In fact, the refurbishments at Charles Darwin House have been so successful from an environmental perspective that the office space has been given an ‘excellent’ rating by a BREEAM assessment team.
BREEAM is the most widely-used environmental assessment method in the UK and the rating puts the home of the British Ecological Society, the Society for Experimental Biology and the Biochemical Society among the ‘greenest’ buildings in the country.
“We are delighted that BREEAM Excellent has been achieved,” said Dr Hazel Norman, executive director of the British Ecological Society.
“It was not an easy objective as it involved transforming a 1950s office which needed a significant amount of refurbishment.”
Bike racks were installed as part of the building’s environmental overhaul and staff at the site are said to be “extremely positive” about the changes to their London office space.
The office space refit was carried out by the Morgan Lovell company, which has its own team of BREEAM assessors and is a member of the UK Green Building Council.
Editor’s notes: BREEAM stands for ‘Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method’ and was launched in 1990.
The sustainability rating system assesses the environmental impact of new commercial buildings and takes into account construction methods, energy production, waste management provisions and amenities that encourage sustainable transport to and from the property such as bicycle storage with shower facilities, as well as many other factors.
In 2023, 535,000 buildings had been BREEAM certified and a further had been 2,217,000 registered for certification.
As the world works towards net carbon zero status by 2050, more and more businesses are seeking office space with enhanced ESG credentials.