As we kick off the new year, there is no doubt that sustainability and ESG will be at the forefront of conversations within both the residential and commercial real estate sectors. BREEAM is proud to have remained a leader of this sustainable movement, promoting effective and meaningful ESG solutions for the built world since 1990 — and in 2021, the platform experienced significant growth, alluding to increased stakeholder demand and an optimistic future as we look toward another year of real estate ESG.

Perhaps most notably of the year’s achievements, BREEAM’s US presence grew significantly as the number of certified assets across the country more than doubled. Among these was the first certification awarded under BREEAM’s New Construction standard, in addition to a slew of existing buildings certified via the platform’s In-Use standard. We also saw the continued application of BREEAM across asset classes, including office, industrial, retail, and the first-ever residential assets.

Further, six states welcomed their first assets certified under the BREEAM standard: Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Three of these assets have been shortlisted as candidates for the annual BREEAM Awards taking place in March 2022 — congratulations to Unibail Rodamco Westfield and their Assessors at UL Verification Services for this fantastic achievement. With these latest additions, BREEAM certified assets can now be found in a total of 21 states.

The number of BREEAM professionals in the US also grew significantly with the launch of the Advisory Professional (AP) Operations credential in the early part of the year, which supplemented the platform’s growing roster of Assessors who conduct the third-party assessments required for certification. All those credentialed are listed publicly in our global database for BREEAM professionals.

As part of our commitment to deepening conversations about the critical importance of transparency and accountability as it relates to sustainability performance, BREEAM expanded the educational resources offered to the US audience in 2021. In October, we launched a new webinar series featuring expert insights on several sustainability-focused topics, commencing with a panel on Exemplifying Leadership Through ESG. Two subsequent webinars were hosted — one on Data Centers and another on CRREM and Decarbonization. The series continues in 2022 with our first webinar of the year highlighting the Industrial sector — find out more and register here.

We look forward to a new year of opportunities working hand-in-hand with top-tier industry partners, building upon the past year of milestone achievements, and continuing to lead insightful and actionable conversations in the real estate sector.

Interested in learning more about how BREEAM can help you achieve your ESG goals at the asset and portfolio levels? Reach out to our team to learn more.