The Chartered Institute of Building is today backing a campaign, launched by the UK Green Building Council and Aldersgate Group, to retain the BREEAM requirement in schools construction.

The Department for Education is proposing scrapping BREEAM requirements for new and refurbished schools as part of its drive to streamline procurement and reduce costs in the process, outlined last year in the James Review.

Alan Crane, CIOB President, stated "This is a misguided move that contradicts the coalition's statement that they aim to be the 'greenest government ever. Designing, building and operating to BREEAM standards yields hugely beneficial energy savings for minimal capital cost, reducing both operational expenditure and carbon emissions."

The UK-GBC and Aldersgate Group stated, "We understand that Michael Gove at the Department for Education is considering dropping the requirement for schools to be built or refurbished to BREEAM standards. We think this is incredibly short-sighted. BREEAM, like all standards/tools, may not be perfect but to scrap its use entirely would have deeply concerning implications not just for the quality of the nation's schools, but for the construction and property sector more widely."

The CIOB is serious about reducing carbon from the built environment, having recently launched its free, interactive online Carbon Action 2050 toolkit.