The Building Research Establishment (BRE) recognized significant achievements in the U.S. market at the 2025 BREEAM Awards, which honored the people and projects leading the industry in sustainable building design, development and management. Held in London, the awards brought together leaders from across the global built environment to celebrate accomplishments across BREEAM’s network, reinforcing the role of sustainability strategies in driving long-term value and resilience.
While the following U.S. nominees did not receive the top award in their respective categories, being shortlisted reflects an immense achievement and underscores the caliber of their work in advancing sustainability within the built environment. The 2025 U.S. shortlisted nominees include:
- DWS US Portfolio, GRESB Portfolio Integration Award
- PGIM Real Estate, GRESB Portfolio Integration Award
- CBRE Inc, Best Assessor Company
- Cushman & Wakefield, Best Assessor Company
- GreenGen, Best Assessor Company
- Iron Mountain Data Centers, BREEAM NC Commercial
- Chris Pennington, BREEAM ESG Outstanding Achievement Award
This year’s U.S. nominees were recognized across several categories, reflecting the growing dominance of BREEAM as a science-driven framework for improving performance, operational excellence and value creation in U.S. real estate.
“In today’s economic climate, real estate owners, investors and operators are under pressure to demonstrate the value and resilience of their assets,” said Breana Wheeler, U.S. director of operations at BRE. “The projects and professionals recognized at this year’s BREEAM Awards demonstrate what’s possible when sustainability goals are treated as drivers of operational excellence, and we’re proud to celebrate their achievements.”
The event also commemorated a major milestone for BREEAM and CitizenM, with the hospitality brand’s Menlo Park Hotel becoming the first hotel in the U.S. to achieve an Outstanding rating under BREEAM In-Use, the highest level of certification available.
Chosen as the hotel partner for Meta’s campus in Menlo Park, California, the Menlo Park property was designed to meet rigorous sustainability, well-being and efficiency goals. The project serves as a benchmark for sustainable hospitality in the U.S., demonstrating how early planning, data-driven decision making and stakeholder alignment enable high-performance outcomes in operational buildings.
These recognitions highlight BREEAM’s expanding U.S. footprint and its position as a trusted method for evaluating and improving building performance across all asset classes and lifecycle stages.
BREEAM has been the world-leading sustainability assessment method for planning projects, infrastructure and buildings for over 30 years. There are now nearly 3 million BREEAM-registered buildings across 104 countries. In 2024, BREEAM saw robust expansion across North America, including a 43% increase in the total number of assets certified by BREEAM in the region.
BRE’s upcoming Version 7 update to BREEAM is set to drive progress across the commercial real estate sector by advancing sustainability efforts. With expanded carbon benchmarking, full lifecycle coverage, and streamlined data collection, the update will allow users greater access to the latest built environment innovations grounded in a rigorous, science-based approach.
