Planning & ESD Performance
Clear guidance on the Built Environment Sustainability Scorecard and its role in Victorian planning applications.
For architects, developers, planners and project teams coordinating sustainable design, residential or mixed-use performance and planning-stage environmental assessment.
Send Your Project DocumentsIn Brief
BESS, or the Built Environment Sustainability Scorecard, is an online sustainability assessment tool used in Victoria to help project teams demonstrate how a proposed development responds to environmentally sustainable design expectations during the planning process.
A BESS assessment is commonly prepared to support a planning application, particularly where a council requires a Sustainable Design Assessment, Sustainability Management Plan or broader Environmentally Sustainable Design response. It can address energy, water, stormwater, indoor environmental quality, transport, waste, urban ecology, management and innovation.
BESS sits at the intersection of planning, architecture and building performance. It helps sustainability commitments be considered early, before decisions about orientation, glazing, shading, building services, water use, material flows and residential amenity become more difficult to change. It supports planning-stage documentation but does not replace detailed design, engineering or later compliance assessment.
It is commonly used for Victorian planning applications where a council requires an ESD response, SDA, SMP or supporting sustainability assessment.
Energy, water, stormwater, indoor environmental quality, transport, waste, urban ecology, management and innovation.
It organises and communicates sustainability commitments so councils and design teams can understand how ESD has been integrated into the proposal.
Knowledge Navigation
Use this guide to understand how BESS works, where it fits within Victorian planning, and how it connects to broader residential performance, energy, water, comfort and environmental design outcomes.
Planning Pathway
Understand how BESS supports Victorian planning applications and helps organise sustainable design commitments before construction documentation is finalised.
Assessment Areas
Review the main sustainability categories considered in BESS, including energy, water, stormwater, indoor environment quality, waste, transport and urban ecology.
Building Performance
See how BESS connects with energy performance, thermal comfort, apartment design, operational energy and broader residential building performance.
Framework Context
Compare BESS with other sustainability and building performance systems, including BASIX, NatHERS, Whole of Home and future home energy rating pathways.
Victorian Planning Pathways
In Victoria, BESS is commonly used during the planning permit stage to help demonstrate how a proposed development responds to environmentally sustainable design expectations. It gives councils and project teams a structured way to review sustainability measures before the project progresses too far into detailed construction documentation.
Depending on the council, project type and development scale, a planning application may need to include a Sustainable Design Assessment, Sustainability Management Plan or other environmentally sustainable design response. BESS is often used as part of this documentation because it organises the project’s sustainability commitments into a recognised assessment format.
This means BESS often sits between early architectural design, town planning advice and future building performance outcomes. It can help identify whether design decisions around energy, water, stormwater, daylight, ventilation, transport, waste and landscape response have been considered early enough to support a clearer planning pathway.
For project teams, the value of BESS is not only in achieving a score. It is also in helping clarify what sustainability commitments are being made, how they are documented, and where those commitments may need to be carried through into later design stages.
BESS is most useful when sustainability is considered early. If energy, water, stormwater, waste and indoor comfort are only reviewed after the design is mostly fixed, the assessment may become harder to resolve and less useful to the project.
Sustainability Categories
BESS assesses a proposed development across a range of sustainability categories. These categories help organise the project’s environmental response so that sustainability is not treated as a single issue, but as a connected set of design, planning and performance considerations.
The assessment may consider areas such as energy performance, water efficiency, stormwater management, indoor environment quality, transport, waste, urban ecology, management and innovation. Together, these categories help show how the development responds to both site-specific planning expectations and broader environmental performance goals.
For residential and multi-residential projects, these categories often overlap with practical design decisions. Shading can influence cooling demand. Glazing can affect comfort and daylight. Landscaping can support stormwater and urban ecology. Waste planning can affect both construction and future occupants. The strength of BESS is that it brings these matters into one structured planning-stage review.
This makes the assessment useful for more than compliance. It can help architects, planners, developers and consultants identify where sustainability commitments need to be strengthened, clarified or carried through into the next stage of the project.
Continue to residential energy performance and thermal comfort
Residential Performance
Energy performance is one of the most important parts of a BESS assessment because it connects directly with how a building is expected to perform once occupied. For residential projects, this may include the dwelling’s thermal response, services, lighting, hot water, renewable energy systems and broader operational energy outcomes.
Thermal comfort is closely related to these energy outcomes. A dwelling that is better orientated, shaded and insulated can reduce the pressure on mechanical heating and cooling. Good glazing decisions, thoughtful daylight control and natural ventilation can also support more comfortable internal conditions while helping reduce energy demand.
In this way, BESS often overlaps with broader residential performance thinking. It is not the same as a NatHERS assessment, a Whole of Home review or a detailed operational energy model, but it can sit beside these systems as part of a larger sustainability and performance pathway.
When BESS is considered early, it can help project teams identify where design decisions may support better performance before the project becomes too fixed. This is especially useful for multi-residential buildings, where façade design, glazing ratios, shading, apartment orientation and shared services can all influence the sustainability response.
Energy performance and thermal comfort are easier to improve when they are considered before the building form, glazing, shading and services strategy are locked in. BESS helps bring these conversations into the planning stage, where they can still shape the project.
Environmental Performance
BESS does not only review energy performance. It also considers how a development responds to water use, stormwater, waste, urban ecology and broader environmental outcomes. These categories help move the assessment beyond the building envelope and into the way the development interacts with its site, occupants and surrounding environment.
Water efficiency may include fixtures, fittings, rainwater harvesting, irrigation demand and opportunities to reduce potable water use. Stormwater considerations may relate to how runoff is managed, slowed, treated or retained on site. These decisions can influence both planning outcomes and the long-term environmental behaviour of the development.
Waste is also part of the sustainability picture. A BESS assessment may consider construction waste, operational waste storage, recycling access and the practical management of waste once the building is occupied. For apartment and multi-residential projects, this can become especially important because waste areas, collection access and resident usability need to be resolved clearly.
Urban ecology adds another layer. Planting, landscape response, deep soil areas, habitat value and the relationship between built form and outdoor space can all contribute to a more complete sustainability outcome. In a strong BESS response, these matters are not treated as separate add-ons. They are considered as part of the overall planning and design logic of the project.
BESS helps show how sustainability is addressed across the site, not just inside the dwelling. Water, stormwater, waste and ecology all help councils understand whether the proposal has considered its wider environmental impact.
Continue to BESS for apartments and multi-residential design
Apartment Sustainability
BESS is often highly relevant for apartment buildings, townhouse developments and multi-residential projects because these developments bring together planning, amenity, shared services, waste management, water use and building performance in a more complex way than a single dwelling.
In multi-residential design, early decisions can have a significant effect on the sustainability outcome. Apartment orientation, glazing exposure, shading, cross-ventilation, daylight access, communal areas, waste rooms, bicycle parking, landscaping and services infrastructure may all influence the way a project performs within BESS.
The assessment can also help identify where different parts of the project need to be better coordinated. A design may rely on commitments from the architect, planner, landscape consultant, services engineer, hydraulic consultant or waste consultant. BESS helps bring these inputs into a clearer sustainability narrative for the planning application.
For larger residential projects, this coordination is especially important because the sustainability response needs to be practical, documentable and capable of being carried through into later design stages. A strong BESS response should not only describe good intentions. It should help clarify how the proposed building is expected to work.
Apartment sustainability is rarely solved by one design move. It usually depends on the combined performance of orientation, façade design, services, water systems, waste planning, landscape response and occupant amenity. BESS helps bring these pieces together at planning stage.
Continue to BESS, BASIX and related sustainability frameworks
Related Sustainability Frameworks
BESS sits within a broader landscape of Australian sustainability, planning and residential building performance systems. It is important to understand that these systems are not always interchangeable. They may assess different things, apply in different states, and support different stages of the design, planning or approval process.
BESS is commonly associated with Victorian planning pathways and environmentally sustainable design documentation. BASIX is used in New South Wales for residential sustainability commitments. NatHERS focuses on the thermal performance of residential dwellings, while Whole of Home expands the conversation toward appliances, services, energy use and operational performance.
These frameworks often overlap in intent, but they do not all measure the same outcome in the same way. A project may need to consider planning-stage sustainability, thermal comfort, operational energy, water efficiency, services performance and documentation requirements as separate but connected layers.
For project teams working across different states or development types, the main task is not simply choosing one framework over another. It is understanding which pathway applies, what needs to be demonstrated, and how early design decisions can support stronger compliance and performance outcomes.
BESS is mainly a Victorian planning-stage sustainability assessment. BASIX is a New South Wales residential sustainability pathway. NatHERS is focused on residential thermal performance. Whole of Home considers a broader operational energy picture for homes.
They are connected through the same larger question: how should Australian homes be designed, assessed and documented so they perform better over time?
Continue to existing buildings and future residential performance
Future Residential Performance
BESS is most commonly associated with planning applications for new developments, alterations and multi-residential projects. However, the questions it raises are also part of a wider shift in how Australian housing is being understood: not only as a planning or compliance matter, but as a long-term performance system.
Energy use, thermal comfort, water demand, waste systems, landscape response and operational performance are becoming more connected. A dwelling is no longer only assessed by its approval pathway. It is increasingly considered through the way it will perform over time, how it supports occupants, and how it responds to climate, infrastructure and environmental pressure.
This is where BESS connects to a larger residential performance conversation. New homes, apartments, renovations and existing dwellings may be assessed through different systems, but they are all moving toward a more integrated understanding of comfort, energy, water, emissions and liveability.
For Certified Energy, BESS sits within this broader ecosystem. It belongs beside BASIX, NatHERS, Home Energy Ratings, Whole of Home and other residential performance pathways as part of the same long-term transition: helping buildings become clearer, more comfortable, more efficient and more environmentally responsive.
BESS helps organise sustainability at the planning stage. The broader residential performance shift asks how those early decisions continue into comfort, energy use, water demand and environmental impact once the building is occupied.
Planning Coordination
A BESS assessment is strongest when it is coordinated with the design team early. The assessment may draw on architectural drawings, planning advice, landscape design, stormwater strategy, services information, waste arrangements and other project inputs. If these items are not aligned, the BESS response can become harder to resolve during the planning process.
For architects and planners, BESS can help clarify which sustainability commitments need to be visible in the documentation. For developers, it can help identify whether early design choices are likely to support the required sustainability pathway. For consultants, it provides a shared structure for reviewing energy, water, waste, ecology and comfort-related measures in one place.
Coordination is especially important where the BESS assessment relies on design measures that must be shown on plans or supported by consultant documentation. Shading devices, rainwater tanks, bicycle parking, waste rooms, solar provision, landscape areas, ventilation strategies and services assumptions may all need to be clearly documented.
Treating BESS as a coordination tool, rather than a late-stage form, can reduce confusion and help the planning submission present a clearer sustainability response. It also helps the project team understand which commitments may need to be carried forward into later design, documentation and delivery stages.
Sustainability Transition
BESS belongs to a wider shift in the way residential buildings are being assessed, designed and understood. Sustainability is no longer only a late-stage add-on or a separate planning requirement. It is increasingly part of how housing quality, comfort, resource use and long-term performance are considered from the beginning of a project.
This transition can be seen across planning systems, energy rating tools, thermal comfort pathways, operational energy requirements and future home performance conversations. Each system may have its own method, but the direction is similar: better buildings need clearer decisions earlier in the design process.
For Victorian projects, BESS helps bring this thinking into the planning stage. It encourages project teams to consider energy, water, stormwater, waste, transport, ecology and indoor environment quality as part of the development proposal, rather than waiting until the design is too advanced to respond meaningfully.
In the future Certified Energy ecosystem, BESS sits beside BASIX, NatHERS, Home Energy Ratings, Whole of Home and other building performance pathways. Together, these pages help explain how Australian housing is moving from minimum compliance toward clearer, more integrated environmental performance.
BESS is one part of a broader movement toward housing that is easier to understand, more comfortable to live in, less resource-intensive to operate and more clearly documented from planning through to performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
A BESS assessment is a Victorian planning-stage sustainability assessment using the Built Environment Sustainability Scorecard. It demonstrates how a development responds to energy, water, stormwater, waste, transport, indoor environmental quality and urban ecology requirements.
BESS stands for Built Environment Sustainability Scorecard. It is a digital tool used in Victoria to assess and document sustainable design responses at planning stage.
BESS may be required when a Victorian council requests sustainability documentation as part of a planning application. Requirements vary depending on council, project type and development scale.
Yes, BESS is primarily used within Victorian planning pathways. Other Australian states use different sustainability assessment tools such as BASIX in New South Wales.
BESS assesses categories including energy, water, stormwater, indoor environment quality, transport, waste, urban ecology, management and innovation.
No. BESS is a Victorian planning assessment tool, BASIX is a NSW sustainability requirement, and NatHERS focuses on residential thermal performance. They serve different regulatory and performance roles.
Yes. BESS is commonly used for apartments, townhouses and multi-residential developments where coordinated sustainability outcomes are required.
Early consideration allows sustainability measures such as orientation, glazing, shading, water systems and waste strategies to be integrated into design before key decisions are fixed.
Typically architectural drawings, site plans, elevations, sections, landscape plans, stormwater details, waste strategies and relevant council requirements.
Certified Energy can help determine whether a BESS assessment is required and support documentation, modelling and sustainability reporting for planning submissions.
Related Knowledge References
BESS connects with several other sustainability, planning and building performance pathways. These related guides help explain how Australian residential projects are assessed across energy, comfort, water, compliance and long-term performance.
New South Wales
BASIX is the residential sustainability pathway used in New South Wales. It addresses water, energy and thermal comfort commitments for new homes and residential developments.
Thermal Performance
NatHERS helps assess the thermal performance of residential dwellings. It connects closely with comfort, heating and cooling demand, glazing, insulation, orientation and passive design decisions.
Operational Energy
Whole of Home expands residential performance beyond the building shell by considering appliances, services, hot water, heating, cooling, solar and the operational energy behaviour of the dwelling.
Existing Homes
Home Energy Ratings help bring residential performance thinking into existing homes, supporting clearer understanding of thermal comfort, energy use and improvement opportunities in the established housing market.
Project Review
Send the available plans, planning requirements, council correspondence and sustainability information for an initial review. Certified Energy can help determine whether BESS is likely to apply and what documentation may be required for the Victorian planning submission.
Early review can identify the information needed, highlight where sustainability commitments may need to be strengthened and clarify how BESS connects with an SDA, SMP and the broader residential or commercial performance pathway.
Last reviewed: June 2026. This page is maintained by Certified Energy as part of its Residential Performance Knowledge Hub.
