There is continued expansion across the U.S. and strong demand for credible, measurable, performance-based sustainability standards, according to BREEAM, in its recently released 2025 report.
In 2025, the total number of BREEAM certifications in North America grew by more than 90 percent compared to 2023, underscoring its growing role in the commercial real estate sector. California, the nation’s largest economy, accounting for roughly 14.5 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Products (GDP), led the expansion with more than 60 new BREEAM-certified projects. Texas, the second‑largest U.S. state economy, also emerged as the second-largest regional market by volume of assets certified in 2025.
Other fast-growing economies contributed to BREEAM’s momentum: Minnesota, Tennessee, and Indiana experienced certification growth of 700 percent, 450 percent, and 250 percent, respectively, while Alabama, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Utah all welcomed their first BREEAM-certified projects.
BREEAM continued to build momentum in Canada, signaling increasing cross-border alignment around science-driven approaches to sustainability. Together, these trends point to accelerating demand for resilient, lower-carbon buildings across long-established economic centers and rapidly expanding North American markets alike.
“Our momentum is notable not just for its scale, but for where it’s happening and how clearly it tracks broader real estate fundamentals,” said Breana Wheeler, U.S. director of operations at BRE. “We’re seeing strong adoption across states that represent a meaningful share of U.S. economic output, including markets that haven’t historically been associated with sustainability leadership. It’s indicative of a broader shift in market behavior — sustainability performance is increasingly a primary lens for owners and investors as they assess long-term value, resilience, and risk.”
Across asset classes, BREEAM certifications increased steadily, with adoption spanning diverse projects throughout the built environment. Student accommodation, multifamily, and office projects recorded annual certification growth of 250 percent, 56 percent and 41 percent, respectively, as owners and operators more consistently applied performance-based frameworks across varied property types. Industrial properties continue to anchor BREEAM’s strongest asset class, driven in large part by its ability to support long-term value creation in triple-net lease portfolios, where aligning sustainability performance across owners and tenants is more complex but directly supports durability and operational efficiency.
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