The sustainable standard: BREEAM Outstanding

The new Nedlin Healthcare laundry is being developed and constructed in accordance with BREEAM Outstanding standards: the number one certification method for a sustainably built environment. Wilco Smits is the founder of Lois Advies, a sustainable development consultancy firm. He is helping Nedlin in obtaining the BREEAM Outstanding qualification. But what, exactly, does BREEAM Outstanding entail?

Smits: “BREEAM is a measurement instrument for the assessment of a project’s sustainability. It encompasses different levels of quality, ranging from Good to Very Good, Excellent, and Outstanding. Nedlin is aiming for the highest qualification level: BREEAM Outstanding”.

Why was BREEAM established?

Smits: “Up to 2009, a ‘most sustainable building’ was constructed somewhere every month or so. That is why the DGBC (Dutch Green Building Council) developed a broad-spectrum measurement tool to independently establish a building’s level of sustainability. This was also in demand by major banks, since the interest savings accounts and loans they issue for those buildings depended on those levels of sustainability”.

What are Nedlin’s ambitions with regard to BREEAM?

Smits: “Nedlin places sustainability in high regard. For example, the company has opted for sustainable EURO 6 lorries, uses double-decker lorries, drafts improvement plans annually, and selected the construction site across from the existing location to ensure efficient transport movements. The laundry is also designed to purify and reuse all of the rainwater is collects in the laundry process”.

“Nedlin also wants to implement these ambitions in the construction project itself. As a consultant, I often struggle to convince clients of certain sustainability measures. Not so with Nedlin.”

What is your role as a consultant in this process?

Smits: “During the early stages of the design process, I selected the measures needed to obtain the Outstanding qualification. Over the course of the remaining process, I will be operating as a controller to ensure these measures remain achievable. In case of any changes, for example, I will chart the consequences in relation to BREEAM credits, and offer recommendations on dealing with those consequences. Consider me the link between Nedlin, the architect, the contractor, the installation engineers, and other consultants. In addition, I compile and substantiate the required proofs, and make sure those proofs are supplied to the independent assessor tasked with evaluating our project”.