by Brianna Crandall — September 24, 2014—U.K.-based independent, third-party approvals organization BRE (Building Research Establishment) Global has completed a detailed review of responsible sourcing certification (RSC) programs, and published a list of those that are now recognized and can lead to credit awards under the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM).
The responsible sourcing of materials is an increasingly important element of sustainable construction, encompassing resource stewardship, corporate responsibility, and sustainable procurement issues throughout the supply chain, points out BRE.
“Since the mid-1990s, BREEAM has supported responsible sourcing by awarding credits for good practice,” says Alan Yates, technical director, sustainability at BRE Global. “Our approach to this has evolved in line with changes that have improved responsible procurement practices in the materials sector. The review of RSC schemes is the latest step in this continuing evolution, and was conducted in recognition of the growing number and widening scope of these schemes in recent years.”
The RSC scheme review has provided, for the first time, a way of comparing the different programs against a common set of criteria (adopted from BS 8092, Responsible Sourcing Sector Certification Schemes for Construction Products: Specification, BSI, 2009), while recognizing the inevitable variations that occur among different material supply chains.
As a result, all RSC programs meeting a common set of minimum requirements—based on current best practice and consultation with the materials sector and program operators—are now recognized in the 2014 BREEAM schemes for New Construction and for Refurbishment and Fit-Out. These changes will be rolled out across other BREEAM programs over the next few months.
“The review has produced a fair and balanced set of criteria against which all schemes can be evaluated and compared regardless of their sector,” says Yates. “We have now issued the list of recognized schemes and will soon publish the full evaluation process and results, including scheme submissions and evidence, to ensure that the process is fully transparent.
“We will continue working with the materials sector to further refine this approach, enabling future versions of BREEAM to differentiate between RSC schemes in terms of their scope and their ability to promote continual improvement.”
The list of BREEAM Recognised Responsible Sourcing Certification Schemes V 1.0 is available on the BREEAM Web site.
