BRE and CEEQUAL are to bring together their BREEAM and CEEQUAL rating schemes to create a single, science-based sustainability standard and certification tool for civil engineering and infrastructure projects in the UK and around the world.

On Monday this week (23 November), CEEQUAL’s business operations were transferred to BRE Global and will now be delivered by the BREEAM certification team with continued support from the CEEQUAL scheme management team.

The move is supported by the Institution of Civil Engineers and has been prompted by the industry’s desire for a single sustainability rating scheme that addresses the challenges that infrastructure clients, professions and contractors currently face in delivering more sustainable and resilient infrastructure.

The new scheme will also address the need for integration with building-related schemes so that clients with mixed developments can have a single combined rating for their asset.

BRE chief executive Peter Bonfield explained: ‘Our long-term aspiration with a single scheme is to bring together the significant experience and expertise behind the two rating systems to deliver enhanced environmental and social benefits for civil engineering works and better economic outcomes that benefit society, and to broaden uptake in the UK and international markets.’

Over the next two years BRE will, with the involvement of the current CEEQUAL and BREEAM delivery teams and communities, combine the best elements and features of both approaches into a new and improved holistic scheme for industry that combines CEEQUAL’s team and process-focused approach with BREEAM’s more asset-based scientific methodology.

CEEQUAL’s Roger Venables said: ‘CEEQUAL is an internationally respected rating and awards scheme and has been applied to – and positively influenced – some of the UK’s most successful infrastructure projects, such as Crossrail and the London 2012 Olympics. I and my colleagues look forward to working with BRE to develop the next-generation rating scheme that will address the significant challenges faced by those working in the sector.’

Meanwhile, BRE has announced that the Action Programme for Responsible Sourcing (APRES) network will transfer to its management from 2016, in a bid to take it to the next level. Now in its 5th year, the APRES network of more than 100 businesses acts as a centre for knowledge-sharing and dissemination of responsible sourcing practices across the UK construction industry.

BRE group business development director Dr Miles Watkins commented: "APRES has made a significant contribution to the responsible sourcing agenda in the past five years, however our industry still has a long way to go to meet best practice. Our mission is to increase the membership, extend the influence and reach, and ultimately make ethical and sustainable construction a prerequisite for business success."