IN Brief:
- BREEAM RFO V7 creates separate assessment routes for commercial refurbishment and fit out projects.
- Version 7 strengthens requirements around whole life carbon, energy performance, materials and climate resilience.
- The revised framework gives project teams different routes according to the building elements and systems being altered.
BRE has launched BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out Commercial Version 7, splitting assessment of existing commercial buildings into two standards designed around the different responsibilities involved in major refurbishment and tenant fit out work.
The updated framework arrives as owners and occupiers face increasing pressure to improve existing assets rather than rely on replacement development. BRE estimates that around 80% of buildings expected to be occupied in 2050 already exist and cites research indicating that deep retrofit can result in 50% to 75% less carbon than replacing the equivalent building with new construction.
BRE also says more than 170 million square metres of office accommodation across major European markets could become obsolete by 2030 as older assets struggle to meet changing energy, environmental and occupier requirements. The revised standard places the retained building stock at the centre of the assessment rather than treating refurbishment as a reduced version of new build.
BREEAM Refurbishment V7 is intended for projects that can include changes to fabric, structure, core systems and operational performance. BREEAM Fit Out V7 is designed for tenant or interior work where the wider building structure and central systems are not being significantly altered. Both sit within a common framework but apply different scopes to reflect who controls the work.
Commercial projects often divide responsibility between landlord and occupier. A building owner may control the envelope, plant and core services, while a tenant controls finishes, local services, lighting, furniture and internal layouts. Separate assessment routes allow each project to follow the elements actually being altered instead of forcing the same responsibility model onto every refurbishment.
The standards retain a flexible structure covering fabric and structure, core services, local services and interior design. Project teams can apply the relevant parts to the work being commissioned, placing greater weight on a clearly defined scope at the start of design. Retained elements, replacement systems, operational targets and tenant work can therefore be assessed without pretending they sit under one contract or one client brief.
Whole life carbon extends the assessment beyond operational energy. Version 7 addresses emissions associated with materials, refrigerants, transport and building operation, while supporting circular material strategies. Retaining viable structure and fabric can contribute to performance alongside measures such as improved services, controls, insulation, glazing and efficient plant.
Energy assessment is also intended to move closer to predicted and measurable building performance. BRE says the standards support more accurate estimates of energy use, while the refurbishment route includes demand management and response to changing grid conditions. Where projects replace heating, cooling, controls or metering, specification and commissioning become part of the evidence behind the rating rather than peripheral handover tasks.
A five-part resilience framework adds hazard screening, climate risk assessment, resilience planning, protection against operational and malicious risks and consideration of the surrounding area. Refurbishment briefs are therefore expected to address adaptation and continuity alongside carbon and energy performance.
The evidence burden reaches into surveys, construction records and commissioning. Condition data, product information, energy models and records of retained or replaced materials can all be needed to demonstrate how the finished asset meets its design assumptions. Ratings increasingly depend on the technical record behind the project as well as the physical work visible at completion.
The direction is already evident in commercial schemes where several performance measures are specified together. RED Construction’s work at Portwall Place in Bristol, for example, combines a BREEAM Excellent target with EPC A and a NABERS performance target, bringing design, construction and in-use expectations into the same refurbishment programme.
The split also changes how consultants and contractors may package evidence. A landlord-led refurbishment can involve façade work, central plant and structural alteration, while a tenant fit out may proceed under a separate programme with different designers and contractors. Keeping those scopes distinct should make responsibility for modelling, product data, commissioning and post-completion evidence easier to assign before tender rather than reconstruct after handover.
Version 7 also gives owners and investors an independently certified method for comparing projects across portfolios and markets. Older commercial property is being judged increasingly on energy cost, regulatory exposure, occupier expectations and adaptability, so refurbishment decisions are likely to carry more scrutiny over both carbon and operational performance.
The revised framework makes the boundary between retained and replaced building elements more explicit. With much of the 2050 building stock already standing, project teams will need to show not only that an asset has been improved, but which interventions produced the improvement and how the upgraded building is expected to perform once it returns to use.
