From Brief to Build: NBS Releases Essential Guide to Achieving BREEAM Certification Through Smarter Specification

NBS has released A Specifier’s Guide to BREEAM, a practical resource which shows design teams how everyday specification decisions connect directly to sustainability targets and certification success. Developed in collaboration with BRE, the guide covers BREEAM UK New Construction V7 and sets out how structured, fully classified specification content can help build the evidence trail needed for environmental assessment.

What BREEAM New Construction V7 asks of specifiers

The construction industry is under growing pressure to deliver buildings that are efficient, resilient and net-zero ready.

BREEAM has assessed building performance in the UK for over 30 years, and its latest version, BREEAM New Construction V7, raises expectations across energy, water, materials and ecology. With an updated focus on whole life carbon, embodied impacts, operational performance, and biodiversity, it reflects the latest insight into what buildings need to achieve national and global net zero targets.

Whole life carbon is now assessed across the full building lifecycle, so specifiers need reliable embodied carbon data at the point of specification, not after decisions are made. Materials must be responsibly sourced, with robust environmental and social credentials throughout their supply chains, and all project timber must be legal and sustainable.

Design decisions have to be evidenced across nine environmental categories, from energy-efficient systems and water conservation to responsible sourcing and ecology. For specifiers, that means providing a clear, traceable ‘golden thread’ of information from early design stages through to project delivery. 

Dr Lee Jones, Head of Sustainability, Hubexo, said: “The construction industry has entered a new era of change. Climate action, tougher regulations, and rising client expectations are reshaping what “good” looks like in modern building design. Sustainability and decarbonisation are no longer box-ticking exercises; they are powerful drivers of value, innovation, and competitive advantage. For specifiers, every decision is now an opportunity to deliver smarter, greener, future ready buildings.”

Jennifer Dudley Lead Product Manager, BREEAM said: “Proven to help access green finance, retain asset value and support increased occupant satisfaction, BREEAM New Construction helps clients and design teams holistically navigate sustainability needs of today, and anticipate those of the future when designing and constructing new buildings.”

How structured specification builds the BREEAM evidence trail

BREEAM New Construction addresses the full scope of whole life carbon. Including embodied and operational carbon. Embodied carbon data is increasingly influential in specification. Manufacturers can control it in their processes, providing accurate data to inform specification choices and comparisons.

The guide explains how NBS Chorus, using Uniclass and CAWS classification, gives specifiers a consistent way to record and prove decisions with a ‘golden-thread’ of information from design through to certification.

NBS Lifecycle Carbon Assessment (LCA), gives teams access to over 10,000 Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and helps quantify upfront embodied carbon as projects develop. Together, these tools help design teams make informed carbon decisions early.

The guide positions certification not as a compliance hurdle but as a competitive edge, giving teams a repeatable way to demonstrate performance and win work.

A Specifier’s Guide to BREEAM is available now to download here.

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