The primary certification model in the UK is the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM), a non-domestic design-stage methodology based on building type models. BREEAM was developed in the UK. It is a voluntary system, but it is widely adopted and understood by the construction industry. BREEAM considers 10 areas of sustainability and environmental performance, including energy, water and waste, as well as human health and wellbeing, and transport. There are variations for new construction, in-use, and refurbishment and fit-out projects. BREEAM assesses a wide range of asset types, including offices, retail and industrial buildings, and houses, apartments, hospitality and residential institutions.

For the assessment of performance in civil engineering and public realm projects, BREEAM Infrastructure (formerly CEEQUAL) has become the industry-accepted scheme.

BREEAM maintains its status as the preferred sustainability standard for new and existing commercial real estate. According to research undertaken by JLL,^[1] capital values for London office premises are on average 20.6% higher for properties with a BREEAM certification and show an average increase in rents of 11.6%.