Multi-criterion certification systems BREEAM and LEED have become a part of Polish commercial real estate market. They offer a complex evaluation of the building, including not only the ecological but also economical and social aspects.
BREEAM certification system has been created by a British company BRE Global. Every couple of years system's assumptions are updated, in order to rise innovativeness and promote environmental friendly practices. The newest version of BREEAM International 2013 have been created on the basis of BREEAM Europe Commercial 2010 and BREEAM International Bespoke 2009. The general overview of a new version has been presented in November 2012. Then, it was revised by a group of experts and implemented on the beginning of June 2013. BREEAM International 2013 will deal only with new buildings: office buildings, commercial, storage and housing locations. In order to meet the new requirements, changes have been introduced in evaluation of energetic efficiency, water usage, location and its waste management as well as in the evaluation of materials and products used. Wider possibility of adjusting the project and creation process to local conditions have also been introduced.
LEED certificate has been created U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2000. In a similar way to BREEAM, LEED's requirements are being updated in order to meet the changes on the market and encourage innovativeness. The newest version, LEED v4, will be introduced in the November this year during the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. The new version aggravates the technological requirements and introduces new criteria. LEED v4 certificate will be addressed to the wider spectrum of receivers than the previous version of the system.
Previous versions of BREEM and LEED certificates have been extensively described in two publications of VADEMECUM, created by e-biurowce.pl team. The changes introduced by new versions of BREEAM and LEED certificates will, by the end of the year, be implemented in the third edition of Vademecum – Green Buildings: Points and evaluation.