A new approach to refurbishment and fit-out

The new scheme introduces a second methodology specific for fit-outs (interior design and local building services), which provides a structured framework for assessing and improving the environmental and operational performance of interior spaces within existing buildings. It places greater emphasis on the features that are of most relevance to fit-outs and accounts for their often shorter construction timeframes.

The refurbishment methodology remains as with previous versions and covers the full breadth of potential refurbishments in a modular form including building fabric and structure, core services, local services and interior design. Together the two methodologies form the new RFO V7 which provides a comprehensive route to assess all scales of refurbishment and fit-out.

Climate resilience takes a more prominent role

RFO V7 introduces a new ‘resilience’ category as a reflection of the increasing relevance of climate resilience for building performance and occupant satisfaction, as well as meeting investor expectations, supporting organisational risk management and long-term asset planning. The category looks at physical climate and hazard risks and requires proportionate design interventions to address the risks and enable the building to maintain its operational continuity and functionality.

Category updates

The other categories within the methodology are those that will be familiar to anyone who has worked with BREEAM before. These credits are largely now aligned to the New Construction V7 methodology released in 2025 and therefore provide a much more coherent set of standards with only necessary variations. This update does though mean major changes to some categories when compared to the 2014 methodology; we describe the most significant of these below.

Lighting

Lighting credits have been reorganised so there is now consideration of both natural and electric lighting, as well as the influence these have on an individual’s wellbeing through changes in circadian rhythm. Natural lighting considers daylighting, view out, glare and direct sunlight whilst electric light covers internal and external lighting and its control, as well as a requirement to avoid flicker or stroboscopic effects. There is also a new credit covering the non-visual effects of light to promote positive impacts on the psychology and physiology of the building occupants by measuring the melanopic equivalent daylight illuminance at relevant areas in the building.

Energy

The most significant update to the energy category is the greater emphasis on operational energy performance, as is being seen across the wider industry. There are 12 credits available for predictive operational energy modelling and comparing this to benchmark energy use intensity values for the relevant building type. This issue was not covered at all in the previous methodology but now represents a quarter of the energy credits, demonstrating the increasing importance of this issue as part of a building’s net zero transition.

Another focus of the energy category is several credits looking at unregulated energy use for equipment, such as appliances and servers, and systems, such as lifts and laundries. In both cases, the expected annual energy consumption is to be calculated and credits scored based on a ratio of unregulated to regulated energy consumption.

Energy management also has greater significance in RFOV7. There are credits for installing systems with flexible demand response capability and also for installing controls that enable energy efficient operation of the building systems.

Water

A new credit relating to predicting operational water consumption is introduced. This is to encourage estimating the water consumption once the building is in use, based on occupancy numbers and patterns, rather than assuming standard figures. Additional credits are available for using this data to set water performance targets and monitoring against them.

Materials

The building life cycle assessment credit (Mat 01) has been revamped so it aligns with broader industry embodied carbon reporting methodologies, representing a significant step forward in reducing the environmental impact of construction materials.

Credits are available for undertaking life cycle assessments at the early design stage (and creating a baseline with various options), technical design stage and post construction. Additional credits can then be achieved for performance against benchmarks, which have been developed in line with other industry benchmarks for specific building types. Whilst life cycle assessment (LCA) can be more beneficial to some refurbishments than others, the fact that LCA at some stage is mandatory for an Excellent rating demonstrates the importance of using this to improve building performance.

Land use and ecology

The ecology section has been updated to provide a much more comprehensive assessment of any ecological considerations with the scope of the refurbishment. The early involvement of an ecologist is key to credit achievement and requires them to undertake a site survey and relevant consultation, then identify ecological outcomes in line with the mitigation hierarchy. The section has also been aligned to industry standard methodologies and uses the Statutory Biodiversity Metric as a way to calculate ecological uplift and consequent credit achievement.

Overall, the major changes set out here are a significant improvement on the previous BREEAM refurbishment methodology, providing greater alignment with current industry practices and a more useful way of assisting the design of refurbished buildings in their net zero trajectory and sustainability performance.

Registrations for the new version open soon, but there will be a transition period where older schemes can still be used if required.