BREEAM favors products with verified environmental impact
BREEAM’s Materials category carries serious weight (15 % of a New Construction project’s total score), so products without documentation risk costing the team its rating target (BRE, 2023). The evaluation tool of choice is still the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), usually delivered through Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
No EPD? You're invisible in this category. Worse: your product might drag the score. With an EPD aligned to EN 15804 and third-party verified, your product starts pulling its 15 % weight and earning Materials credits, particularly under Mat 01 and Mat 02.
Why Materials matter more than ever
BREEAM Version 7 doubles down on embodied carbon. Mat 01 now requires LCAs at concept, technical, and as-built stages, with benchmarks that reward low-carbon choices (BRE, 2025). Pair that with Mat 02’s explicit EPD requirement and the Materials section can swing an “Excellent” rating. For suppliers, every verified impact figure becomes a sales accelerant.
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Mat 01 is the credit to watch
Up to seven core credits, plus three exemplary ones, sit in Mat 01 for superstructure, substructure, and hard landscaping (BRE, 2024). Early LCA lets design teams swap carbon-heavy options before drawings freeze. Provide product-level impacts straight from your EPD and you feed the model instant clarity. That precision pays back every tender cycle.
If your product has a third-party verified EPD, it’s eligible to contribute to this score. In some cases, multiple EPD-backed products can push a project toward the maximum possible points in this category. According to BRE guidelines, products with verified EN 15804 EPDs help unlock tiered credit thresholds within the BREEAM scoring structure (BRE, 2024).
Mat 02: the EPD points game
One Mat 02 credit may sound small, but it often tips a project over its rating threshold. BREEAM awards 1.5 points for product-specific EPDs, 0.75 for manufacturer averages, and 0.5 for generic studies. Hit twenty points and the credit is in the bag (PPG, 2021). For a typical envelope package, four or five high-quality EPDs close the gap.
EPDs give you leverage in product substitution
When designers or contractors look to swap out a product during value engineering, the ones with better documentation stick. If your competitor has an EPD that contributes to BREEAM points and you don’t, it’s an uphill battle to stay specified. Flip that dynamic by having the documentation ready. Your EPD doesn’t just support a credit; it protects your place on the spec sheet.
Don’t wait for clients to ask
Too many manufacturers wait until a project team requests an EPD, then scramble. That delay can cost you the spec. Once a BREEAM-oriented project is underway, substitution windows close fast. Having your EPDs ready, published through a reputable program operator like Smart EPD, shows you're a serious player. You're not reacting to compliance; you’re enabling specification.
BREEAM isn’t just a UK thing
While BREEAM originated in the UK, it now applies to projects in over seventy countries. International manufacturers that supply across borders are finding that an EPD isn't just helpful; it’s table stakes. Whether your product is showing up in curtain walls in London or cladding systems in Dubai, Materials credits matter. If you're not contributing, someone else is.
What to do now
If your product might end up on a BREEAM project and you don’t have an EPD yet, or it’s outdated, it’s time to move. Not just to stay competitive, but to stay visible in a growing segment of high-performance construction.
