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What is Breeam?Land Use & Ecology SectionOur Support

What is the Land Use & Ecology section of BREEAM certification and how to achieve a good score

BREEAM certification is one of the leading international standards for assessing the sustainability of buildings, which, among various aspects, evaluates the interaction between a building and the surrounding natural environment through the environmental category Land Use & Ecology. Below we delve into BREEAM certification, what the Land Use & Ecology section is, and our support in achieving a good score.

What is Breeam?

BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is the world's leading suite of validation and certification systems for sustainable buildings. It includes six technical standards that apply to different stages of the life cycle of a building or project: we will focus here on the standard BREEAM In-Use International.


BREEAM In-Use provides a framework for measuring and improving the performance of buildings already in use, providing support for benchmarking, assurance, and validation of operational data related to assets.


The assessment process is divided into two parts, independently certified: 

Asset Performance - evaluation of the environmental and operational performance of the building

Management performance - analysis of management and maintenance processes.


The environmental categories considered in the two assessment areas are:

  • Management
  • Health and Well being
  • Energy
  • Transport
  • Water
  • Resources
  • Resilience
  • Land Use and Ecology
  • Pollution


Based on the total score obtained in credits for each environmental category, the building receives an overall rating of "Pass", "Good", "Very Good", "Excellent", "Outstanding".

What is the Land Use & Ecology section and how much is it worth?

Condominium Land Use

The environmental category Land Use & Ecology of BREEAM In-Use International aims to promote greater awareness of how to improve the ecological value of an asset or site and the impact that the asset's operation can have on that value. The objective is to establish long-term strategies that facilitate improvement in this area.


Specifically, this category is structured into 5 sub-sections:

  • LE01 - Considers site selection (avoid areas of high ecology or, if unavoidable, manage the impact) 
  • LE02 - Assesses the ecological value of the site and how to preserve existing ecological features
  • LE03 - Considers how the project minimizes the impact on existing ecology
  • LE04 - Assesses the enhancement of site ecology (habitat, species, vegetation, green infrastructure)
  • LE05 - Considers the long-term impact on biodiversity, including management and maintenance plans


This section is not marginal for achieving a good overall score, in fact, Land Use & Ecology accounts for just under 10% of the total of the credits of the BREEAM assessment.


The importance of this category is due to the need to preserve and improve biodiversity and the natural environment, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal No. 15 of the United Nations ("Life on Land"), which aims to integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning and development processes. Landscape management can significantly impact the surrounding environment and, if implemented appropriately, can positively influence the ecological value of the site.

XNatura's support in achieving a good score

Land Use How to

Thanks to our monitoring platform, we can simplify data collection to quickly respond to some of the BREEAM criteria. In particular, in the Asset Performance assessment, we respond to:


Resilience (RSL):

  • Flood Risk Assessment (RSL 01)
  • Surface Water Run-off Impact Mitigation (RSL 02)
  • Natural Hazard Risk Assessment (RSL 03)

Land Use and Ecology (LUE):

  • Planted Area (LUE 01)
  • Ecological Features of Planted Area (LUE 02)


The data collected on our platform that respond to the above criteria can be downloaded as an automated report and used for BREEAM certification.


Regarding the Management Performance assessment, thanks to the platform and the support of our Nature Experts, we respond to:


Land Use and Ecology (LUE):

  • Ecology Report (LUE 03) 
  • Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) (LUE 04) 


To meet these criteria, a field survey is required, which our Nature Experts conduct with the Biodiversa app, directly linked to the platform. 


The output for the Management performance evaluation is a document containing the complete ecological report of the site and a biodiversity plan based on the findings of the ecological report.

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XNatura focuses on the digitalization of nature, integrating artificial intelligence, IoT sensors, satellite technologies, and cloud computing. The goal is to collect, process, and analyze environmental data to support companies, public entities, and natural parks in monitoring and managing risks and impacts on nature, biodiversity, and climate change.

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