The Code for Sustainable Homes (CODE) is an environmental assessment system for new housing in England, which has been developed and administered by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). From 1st May 2008 all new dwellings must be assessed against the CODE and its achievement displayed.

By addressing the issues raised within the scheme a developer will demonstrate superior environmental design that has tangible benefits to the purchaser, including: reduced running costs and maintenance and a flexible, healthy and comfortable internal environment. Less tangible, but of equal importance, the purchaser can be confident that the developer is likely to have addressed matters such as conserving and enhancing the site ecology and preventing the development from resulting in an increase in local flood risk.

Environmental issues are complex and highly interactive, so are grouped into the following nine categories for the purposes of the assessment:

Energy: operational energy and C02
Water: consumption issues
Materials: environmental implications of the materials used
Surface water run-off: water pollution and flood risk
Waste: household waste storage, recycling facilities and construction waste management
Pollution: air pollution (excluding CO2)
Health and well-being: internal and external issues relating to health and comfort
Management: resident and site operational issues
Ecology: ecological value of site, greenfield and brownfield issues.

Energy Access have experienced and qualified assessors who can help guide you through this process and achieve optimum scores.