Assessor's Own Conflict of Interest on a Retrofit-Adjacent Project
A BREEAM assessor is asked to assess a new-build extension to an existing building. The assessor's spouse is a director of the contractor delivering the extension, and the assessor's firm has also been paid by the same contractor for separate consultancy on the parent building's energy strategy. The assessor has not disclosed either relationship to the client. The project is at the design-stage assessment, and several credits depend on the contractor's construction-phase commitments, including a site waste management plan and a responsible sourcing policy. The client is unaware of the connections.
1. What are the professional conduct issues raised by the assessor's undisclosed relationships?
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There are two distinct conflicts. First, the spouse's directorship creates a close personal interest in the contractor's commercial success, which could influence how the assessor treats contractor-dependent credits. Second, the firm's paid consultancy on the parent building creates a financial relationship with the same contractor, which may affect independence and perceived objectivity.
Both should have been disclosed to the client at the earliest opportunity. The assessor's professional obligations typically require:
- Declaring any personal, financial or business relationship that could compromise, or be seen to compromise, impartiality.
- Avoiding assessing work where the assessor has a direct interest in the outcome.
- Keeping a written record of disclosures and how conflicts were managed.
Undisclosed relationships undermine the credibility of the certificate and expose the assessor to disciplinary risk. The assessor should disclose now, in writing, and discuss with the client how the conflict will be managed.
2. Can the assessor continue on the project? Set out the options and the factors that determine the right course.
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Continuing may be possible only if the conflict can be managed to a level that preserves independence and is acceptable to the client and the scheme operator. The assessor should consider:
- Severity of the conflict. A spouse's directorship is a close personal interest and is hard to manage; the firm's consultancy is a commercial relationship that may be easier to ring-fence.
- Scope of influence. The affected credits depend on contractor commitments, so the assessor's judgement on those credits is directly exposed to the conflict.
- Available safeguards. Options include removing the assessor from contractor-dependent credits, having a second assessor review and sign those credits, or transferring the whole assessment to a colleague with no connection.
- Client consent. The client must be informed and agree to the arrangement; consent should be documented.
If no safeguard adequately protects independence - particularly given the close personal interest - the assessor should step down from the project. The firm may be able to continue with a different, unconflicted assessor, subject to client agreement and any scheme rules on assessor changes.
3. What should the assessor do about the contractor-dependent credits already discussed?
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The assessor should review how those credits have been handled so far and ensure that any decisions are re-examined by someone without the conflict. Practical steps:
- Disclose the relationships to the client before any further assessment work on those credits.
- Hand the contractor-dependent credits to an unconflicted colleague for review, with a fresh look at the evidence.
- Record the review, the evidence considered and the conclusion.
- Avoid signing off on any credit where the assessor's independence could reasonably be questioned.
If the assessor has already given informal assurances to the contractor about those credits, those should be disclosed and revisited. The priority is that the certificate is based on evidence assessed independently, and that the client can rely on it. Transparency now is better than a later challenge to the certificate.