Featured Insights

BRE responds to reports of UK government’s u-turn on biodiversity net gains
BRE responds to reports that the UK Government is to delay new environmental building guidelines, which are designed to ensure developers leave the natural environment in a measurably improved state

BRE responds to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s update to UK green policies
BRE has long argued that we urgently require a clear, long-term plan to transition our homes and buildings away from fossil fuel boilers and on to clean heat, and the

Environmental Product Declarations for construction products with BRE
The built environment contributes 40% of greenhouse gases globally. In an era defined by growing environmental consciousness, businesses are increasingly recognising the need to adopt sustainable practices to mitigate their

Navigating urbanisation: a focus on better standards for indoor air quality
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that outdoor and indoor air pollution contribute to millions of premature deaths annually. As we primarily live within indoor spaces, we become more susceptible

Advancing ESG: Driving asset sustainability with BREEAM and GRESB
Hear from Breana Wheeler, US Director of Operations at BREEAM, and Dan Winters, Senior Director of Market Development and Strategic Initiatives at GRESB, as they discuss how the commercial real

Building an effective net zero strategy with BREEAM
Investors and owners in every major real estate market in the world are grappling with the risks and opportunities presented by climate change, and the pressing need to decarbonise the

Driving change: BREEAM and net zero carbon update
As the need to address the impact of the built environment becomes more urgent, the launch of BREEAM Version 7 consultation and BRE’s net zero carbon survey aims to put

Changing the way we heat our homes to meet net zero: putting households at the centre.
According to BRE research, sixty two percent of British home owners wouldn’t feel at all confident explaining how a heat pump works and in Autumn 2022 a UK government survey

Why we welcome the National Planning Policy Framework evolving to reflect carbon
Only by understanding the full carbon impact of all planned developments, including embodied and operational carbon emissions, can the planning system begin to incentivise carbon neutral or – even better

BRE responds to the Net Zero Review
The UK Government has published the review of net zero targets and policy by former minister Chris Skidmore MP, which BRE fed into. The review is comprehensive, with sensible and

As energy bills rise, how can we tackle fuel poverty in the UK?
As energy bills continue to rise, the latest fuel poverty data, which we produced for the UK Government, reveals the household groups who are most at risk.

What does the Chancellor’s Spring statement mean for the built environment and net zero?
On Wednesday 23 March, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak MP issued his 2022 Spring Statement, setting out the state of the UK’s economy amidst rising inflation and a cost

How decarbonising the built environment is the key to meeting net zero
Gillian Charlesworth, CEO at BRE The climate change crisis is not just about power plants and car engines: our homes and buildings play a huge role in warming our planet.

What does the Levelling Up White Paper mean for the built environment and net zero?
Tuesday 2 February 2022 saw the publication of the UK Government’s long-awaited Levelling Up White Paper, setting out its plans to “spread opportunity and prosperity

Our response to the Levelling Up White Paper
The UK government published its Levelling Up White Paper. Our CEO, Gillian Charlesworth commented: "We welcome the White Paper’s intention to improve people’s wellbeing and standards of living by enhancing

In 2022 we must set our sights beyond compliance
Gillian Charlesworth, CEO at BRE As we come to the end of 2021 – a year of serious challenges probably few of us envisaged – where does sentiment currently lie

Fuel poverty and its impact on domestic energy consumption in England
Helen Garrett, Principal Consultant, BRE The Department for Business and Energy and Industrial Strategy has published a series of reports as part of the Energy Follow Up Survey (EFUS), a

The UK Heat and Buildings strategy. Does it go far enough?
After over a year of waiting, the UK government published the Heat and Buildings Strategy (HBS) alongside the Net Zero Strategy this week, which shows that the built environment is

Why we must act now on net zero
says Breana Wheeler, BRE's Director of US Operations The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate report has not only highlighted that global temperatures are likely to rise above

BRE celebrates 100 years of world class innovation in the built environment
Today sees BRE begin the celebrations of its centenary as a pioneer in the built environment. First formed in 1921 to carry out research into building materials and suitable methods