QOLLEGE
BREEAM-NL
MATERALIZATION
Each quarter, we host a Q-College for our team, with a self-selected theme at its core. These sessions connect us with current developments and innovations in the industry, while allowing us to exchange knowledge within the team. For this edition, the following guest speakers were invited:
Unilin, an international leader in interior design and construction solutions. On behalf of Unilin, Wim Koning shared the company’s current sustainability initiatives and highlighted which products in their range are particularly relevant for sustainability and BREEAM-NL.
Zuivergroen is a consultancy specializing in sustainable and circular materialization for design and buildings. Their expertise includes environmental performance assessments, material passports, and the new Whole Life Carbon credit.
Ditmar Henkel and Evelien Schut from Zuivergroen gave us a look into their daily work and real-world case studies. Quadrant4 has collaborated with Zuivergroen on several projects, and we are currently working on the first calculations under the new guidelines. Zuivergroen supports us with various calculations, which are ultimately applied as practical computational models.
Advisory Role
During the presentation, the Zuivergroen team guide dus through the BREEAM-NL methodology, with a new version introduced in January 2025. Together, we reviewed the credits related to material choices. The number of points available per credit varies. In many cases, where multiple points are available, the score is determined using a sliding scale or benchmark. Higher performance standards for buildings are rewarded with more points. Zuivergroen walked us through the BREEAM-NL materials credits, with specific focus on the new MAT 02 credit: Embodied and Whole Life Carbon.
Materials Credits
Within the BREEAM certification, materials form a separate category. This category contains multiple credits that Quadrant4 develops together with Zuivergroen. These credits cover areas such as the MPG (the environmental performance of buildings) calculation, suppliers, material efficiency, and disassembly potential. The newest BREEAM guidelines have expanded to include Whole Life Carbon and material-related emissions.
For a project, a “concept” MPG calculation can be made in each design phase fort he material efficiency credit. This provides an early indication of the MPG score, enabling design choices to be made to improve it. Alongside the MPG calculations, the disassembly potential can also be calculated, indicating how well a building can be dismantled in the future. Information on all materials used, the MPG calculation, and the disassembly assessment are compiled into a materials passport for the project.
The newest guidelines include material-related emissions and Whole Life Carbon. Material-related emissions assess the CO2 equivalent of materials during the production phase. Whole Life Carbon evaluates the CO2 emissions of materials and the building throughout its entire lifecycle. This provides a more complete picture of the environmental impact of material use.
Listener Architect Irene Huijben
From an architect’s perspective, designs are often created with BREEAM-NL in mind, but knowledge about the specific material choices that contribute to certification can be lacking. BREEAM evaluates sustainability at the material level, including environmental impact, circularity, and the presence of harmful substances. For example, the environmental impact of secondary materials, such as adhesives used in products, is also considered. Not just the main product is assessed – all components count.
Therefore, it’s crucial for architects to be aware of these details to ensure their material choices contribute to a higher sustainability rating. While architects primarily focus on the end product, BREEAM demands awareness at the individual material level and its impact. The lecture helped me understand how profoundly material selection influences BREEAM certification. Although there is a list of certified materials for BREEAM-NL, this can somewhat restrict design freedom, as not every material meets the required criteria. At the same time, this list raises awareness about the sustainability of different materials.
Wood
Wood is a renewable and inexhaustible resource, making it a hiighly attractive material compared to non-renewable resources like petroleum and ores. Additionally, trees absorb large amounts of CO2 during their growth and release oxygen. With sustainable forest management, wood is an environmentally friendly material. Wim Koning of Unilin explained how sustainably sourced wood is processed or reused in their products.
95% of the wood processed by Unilin is recycled. They have implemented a return policy for wood from projects, contractors, and interior builders. A major innovation is their ability to recycle MDF, leading to the launch of Fibralux Biobased – a product that maintains high quality and carries multiple sustainability labels.
EPD (Environmental Product Declaration)
An EPD provides information about the environmental impact of a building material. This data is presented in a standardized format to simplify comparisons between materials. The information can be used for building-level assessments or evaluations. But what exactly does an EPD contain, and how should it be read or used.
Life Cycle Approach
A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) calculates the environmental impact of building materials and products, resulting in an environmental profile. This profile is documented in the form of an EPD within the Dutch National Environmental Database (NMD). The analysis considers 19 environmental impact categories. Unilin uses these assessments, and the data available on this platform is ultimately used for cacluations such as the MPG.
The data available on this platform is ultimately used for calculations such as the MPG assessment.
