Residential Plus program is part of the broader BREEAM USA In-Use program, with certification also offered for commercial and residential properties not specifically pursuing financial incentives. Features include an increased focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation, with resilience measured along with an asset’s previous environmental performance. For more information on Fannie Mae’s Green Financing Program, please visit https://bit.ly/32I3EW1. And for more information on BREEAM USA, please visit https://www.breeam.com/usa/.     About BRE & BREEAM  BRE is a world leading, multi-disciplinary, building science center with a mission to improve buildings and infrastructure, through cutting-edge research and knowledge generation. BRE maintains a range of products, services, standards and qualifications that are used around the world to bring about positive change in the built environment. Learn more at www.bregroup.com.    BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment methodology for masterplanning projects, infrastructure and buildings. It recognizes and reflects the value in higher performing assets across the built environment lifecycle, from new construction, through performance in operation, to refurbishment. BREEAM does this through third party certification of the assessment of an asset’s environmental, social and economic sustainability performance, using standards developed by BRE. This means BREEAM rated developments are more sustainable environments that enhance the well-being of the people who live and work in them, help protect natural resources and make for more attractive property investments. Learn more at www.breeam.com.    ***