Achieving BREEAM Assessment Excellent rating for Parc Adfer energy from waste facility in North Wales

Energy from waste facility targets BREEAM Excellent rating

Parc Adfer is an energy from waste facility located in Deeside, North Wales, designed to process unrecyclable waste and convert it into energy, thereby reducing landfill use and generating electricity. It processes up to 232,000 tonnes of waste per year and generates enough electricity to power more than 45,000 homes. 

From the outset, enfinium – one of the UK’s leading energy-from-waste operators – was committed to creating a facility that achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating for sustainability performance. BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for the built environment, providing widely recognised third-party certification of an asset’s environmental, social and economic sustainability performance.  

As a BREEAM licensed assessor company, SYSTRA was appointed by the project’s engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor, CNIM UK, to manage the formal BREEAM assessment process for Parc Adfer.

BREEAM criteria integrated at every stage of design and build 

The Parc Adfer development was classed as a BREEAM “bespoke” project, meaning it would be assessed using customised criteria, tailored to the project’s unique use and sustainability opportunities.  

SYSTRA worked in close collaboration with key individuals from the client and contractor teams to integrate relevant BREEAM requirements into the design and build process. Our work included understanding and identifying any risks and opportunities, and helping to make the assessment process as straightforward as possible.  

Our BREEAM specialists provided technical support, guidance and feedback on BREEAM criteria and the evidence required to meet them throughout all stages of the project. Our advice ensured that sustainable measures for the proposed development were successfully incorporated into the design from an early stage, and that all project documentation was aligned with relevant BREEAM standards. 

Well-defined roles and responsibilities keep performance on track

To establish a clear set of actions and targets for all parties, our BREEAM Assessor led a pre-assessment workshop with the client, contractor and design teams to review baseline information and define roles and responsibilities. 

Working alongside all project teams, we held regular progress meetings to review the status of key assessment criteria and monitor progress against BREEAM performance indicators. These regular meetings enabled queries to be raised as the project progressed, and any issues or constraints to be identified and addressed in good time. 

BREEAM Excellent rating achieved with zero non-conformances

The proactive and thorough approach adopted by SYSTRA led to both the design stage and post-construction stage achieving certification ahead of programme. What’s more, there were zero observations, queries or non-conformances raised in the final BREEAM assessment report.  

The completed development achieved its target BREEAM rating of Excellent with a final assessment score of 73.8%.