Concrete and the Green Guide

The use of the Green Guide in the context of sustainable design

 Contents
• Introduction 3
• The Green Guide in the context of sustainable design 3
• An overview of the Green Guide 4
• The Green Guide methodology 6
• Achieving the highest ratings with concrete 7
• The Green Guide as part of a Code for 10
Sustainable Homes assessment
• The Green Guide and element ratings in the 15
context of sustainable design
• The Green Guide as part of a non-domestic 17
assessment
• The Green Guide of the future? 18
• References and notes 19

Concrete and the Green Guide

An overview of The Green Guide
Pages 4 and 5 set the scene for the Green Guide and how it relates
to the responsible sourcing of construction products and whole life
environmental issues.
The Green Guide methodology
The guide has been produced to address the principles of elemental
Life Cycle Assessment. How this has been done and how the resulting
information can be used by designers is outlined on page 6.
The Green Guide and element ratings in the context
of sustainable design
A designer needs to be able to use the guide in context, as it provides
information on just one piece of the sustainability jigsaw.
There are other factors which dictate the sustainability of a design;
Page 15 helps to put these factors in to the context of the guide.
Page 16 explores why it is essential for designers to consider overheating
control, acoustic performance, and structural and air tightness requirements
in parallel to using the guide.

Achieving the highest ratings with concrete
Five design strategies for achieving the best Green Guide ratings are
explored on pages 7, 8 and 9 in this publication. These strategies are:
optimising cementitious materials; when to use recycled or secondary
aggregates; optimising mass; use of admixtures; and contacting suppliers
for product specific information.
The Green Guide as part of a non-domestic assessment
The Green Guide for non-domestic buildings is used in the BRE
Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) tool to assess some of the
contribution that materials make to a sustainable design. How to use the
guide in this context, and how it is different from its use as part of a code
assessment, is explored on page 17.

The Green Guide as part of a Code for Sustainable The Green Guide of the future?
Homes assessment The guide is constantly evolving and five areas likely to be developed are
Seven steps for considering materials and the guide in the context of discussed on page 18. These include wastage rates, recycled materials,
the Code for Sustainable Homes (the Code) are outlined on pages 10 to
accommodating buildings with a useful life greater than 60 years,
14. These steps demonstrate the importance of iterative, holistic design.
and new measures for abiotic and biotic resource use.
This section concludes with an examination of how to score points for
responsible sourcing of products in the Code and other assessment tools.

Main cover image: courtesy of Tarmac

2
 ENVIRONMENTAL
SOCIAL
Introduction Quality of building
Accessibility
The
Green
Climate change
Responsible
sourcing
Guide Operational
This publication will assist designers to specify concrete in Safety/security
maintenance
conjunction with the Green Guide to Specification (referred to Indoor amenity
Biotic resources†
throughout as the ‘Green Guide’ or ‘the guide’). It highlights the Cultural values Resource use
guide’s relevance in the context of whole life performance and Land use
sustainable design, SAP, the Code for Sustainable Homes and other
sustainability assessment tools, including BREEAM* for high-rise
domestic and commercial buildings.
ECONOMIC
Cost
This publication explains where Value

concrete solutions score the best Risk/sensitivity

Return on Investment
Green Guide ratings, and how to Contribution to GDP
improve the ratings of concrete
products within an overall design.

* According to BRE, BREEAM Buildings can be used to assess the environmental performance
of any type of new or existing building. Standard versions exist for common building types
(courts, healthcare, industrial, multi-residential, prisons, offices, retail, education, communities and
international – for developments, regions or countries) and less common building types can be
assessed against tailored criteria under the Bespoke BREEAM version
Figure 1: The Green Guide in the context of the three pillars of sustainability.
† Biotic resources are ‘living’ resources such as biomass, timber, etc. Their extraction and the associated
environmental impacts are not currently assessed in the guide in the same way as the use of ‘non-living’
mineral resources are. This is an area for future development (see page 18).

The Green Guide in the context of

sustainable design
The guide is not a tick box activity
BRE in 2008 [1] suggested that use of the guide should be considered
carefully, because when it is used simply as a tick box activity, or by
specifying A or A+ rated elements only, it is less likely to result in the
most sustainable long-term building solution.
Concrete products score well
Where a designer or client has chosen to use concrete products as part
of their design solution they will find that there are a lot of concrete
construction elements in the Green Guide. There are some sections of
the guide where concrete scores extremely high. For instance, in cavity
walls it is quite easy to score an A or A+ rating for all building types.
Interdependence between operational and
embodied impacts
The interdependence between operational and embodied impacts
of construction materials will remain essential to sustainable design,
and this requires them to be considered together. Good design will
consider the A+ to E scores in conjunction with other information about
the construction element and the overall design, such as air tightness,
thermal bridging, thermal mass, overheating requirements, acoustics,
and moisture control.
Building Regulations, SAP and thermal mass
Part L of the Building Regulations is changing to accommodate new
factors, including the thermal mass of a structure and its relationship
to overheating and passive solar gains. Thermal mass is an important
factor in the design of energy efficient low-carbon dwellings – the
recognised benefits of thermal mass are currently not accounted
for in the guide.
Responsible sourcing
The concrete industry is well placed to demonstrate the highest level
of responsible sourcing performance based on effective management
systems, local availability of materials and well managed supply chains.
Within the Code for Sustainable Homes, responsibly sourced materials
are encouraged and credited, for both basic building elements and
finishing elements.
Truly sustainable design solutions
will only be achieved by using the
Green Guide as but a part of a
holistic process.

3
An overview of The Green Guide
The Green Guide is a tool for assessing some of the embodied impacts
of construction elements as part of an overall environmental or
sustainability assessment for a project or development. For some
projects, use of the Green Guide is effectively mandatory due to client
requirements or as a component part of a Code for Sustainable Homes
or BREEAM assessment. For example, a minimum code level 3 rating
under the Code for Sustainable Homes has been required for all public
sector new homes (those being built using Homes and Communities
Agency funds or English Partnerships land) since April 2007.
The revised Green Guide Online www.thegreenguide.org.uk was
officially launched in June 2008. This version of the guide implements
the new 2007 methodology, covers a larger range of elements than
previously, and allows for updates to be made to ratings as manufacturers
improve the environmental credentials of their products. (The original
Green Guide to Specification was published in 1996).
BRE has advised that the Domestic section of the new Green Guide is
only appropriate for low-rise domestic developments (i.e. not high-
rise developments). A pragmatic solution is to refer to the Commercial
section of the Green Guide when working on a multi-storey project, as the
specifications are more appropriate to the building design. This principle
has been used successfully [by the relevant agencies] on major schemes.
The calculations underpinning the Green Guide start by estimating the
environmental impact per tonne of each different construction material.
Materials are then combined to form components and these components
combined to form elements. The elements covered in the guide are:
• External walls
• Internal walls and partitions
• Roofs
• Ground floors

The new Green Guide to Specification combines and replaces both the • Upper floors
Green Guide to Specification and Green Guide to Housing. It has been • Windows
expanded to cover different building types: • Insulation
• Landscaping
• Offices • Floor finishes
• Educational
• Healthcare The relationship between materials, components and elements is
• Retail shown in Table 1 below.

• Domestic
• Industrial

Table 1: The relationship between materials, components and elements

Assessment Life cycle stage Units Can environmental data be Are all issues covered at
stage compared at this stage? this stage of analysis?

Materials Cradle-to-gate (extraction of raw Per tonne No, concrete, steel and timber have No
materials to production factory gate) very different properties and a tonne
of each can be used to produce
different outcomes

Components Cradle-to-site (as above plus delivery
to site and installation)
Per square metre No, as this does not constitute an No
installed element entity comparable with others until it
is installed as part of a building element.
For instance a screed is a component,
part of a whole floor element

Elements Cradle-to-site plus maintenance and
end-of-life (as above plus maintenance
of element and impacts associated
with end-of-life processes and
disposal)
Per square metre Yes, the guide allows this No, as at this level there is no account
of element over of the relationship between building
60 year study performance and building elements.
period Note that the analysis does not include
operational impacts

Whole life Cradle-to-grave (raw material Per square metre Possibly, as part of a complete life cycle Yes, subject to method and
building extraction, product production, of building over study with the Green Guide featuring assumptions
on-site installation, the use phase, life of building as one part
demolition and end-of-life impacts)

4
 Concrete creating comfortable living; Courtesy of Firth Homes

The Green Guide can be used

as part of an environmental or
sustainability assessment.

According to BRE, “Responsible sourcing of materials is demonstrated through an ethos of supply chain management and product stewardship and
encompasses social, economic and environmental dimensions” (www.greenbooklive.com). The scope of responsible sourcing of materials and the
type of criteria it covers are detailed in the BRE standard BES 6001.

Figure 2: Responsible sourcing and the Green Guide

Responsible sourcing

Organisational criteria Product criteria

Corporate
Impacts Stewardship
responsibility

Quality Water use Traceability

Environment CO2
H&S Transport Biodiversity
Supply chain Resource use
Stakeholders LCA - Green Guide
Ecology
Ethics & policies Employment & skills
Legal compliance Local communities

5
The Green Guide methodology
As part of a full sustainability audit, the Green Guide can play a useful performance and will be different depending on the elements that are
role in estimating some embodied environmental impacts. As representative of commonly used UK specifications within those building
Figure 1 (on page 3) shows, other issues need to be considered element groups.
in conjunction with the guide to assess the social, economic and
environmental impacts associated with the use of a building. When considering the ratings within each building element group, a
specification receives an A+ rating if it represents the least environmental
The 13 environmental issues assessed in the guide are: impact in the group, and an element gets an E if it is amongst the
1. Climate change specifications that have the highest environmental impact of those in
2. Ozone layer depletion its group.
3. Human toxicity
4. Fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity The scores against each environmental issue assessed in the guide are
5. Terrestrial ecotoxicity weighted and combined to form a single score. The use of weighting
6. Photochemical oxidation in this way is greatly debated. A single score simplifies the analysis for
7. Acidification an end user. However, the individual importance of the 13 different
8. Eutrophication environmental issues is lost, and the weighting itself is subjective.
9. Fossil fuel depletion
10. Solid waste Generic data, sourced from a variety of commercial databases, trade
11. Radioactivity associations and manufacturers, has been used as a basis for the ratings.
12. Minerals extraction Also, data has been gathered for environmental issues that are simple to
13. Water extraction measure; economic or social sustainability factors are not included.

A rating is formed by banding the weighted score of 13 different
environmental issues for an element into one of six bands (A+ to E). This
is done by dividing the range of scores given to all the elements within
each ‘building element group’ into six equal parts. Therefore, the ratings
within the Health Upper Floors and Domestic Upper Floors sections
of the guide do not relate to comparable levels of environmental
The Green Guide methodology is an example of ‘element Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA).’ Specific assumptions on assessment conditions have
had to be made as part of the process. More information can be found
in the BRE methodology document available on the Green Guide website:
www.thegreenguide.org.uk. Generic guidance on LCA can be found by
referring to the ISO 14040 series of standards.

Figure 3: How the Green Guide is formulated

Elements 13 environmental Calculation

issue categories
The quantity of material incorporated in The quantity of the materials within
building elements (per m2 and over a an element is combined with the
generic 60 year study period) is calculated Climate change environmental impact data of each across
from specification design details. Any Fossil fuel depletion the 13 categories (from their extraction,
replacement over the 60 year period Solid waste etc. manufacture, transport and end-of-life).
is included.

Environmental
Banding Single score Weighting impact

The scores for all elements within each The weighted scores These impacts are The result is a measure of
building element group are divided into A+ in each category are multiplied by the environmental impact
to E rating bands (building element groups summed to form environmental of the element across
include, domestic roofs and commercial and a single score for weightings for each of the 13 categories.
industrial upper floors). each element. each category.

6
Achieving the highest ratings with concrete
Green Guide ratings within the
Code for Sustainable Homes
and BREEAM Office contribute
4.5 per cent and 6.25 per cent
respectively of the total points
available in those schemes.
Developing a sustainable design involves maximising the points scored
in all the other parts of the sustainability assessment whilst optimising
the score in the Materials section [2].
Where a designer or client has chosen to use concrete products as part
of their design solution they will find that there are many concrete
construction elements in the Green Guide, many of which score well
against the rating system of A+ to E. There are also sections of the guide
where concrete scores extremely highly. For instance, in cavity walls for
all building types it is quite easy to score an A or A+ rating. There are
a number of design strategies that can be considered when selecting
concrete elements, each of which can influence the overall rating
positively. Examples of these strategies are:
• Optimising cementitious materials.
• Use of recycled or secondary aggregates.
• Optimising mass.
• Use of admixtures.
• Contacting suppliers for product specific information.
Optimising cementitious materials
The use of ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS), fly ash or limestone
fines as part of a factory-made cement or in concrete can make products
1 Coleman Street has proved the feasibility of using 100% secondary coarse aggregate
in a large scale project. Courtesy of Arup.
with a significantly reduced environmental impact. GGBS and fly ash are
by-products of other industrial processes (the blastfurnaces used to make
iron and coal fired power stations). The further processing required to make
GGBS, fly ash and limestone fines suitable for use as cementitious materials
is significantly less than the energy required to make CEMI cement, and their
use will reduce the environmental profile of concrete. Data on the carbon
footprint of various cements and concretes is available from
www.sustainableconcrete.org.uk.
The use of GGBS and fly ash can have a number of positive influences
on concrete performance, including improved workability and increased
long-term durability of concrete when subjected to aggressive
environments. Their use is very common in the manufacture of products
such as blocks where the slightly longer setting times associated with
using GGBS or fly ash are of less importance. The use of GGBS or fly ash
can reduce embodied CO2 levels. With increasing levels of GGBS and
fly ash, the development of early strength can be slower for concrete
mixes designed for similar 28 day strengths. These effects may be more
pronounced in cooler weather. Where striking times are critical, the
performance of these mixes should be confirmed as suitable for these
applications. Eighteen per cent of all the cementitious materials used in
the UK are GGBS or fly ash [3].
7
 Asphalt planings used as recycled aggregate.

Use of recycled or secondary aggregates The research summarised in Table 2 suggests that designers should only
consider the use of recycled aggregates when travel distances of the
A large number of the elements in the guide contain recycled aggregate,
material, by road to site, are less than 10 miles.
used in a sub-base and/or as a replacement for virgin aggregate in
concrete. Specifying recycled aggregates rather than virgin aggregates
Specification of virgin aggregates will in many cases include up to 20 per
will always improve the elemental score but only sometimes by a
cent recycled content, as allowed under BS 8500. The recycled content
sufficient amount to improve an element’s rating in the guide.
will be at the discretion of the ready-mix supplier based on availability
and cost (with aggregates levy and landfill tax in-built in any cost
For example, within the ground floor details of the Domestic section:
comparison).
• The “chipboard (P5) decking on timber joists with insulation, over
100mm 50 per cent GGBS oversite concrete” element scores an “A”.
More information on how to specify concretes that incorporate recycled
• The “chipboard (P5) decking on timber joists with insulation, over aggregates is available in Concrete Structures 7 see
100mm 50 per cent GGBS oversite concrete (100 per cent RCA)” scores www.concretecentre.com/publications.
an “A+”. 100 per cent RCA implies that 100 per cent of the aggregate in
the concrete is Recycled Concrete Aggregate.

There are other elements in the guide where the specification of recycled
aggregates does not change the rating.

Whether the use of recycled aggregates improves an element’s rating in

the guide does not reflect all the sustainability impacts of sourcing the
To ensure a sustainable
material. The calculation happens without consideration of the transport design only specify
distances involved in the use of the materials and it is up to the specifier
to consider this (as a sustainability issue) as it is not captured by the
recycled aggregates if they
Green Guide. can be locally sourced.
Designers should already be aware that nearly 100 per cent of hard
demolition waste is used [4] and therefore specification of recycled
aggregates does not decrease virgin aggregate extraction. Specification
only changes the location in which recycled aggregates are used.

8
Table 2: Implications of transporting recycled aggregates

Material Return Cradle- Transport Total kg/ +/- % CO2 There is increasing interest in the use of recycled aggregates,
delivery to-gate kg/ tonne tonne
distance (kg CO2/ [11] with some clients specifying a minimum percentage of recycled
to and tonne)
from site materials in projects.
by road
(km)
The current version of the guide gives a large reward for the use
Virgin aggregate [6, 12] 58.5 6.6 2.7 9.3 0.0% of recycled aggregates. The size of this reward is disproportionate
to the environmental impact as the guide does not account for
aggregates being plentiful in the UK [5] and that virtually all the
Recycled C&D aggregate [7]
0 7.9 0.0 7.9 -15% recycled aggregates in the waste stream are already being re-used
(used on-site)
[4]. It does not consider transportation in comparison to sourcing
other forms of aggregates. The guide also does not consider the
Recycled C&D aggregate [7] 10 7.9 0.5 8.4 -10%
additional cementitious content that may be required in a concrete
made with recycled aggregates to ensure the same strength.
Recycled C&D aggregate [7] 20 7.9 0.9 8.8 -5%
As Table 2 shows in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, incentivising
people to use recycled aggregates as the most sustainable option,
Recycled C&D aggregate [7] 40 7.9 1.8 9.7 5%
without considering the transport of the materials, is not the best
option. Generally, when transported by road, the use of recycled
Recycled C&D aggregate [7] 100 7.9 4.5 12.4 34% aggregates is only a lower carbon option when used within 10
miles (or 15 km) of their source.
Recycled C&D aggregate [7]
(100 miles delivery distance 322 7.9 14.6 22.5 143%
by road)

Recycled C&D aggregate [7]

(200 miles delivery distance 644 7.9 29.3 37.2 301%
by road)

Optimising mass Use of admixtures

Environmental impacts in the Green Guide are linked to the weight of Around 90 per cent of concrete in the UK includes some form of
the materials. According to the guide methodology, the mass of the admixture. Admixtures are specially formulated products which are
concrete construction elements can account for around 50 per cent of added in small amounts to concrete, mortar or grout during the mixing
their overall environmental impact [8]. Therefore, where there is potential process in order to modify the concrete properties in the plastic and/or
to design out the mass whilst maintaining structural performance, this hardened state.
can have a significant positive impact on the rating. For example, a
review of Green Guide ratings shows: Admixtures can bring environmental benefits, reducing water demand
and thus cement content and overall embodied CO2. Water reductions
1. The use of a hollowcore floor slab to deliver the same structural can range from 10 per cent to over 30 per cent. Admixtures are mainly
performance as a solid slab will reduce the mass of the element organic chemicals and have inherently high embodied CO2 content,
and will get a better rating. depending on admixture type. However, the quantity of admixture
added to concrete is small, rarely more than 0.3 per cent of concrete
2. Pre-stressing, as opposed to ordinary reinforcing, can also reduce weight, and more typically, less than half this quantity.
the mass, and thus improve the rating.
Information on the use of admixtures can be received from the
3. Environmental performance with floors can be improved by Cement Admixtures Association www.admixtures.org.uk
power-floating the concrete floor, avoiding the need for a or the concrete supplier.
screeded finish, thus reducing mass.

The environmental benefit of minimising mass is counter intuitive when The thermal mass benefits of using
there is an opportunity to use it to improve the passive performance
of a building. The thermal mass available in heavyweight construction
concrete need to be balanced with
is typically a key feature of passive design, and can help reduce the the benefits of weight optimisation
demand for cooling in summer and heating in the autumn, winter and
spring. Over the life of a building, the energy saving this provides is
rewarded in the Green Guide.
significant, and can outweigh the lower embodied impacts resulting
from decreased mass.

9
The Green Guide as part of a Code
for Sustainable Homes assessment
The Code takes a holistic approach to sustainability and includes other Step 1: Ensure that you have the latest version of the Code for
social and environmental issues beyond those covered by the Green Sustainable Homes Technical Guidance
Guide. Code assessments (by licensed assessors) are carried out at two
The information in this publication is based on Version 2, May
stages: firstly the design stage and a further assessment for verification
2009 of the technical guidance; which can be downloaded from
being required at the post construction stage. The following seven steps
www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/codeguide
show how to use the Green Guide as part of a code assessment during
the design stage. Step 2: Work with a code assessor
A registered code assessor is required to carry out an assessment at the
Seven steps to using the Green Guide end of the design stage. A code assessor may also be required during
the design stage. He or she, who may be an in-house expert or an
Step 1: Ensure that you have the latest version of the Code for
external consultant, will:
Sustainable Homes Technical Guidance from the Communities
and Local Government website. • Validate assumptions and calculations.
• Use prescribed tools to make the calculations (some of the
Step 2: Work with a code assessor; a national register of assessors is
calculations in step 3 are carried out in a particular way using specific
kept up to date on the Green Book Live website.
spreadsheet tools).
Step 3: Recognise that the Green Guide contributes 4.5 per cent of
• Provide advice on how to use specifications to achieve the best
the overall score – iterative, holistic and sustainable design
overall score in the Code.

will be required, accounting for all nine categories in the Code.
In an organisation where there is considerable knowledge about the
Step 4: Refer to ‘Mat 1’: in the materials category ‘Environmental
Code it may not be necessary to engage an assessor until the point at
Impact of Materials’.
which a design stage assessment is required.
Step 5: Convert the ‘credits’ scored to ‘points’.
Step 6: Consider bespoke ratings where relevant for specific products Some practitioners will offer other design or building related services as
or construction elements. well as assessing against the Code. The BRE’s Green Book Live website
Step 7: Consider construction elements in relation to ‘Mat 2’: www.greenbooklive.com contains more information and provides
Responsible Sourcing of Materials – Basic Building Elements. contact details for all registered assessors.

Nightingale Estate, Hackney. Southern Housing Group project uses tunnel form in-situ concrete construction.

10
 Consideration of the Green
Guide ratings is but a part
of creating truly sustainable Recycling operations: crushed demolition waste to be used as secondary aggregate.

design solutions. Courtesy of Tarmac.

Step 3: Engage in a process of iterative, holistic and The interdependence between operational and embodied impacts of
sustainable design construction materials will remain essential to sustainable design and this
requires them to be considered together. When using the Green Guide
Figure 4 illustrates the importance of the guide in relation to the other
consider the A+ to E scores in conjunction with other information about
categories in the Code. Materials account for 7.2 per cent of the total
the construction element and the overall design, such as air tightness,
points available in the Code.
thermal bridging, thermal mass and overheating requirements, acoustics,
and moisture control.
The total of 7.2 percentage points available for the house’s building
fabric reflects the current ratio of embodied environmental impacts to
In practice this will mean that an iterative design process will likely need
the impact of a total building. Over time, this may change with embodied
to be employed to develop a design that satisfies a client’s requirements
impacts becoming more significant due to the UK Government’s goal for
whilst also meeting the required level of performance against the Code.
all new homes and schools to be zero carbon by 2016, all public sector
buildings by 2018, and potentially all new buildings by 2019.

Figure 4: The Code for Sustainable Homes - nine categories*

)
Environmental impact
of materials as assessed
in the Green Guide 4.5%
Energy and Emissions 36% Materials 7.2%
Responsible sourcing
of materials 2.7%

Water 9%
Management 10%

Health and well being 14%

Ecology 12%

Waste 6%

Surface water run off 2%

Pollution 3%

* Figure derived from Code for Sustainable Homes, October 2008, Communities and Local Government.

11
 Courtesy of: Martin Grant Homes

Step 4: Refer to ‘Mat 1’ in the materials category Therefore, in principle:

‘Environmental Impact of Materials’
Mat 1 is the specific section of the Code where credits are scored
according to the Green Guide ratings. This section contributes 4.5 per
cent of the total marks available in the Code (62.5 per cent of the points
available in the Materials category) [9].
There is a mandatory requirement for at least three of the following five
major elements of the building envelope to achieve a Green Guide rating
of D or above.
• Roof
• External walls
• Internal walls (including separating walls)
• Upper and ground floors (including separating floors)
• Windows
Credits for this section are awarded based on the specification of all
five elements, with credits awarded as set out in the table below. After
adding credits for the five elements together the final score in a Mat 1
calculation is always ‘rounded down’ (i.e. 9.75 becomes 9).
Table 3: Calculation of credits for the environmental impact of the five
major elements of the building envelope in the Code
Green Guide Rating Credits
A+ Rating 3
A Rating 2
• If three of the five elements are rated as D and the other two as C
then the overall score is 1.
• The maximum credits achievable for this section is for five A+ rated
elements, each scoring three points, with a total of 15.
However, the Code Mat 1 calculator tool must be used to carry out
an assessment. BRE makes this tool available to registered code
assessors. The tool takes into account issues such as:
• ‘Rounding down’ the final score as explained above.
• 
Composite designs: where there is more than one specification for
an element (e.g. more than one type of external wall being used for
a dwelling) credits are awarded for that element, based on the
area weighted rating of each specification.
The Code technical manual contains guidance for designing multiple
dwellings contained within a single envelope, or for mixed use
developments. It also states that where there are several identical buildings
with identical building envelopes there is no need to assess the
buildings separately.
The technical guidance for the Code also indicates the example evidence
required by an assessor at the design stage. At the post construction
stage it is also necessary to ensure that the evidence provided at the
design stage is still valid, and that no changes have occurred during
construction. Where changes have occurred, the code assessor is likely
to re-assess the calculations.

B Rating 1

C Rating 0.5

D Rating 0.25

E Rating 0

12
Step 5: Convert the credits scored in this Mat 1 section
to points
Before moving on to the next step in the process, the ‘credits’ accumulated
by the construction elements must be converted to Code ‘points’.
Product specific profiles published by BRE are available if they have been
commissioned by the manufacturer. The product specific ratings reflect
the manufacturing environment and methods of an individual company,
and offer a wider range of possible ratings to the designer.

Individual manufacturers will provide information on products

A design is assessed against the Code out of a total available points score
of 100. There are a different number of ‘credits’ available in each of the
nine categories and each is judged as carrying a different weight in the
overall sustainability assessment.
Table 4 below features in the Technical Guidance for the Code (Version
2, May 2009) and gives the approximate weighted value of each credit in
the materials category as 0.3. Therefore, a score of 15 credits in the Mat 1
section is equal to 0.3 * 15 = 4.5 points, a score of 10 credits is equal to
0.3 * 10 = 3 points.
with specific ratings scoring more highly than the generic ratings.
By requesting a copy of the supplier’s BRE certificate, it will give
information that the code assessor would use in an assessment.
When a specific company product with a product specific rating is
specified it may be necessary to use the BRE mixing desk. The mixing
desk is an Excel spreadsheet available to code assessors that allows part
of a generic construction element (e.g. a standard block used in a square
metre of wall) to be substituted with a specific product and how this
substitution would change the score available for that building element.

Table 4: Total credits available, weighting factors and points 2. In the case of specifications that have no matching
rating in the Green Guide

Weighting Approximate
Categories of Total credits in factor weighted
In the case of a design specification that has no matching rating
environmental impact each category (% points value of each in the Green Guide or no company or product specific rating there
contribution) credit
are alternatives:
Category 1
Energy and CO2 Emissions
29 36.4% 1.26 • The
 appointed code assessor may be able to find a similar
Category 2 specification. For instance, if there is a similar specification in the
6 9.0% 1.50
Water guide for which there is a rating, then that can be used instead.
Category 3
Materials
24 7.2% 0.30 • If in doubt, or if no similar specification is available, the assessor
Category 4
can contact the BRE Materials team who will advise which
4 2.2% 0.55
Surface Water Run-off rating should be used.
Category 5
7 6.4% 0.91
Waste

Category 6
4 2.8% 0.70
Pollution

Category 7
Health and Wellbeing 12 14.0% 1.17

Category 8
9 10.0% 1.11
Management

Category 9
Ecology 9 12.0% 1.33

Total - 100.0% -

Step 6: Consider using or obtaining ‘bespoke’ ratings where

relevant for specific products or construction elements
There are two situations when it is relevant to use bespoke ratings
for construction elements:

1. When a manufacturer has its own product specific rating

Generic ratings are reported for the specifications that feature in the
Green Guide Online and the Green Guide publication. These generic
ratings reflect average data collected from a number of companies
and product manufacturing sites.

There are a range of blocks available that provide A+ ratings.

13
Step 7: Consider construction elements in relation to ‘Mat 2’:
Responsible Sourcing of Basic Building Elements
The aim of the Mat 2 section is to recognise and encourage the specification
of responsibly sourced materials. Responsible sourcing of materials addresses
issues such as stakeholder engagement, labour practices, health and safety,
quality management, legal compliance, local communities, transport,
environmental management systems and the management of supply chains
upstream of the manufacturer.
The building elements considered in this section of the Code are:
• Frame
• Ground floor
• Upper floors (including separating floors)
• Roof
• External walls
• Internal walls (including separating walls)
• Foundation/substructure (excluding sub-base materials)
• Staircase
Up to 80 per cent of assessed materials in these building elements need
to be responsibly sourced in order to gain points. Responsible sourcing is
demonstrated through certification schemes.
The Code includes a MAT 2 Calculator Tool to enable designers to work
through these calculations. Evidence required to achieve a particular
score at the design stage could include letters of intent to use suppliers
of virgin and recycled materials with environmental managements
systems, or certificates issued by BRE to demonstrate performance
achieved against BES 6001 -`Framework Standard for the Responsible
Sourcing of Construction Products’. More detail is provided in the Technical
Guide for the Code and approved products to BES 6001 will be listed on
the `Green Book Live’ website and updated regularly
www.greenbooklive.com
Scoring points for “Responsible Sourcing”
Responsible sourcing is about improving the social, environmental
and ethical standards throughout the supply chain. In the Code,
2.7 per cent of points are available for the Responsible Sourcing of
Materials.
The concrete industry can demonstrate the highest level of
responsible sourcing based on effective management systems, the
local availability of materials, and well-managed supply chains. The
industry was the first to link its own sustainable construction strategy,
indicators and targets to the responsible sourcing standard developed
by BRE, BES 6001: Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of
Construction Products.
During 2009 we expect an increasing number of concrete products
to achieve certification against this standard.
For more information contact concrete product manufacturers or
visit www.sustainableconcrete.org.uk.
14
At the post-completion stage, the evidence required to demonstrate
performance may include copies of environmental management
system certificates. To achieve the higher scores where concrete
is used, certificates for the management of the cement, extraction
of aggregates and the limestone used to make the cement will be
required, as well as for the subsequent concrete plant or factory.
These certificates can be obtained directly from concrete product
manufacturers.
Table Cat 3.1 in the Code’s Technical Guide provides more detailed
information on the credits available for all construction elements
at both the design and post completion stages. Credits will vary
according to responsible sourcing practices within the supply chain.
From May 2009, concrete products certified to BES 6001 -`Framework
Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products’ can
achieve the highest level of credits available under the materials
section of the Code.
In order to demonstrate compliance and qualify for credits, a
compasny will need to have an environmental management system,
which could include ISO 14001, and Environmental Management
and Audit Scheme (EMAS) system, or, for small or medium-sized
companies, a system complying with level 4 of BS 8555 (`British
Standard for Environmental Management, Small and Medium Sized
Businesses’). All of these systems will need to be externally verified.
As with the Mat 1 section, once “credits” have been calculated they
need to be converted to “points”. Each credit is worth 0.30 points.
The maximum available points under Mat 2 is 1.8%.
The Mat 3 section of the guide (Responsible Sourcing of Finishing
Elements) can contribute a maximum of 0.9%. Concrete based materials
are less likely to be used amongst the finishing elements and are not
included within the scope of this publication.
Concrete products accredited
to BES 6001 can now achieve
the highest tier of Responsible
Sourcing credits under the
Code for Sustainable Homes.
The Green Guide and element ratings in the
context of sustainable design
For a designer to be able to use the guide appropriately it is important to
look at the guide in context, as it provides information on just one piece The benefit of thermal mass
of the sustainability jigsaw.
Over the lifetime of a home, the energy used to heat, light and cool
it (operational impacts) are greater than the embodied impact of
As part of a full sustainability audit the guide can be used to estimate
the manufacture of the materials used to build it.
some embodied environmental impacts, whilst other tools need to
be used to assess the social, human, economic and the environmental
27% of the UK’s carbon emissions come from operational impacts
impacts associated with the operation of the building.
from homes. It is essential that they are taken in to account when
evaluating the performance of construction materials.
For instance, the common factor that decides if construction elements
are considered as equivalent in the guide is their U-value performance.
Independent research carried out by Arup Research &
U-value performance is only one significant measure when considering
Development takes account of expert predictions for climate
sustainable design. Part L of the Building Regulations is changing to
change and demonstrates that the thermal mass in masonry
accommodate other factors, including the thermal mass of a structure
homes reduces the need for energy intensive air conditioning [10].
and its relationship to overheating and passive solar gains. Thermal
mass is an important factor in the design of energy efficient low-carbon
dwellings – the recognised benefits of thermal mass are currently not Figure 5: Cumulative CO2 emissions (air-conditioned type)
captured in the guide.
140
Lightweight house
120
CO2 Emissions (tonnes)

100
Medium
80 weight house

60

40
St. Matthew’s keyworker estate, Brixton. Additional embodied CO2
20 offset in 11 years
Courtesy of Benedict Luxmoore/arcaid.co.uk
0
2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060
Years

The research also highlights the additional savings that can be

achieved through using thermal mass to capture solar gains,
thereby reducing the consumption of winter heating fuel. The
CO2 savings associated with heavyweight construction can offset
the slightly higher level of embodied CO2 in as little as 11 years and
ultimately lead to the lowest whole life CO2 emissions.

This effect is even more pronounced in commercial properties.

For further reading on thermal mass see Thermal mass for housing
brochure and other related publications at
www.concretecentre.com/publications

Great Bow Yard, Somerset features a sunspace as part of a passive

solar design that utilises the thermal mass of concrete. Courtesy of
Building for Life/Design for Homes. Photography: Richard Mullane.

15
Overheating and the guide
Thermal mass is crucial to the thermal performance of buildings. It helps to
prevent overheating as well as storing heat.
However, materials with low density score well in the guide on the whole
because they use less material and therefore are judged to have less
environmental impact. The specification of light materials may lead to higher
energy use because of the need for additional cooling or heating. This is
because thermal mass is a function of specific heat capacity and density.
To find out more information Thermal Mass Explained is available on
www.concretecentre.com/publications.
For example, in energy efficient designs for housing, schools and offices,
heavy concrete floors are often used to store heat and to preserve cooling
in the summer, thereby avoiding air-conditioning (with its high energy and
carbon impact) and occupant discomfort. As a consequence of the guide
and its underpinning methodology, the benefits of thermal mass in domestic
buildings are not recognised. Heavy floors do not achieve the highest ratings,
whereas lightweight floors do. Therefore designers need to consider
St. Matthew’s keyworker estate, Brixton.
Courtesy of Benedict Luxmoore/arcaid.co.uk
16
overheating control, acoustic performance, and structural and air tightness
requirements in parallel to using the guide.
The same principles can be applied to external elements, particularly roofs,
where roofs with the same U-values might have very different thermal mass.
The consequence can be lower internal peak temperatures of up to 4°C and a
reduced need for air conditioning.
High-rise residential developments and the guide
The Domestic part of the Green Guide is used mainly for specifying low-rise
housing. If it is used to specify high rise residential projects, there can be some
unintended outcomes, because the use of some materials (which attract
higher Green Guide ratings) may not be appropriate for multi storey use, for a
number of reasons, for example due to higher structural loadings.
Therefore it has been recommended by BRE that it is more appropriate to use
the Commercial part of the Green Guide for Specification when specifying
a multi-storey residential building. This approach should be agreed with the
appointed code assessor as early as possible in the design stage.
The Green Guide as part of a non-domestic
assessment
The winner of The Concrete Centre’s
Sustainability Award 2008,
55 Baker Street, London, proved
that long-term robustness and
adaptability are key to sustainable
construction. The Green Guide in
its current form does not deal with
buildings with a life longer than 60
years, nor does it incorporate the
refurbishment of existing buildings.
The guide is available online for five types of non-domestic buildings:
• Commercial buildings, such as offices
• Educational
• Healthcare
• Retail
• Industrial
BREEAM ratings can be used to assess the environmental performance
of any type of building (new and existing). Standard versions exist for
common building types (including courts, healthcare, industrial, offices
and education) and less common building types can be assessed against
tailored criteria under the bespoke BREEAM version.
Essentially the areas to be aware of when using the Green Guide as
part of a non-domestic assessment of sustainable construction are
very similar to those associated with the use of the guide in conjunction
with the Code. The Green Guide for non-domestic buildings is used, in
a manner similar to the domestic guide in the Code for Sustainable
Homes, in the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)
system www.breeam.org.
Elements in BREEAM are not examined in quite the same way as in
the Code. BREEAM accounts for the different areas of elements, as
opposed to the Code that gives equal weighting to the elements,
regardless of whether one is significantly bigger than the other.
Therefore, when working with BREEAM, look for the best Green
Guide ratings for the elements with the largest surface area first;
i.e. start with floors, walls and roofs.
The fact that the guide is not the answer for all environmental or
sustainability questions is even more important in the context of
non-domestic buildings because of the increased scope and scale of
the development. For example, during the use of a commercial building
there are major issues associated with the health and productivity of
people at work, as well as energy use and carbon emissions.
Points are available in the assessments for ‘Materials’. This section uses
the Green Guide to allocate some of the points available. Points are
also available for the re-use of building facades and existing building
structures and for the responsible sourcing of materials. Additional points
are available for the use of recycled aggregates in the Waste section of
BREEAM, on top of the incentive already given in the guide itself (refer to
page 8 for more on when it is ‘green’ to use recycled aggregates).
When using the guide for non-domestic buildings, designers can use the
guidance in the ‘achieving the highest ratings’ section of this publication
(page 7) to use concrete and recycled materials in the most sustainable
manner possible.
17
The Green Guide of the future?
BRE advised in late 2008 that, in future, the guide needs to be used Assessing the use of mineral resources using abiotic
and developed to consider the relationship between specifications,
resource depletion
their environmental performance and the overall environmental or
In the guide an approach called Total Material Requirement (TMR) is used
sustainability performance of a building over its life.
to assess mineral resource depletion. Because this is done on a mass
basis it has a significant effect on the ratings. The end result is that
The concrete industry fully supports this advice, and sees it as vital to
50 per cent of the score for a tonne of concrete could be attributed to
the development of an effective system. In the interim, information is
this measure, depending on the use of recycled aggregates. This
available to allow designers to make these kinds of calculations and
explains why products of a lower mass are assessed as more sustainable
decisions themselves.
in the guide.
The guide has already gone through a number of iterations. EcoPoint scores
Whilst the quantity of materials used in a product is a very important
and A+ to E ratings have changed too. More of these changes can be
measure of sustainability, this measure does not link extraction volumes
expected on an ongoing basis.
to the availability of resources. Best practice in life cycle assessment is
to use an approach called Abiotic Resource Depletion (ARD) to assess
New standards being developed in Europe, most notably
the sustainable use of non-living abiotic resources (such as concrete,
CEN TC350, Sustainability of construction works, will provide standardised
asphalt and steel). This approach takes into account the relative scarcity
methodologies for assessing the sustainability of buildings.
or abundance of the materials.
Topics of particular relevance to the concrete industry, are
As Friends of the Earth has pointed out, the UK is self-sufficient in
discussed below.
the materials to make concrete for hundreds of thousands of years.
Meanwhile, the industry works hard to minimise impacts of extraction.
Wastage rates
Currently, the calculations behind the guide assume that, on average,
Including the impacts of biotic resources
7.5 per cent of ready-mixed concrete is wasted. This has been based on
Currently, only products made from mineral resources (such as concrete,
quantity surveyor’s data and thus includes an allowance for over-ordering.
asphalt and steel) have their extraction assessed, as above, in the guide.
The 7.5 per cent figure suggests that over 1.9 million cubic metres of
The guide would be a more rounded assessment tool if it included the
concrete are wasted each year. Contractors placing concrete on-site
impacts of extracting and using non-mineral resources too, such as
could not withstand the financial cost of such a high level of inefficiency,
biomass and timber. This omission has been partly due to a lack of
even in a buoyant construction market. The Mineral Products Association
methods for including these impacts in a LCA. However, as the guide
(MPA) believes the true figure for wastage on site is approximately 2.5
is becoming such an important decision-making tool this gap needs
per cent maximum. MPA is in the process of collecting more data on
to be filled to prevent decisions being made on the sustainability of
waste and has made representations to BRE.
products with incomplete environmental information.
Concrete that is not used on-site and is returned in a ready-mixed
concrete truck is rarely wasted. Where possible, and technically appropriate, Public availability of data
it may be re-assigned to a lower grade use. If not, it is used to produce Many practices and consultancies are beginning to come to terms with
recycled concrete aggregate or the aggregate is recovered. When it the different environmental categories and would like to make their own
is to be used for recycled concrete aggregate, the concrete often has decisions about which of the impacts are more important than others. To
some extra water added, is re-mixed and then discharged into a storage do so they require access to the 13 indicators’ raw data for each construction
area. To cover the costs of providing the facilities to recover or recycle element. Practices also want this information for each raw material so that
concrete, ready-mixed concrete suppliers charge their customers for they can model the results for specific construction elements not featured in
‘returned concrete’ i.e. concrete returned to a batching plant from a the guide. Making this information publicly available is something that many
delivery site, thereby deterring over ordering and potential wastage. practices and consultancies want BRE to do.

Practices can also potentially source this information by requesting it

from the relevant trade associations.

18
 Proof of the excellent durability
of concrete comes in the shape
of Marine Crescent, Folkestone,
a concrete building that has
stood just a stone’s throw from
the sea since 1870 and which,
following renovation, looks set
to celebrate its 200th birthday.

References and notes

1 Statement On The Green Guide From BRE Global And The Construction
Products Association, published: 1/12/2008, available at
www.bre.co.uk/newsdetails.jsp?id=524
2 The points available in the other versions of BREEAM vary, as the
sections (Materials, Management, Health & Wellbeing, Energy, etc.)
in BREEAM have different weightings depending on the building
type being assessed
3 T he Concrete Industry Sustainability Performance Report: 1st Report, Code) are for responsible sourcing of materials criteria discussed in
Concrete Industry Sustainable Construction Forum, 2009.
Available from www.sustainableconcrete.org.uk
4 S urvey of Arisings and Use of Alternatives to Primary Aggregates in
England 2005, Construction and Waste, DCLG, 2007
7 QPA Environmental Profiles Report for “QPA Generic Recycled C&D
waste, BRE, 2007
8 The significance of this matter is heightened as the guide includes an
assessment of the impact of extracting mineral resources from the
environment whilst excluding a measure for the impact of extracting
biotic (living) resources
9 The remaining 37.5 per cent (2.7 per cent of the total available in the
Step 7
10 Embodied and operational carbon dioxide emissions from housing:
a case study on the effects of thermal mass and climate change, Hacker,
de Saulles, Minson, Holmes, 2006

5 McLaren D, Bullock S, Yousef N, Tomorrow’s World: Britain’s Share in a
Sustainable Future, Friends of the Earth, Earthscan, 1999
6 Q
 PA Environmental Profiles Report for “QPA Generic Limestone”,
BRE, 2007
11 2008 Defra’s GHG Conversion Factors Note Values for articulated
lorries >17 tonnes assuming average load of 21.3 tonnes:
www.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/reporting/pdf/ghg-cf-
guidelines-annexes2008.pdf
12 Data calculated from 2008 QPA Sustainable Development Report.

For further reading and information, there are many publications available online which explore a variety of related topics.
Please visit www.concretecentre.com/publications.

19
 The Concrete Centre
Riverside House,
4 Meadows Business Park,
Station Approach, Blackwater,
Camberley, Surrey GU17 9AB

First published 2009

© MPA - The Concrete Centre, 2009
Ref: TCC/05/17
ISBN: 978-1-904818-79-3

The Concrete Centre is part of the

Mineral Products Association, the trade
association for the aggregates,
asphalt, cement, concrete, lime, mortar
and silica sand industries.

www.mineralproducts.org

www.concretecentre.com

All advice or information from MPA -The Concrete Centre is intended only for use in the UK by those who will evaluate the significance and limitations of its contents and take
responsibility for its use and application. No liability (including that for negligence) for any loss resulting from such advice or information is accepted by Mineral Products Association
or its subcontractors, suppliers or advisors. Readers should note that the publications from MPA - The Concrete Centre are subject to revision from time to time and should therefore
ensure that they are in possession of the latest version.