Case Studies>Guide
Material Index Compliance Guide
New registrations under BREEAM 2018 and V6 closed on 27 January 2026. Every new UK project registering for BREEAM now assesses against V7.
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BREEAM V7 (opens in new tab) changed a lot beyond circular economy: Ene 01 moved from demand-based metrics to performance outcomes, a new Ene 02 covers predicted operational energy and carbon, EU Taxonomy alignment runs through the scheme, and six new credits were added, mostly daylighting and demand response.
This piece stays narrow: what changed for reused and reclaimed material, and where it lands in a project's programme.
Wst 01 Construction Waste Management — 5 credits plus 1 exemplary. Complete a pre-demolition audit of any existing buildings, structures or hard surfaces being considered for demolition, at Concept Design, before strip-out or demolition starts, by a competent person.
The audit must determine whether refurbishment or reuse is feasible, maximise recovery for high-grade reuse where demolition goes ahead, and feed into the Resource Management Plan, with actual waste later checked against the audit's forecast.
A further three credits reward construction resource efficiency, one rewards diversion from landfill at 70-95% depending on waste type. The manual's waste group table names reclaimed bricks as an example under Architectural Features.
Wst 06 Disassembly and Adaptability — 2 credits. About whether a building is designed for future reuse. One of its seven disassembly principles:
“Supporting re-use (circular economy) business models: this principle is concerned with supporting the market for re-used, refurbished, remanufactured, and recycled materials and products now and in the future, in support of circular economy business models.”
Materials should be selected for which “it can be anticipated that a market will exist for their re-use in the future, and for which facilities exist for any required handling or processing.” When Overbury relocated an Orangebox Air 27 meeting pod off a Canary Wharf project through Material Index instead of scrapping it, that saved an estimated 3 tonnes of CO₂e against buying new.
Overbury · Canary Wharf
Through collaboration with Material Index, Overbury relocated an Orangebox Air 27 pod off-site from a Canary Wharf project to a partner ready for reuse, saving an estimated 3 tonnes of CO₂e compared with buying new.
Arbeit Studios · Lisson Arches, London
Material Index delivered procurement for Arbeit Studios' mixed-use workspace at Lisson Arches, sourcing from commercial strip-out projects and reconditioning trade partners to supply 261 salvaged spot track lights, 30 preowned office chairs, reclaimed RAF floor boxes and secondary plywood seating units.
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Aim: avoid unnecessary materials use arising from over-specification, without compromising structural stability, durability or the service life of the building. One credit, available on fully fitted, shell and core, and shell only assessments alike, with no minimum standards attached.
Assessed across the full programme, not once at the end: targets set at Preparation and Brief and Concept Design, reported at five stages (Preparation and Brief, Concept Design, Developed Design, Technical Design, Construction), implementation recorded during the last three, actuals reported at close.
BREEAM's definition names reuse directly: “reusing existing demolition and strip-out materials and, where appropriate, procuring materials with higher levels of recycled content.”
The manual lists thirteen example material efficiency measures. Three of them are ours:
Wst 02 Use of Recycled and Sustainably Sourced Aggregates — 1 credit plus 1 exemplary, aggregate only.
Mat 03 Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products — 4 credits plus 1 exemplary, built around certification schemes for new products, not the credit to lead with for reuse.
These requirements run from a decision made before a design team is appointed through to a manual that outlives the building's first occupier. Stage 2 is the one that can't be recovered.
Wst 01 and Wst 06 both land at Concept Design, before strip-out begins.
Book a Pre-Demolition AuditThe usual gap is documentation, not availability: confirmation of what a material is, where it came from, and that it's traceable enough for an assessor to accept the claim.
Around 70% of Material Index pre-demolition audits are commissioned specifically for BREEAM, usually alongside other planning requirements — a GLA Circular Economy Statement most commonly on London schemes, which our pre-redevelopment audits cover.
The platform reports against pathway targets and European Waste Catalogue codes natively. We've supported BREEAM assessments for Canary Wharf, Westminster City Council and British Land, working alongside consultants including Atelier Ten, Hoare Lea and Arup.
What a reclaimed listing carries: condition, origin, quantity and end-of-life scenario, recorded at the point of audit.
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