Overview

The Built Environment Sustainability Scorecard (BESS) is used by many Victorian councils to assess whether a building meets best practice sustainability outcomes during the town planning stage.
A BESS Assessment supports your planning application by demonstrating performance across key environmental categories including energy, water, indoor comfort, and stormwater management.

We prepare council-ready BESS reports that clearly show how your project satisfies sustainability objectives — helping you avoid unnecessary delays during planning review.

What BESS Assesses

BESS evaluates sustainability outcomes across the following key categories:

Our goal is to ensure your project meets required BESS score targets without unnecessary design changes or cost increases.

What You Receive

Your BESS submission package includes:

• Completed BESS Online Scorecard

• Council-ready Sustainable Design Assessment (SDA) or Sustainable Management Plan (SMP) depending on project size

• NatHERS Thermal Performance Assessment (if applicable)

• WSUD / STORM / MUSIC modelling inputs (where required)

• Mark-ups and specification guidance to support architectural documentation

• Support responding to council feedback or requests for clarification

We coordinate directly with your architect or building designer to ensure recommendations are practical, efficient, and simple to adopt.

Suitable For

• Single dwellings & dual occupancies

• Townhouses & medium-density developments

• Apartment and mixed-use buildings

• Commercial & industrial projects requiring planning approval

• Subdivisions and infill developments

If you’re not sure whether your project requires SDA or SMP, we’ll confirm this for your council area.

Why Choose Us

• Reports structured in line with council expectations

• Fast turnaround times for urgent planning submissions

• Practical design advice that supports cost-effective compliance

• Clear documentation that is easy for planning officers to review

• Ongoing support until the project is approved

We help you meet sustainability requirements smoothly and confidently.

What We Need to Start

Send us:

• Architectural drawings (PDF or DWG)

• Site & landscape information (if available)

• Window schedule (if available)

• Project address and council area

We will review and provide a fixed-fee quote and turnaround time.