BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out (RFO) Version 7: Officially Launched
In a warming world with a growing population, ensuring buildings meet future climate and human needs has never been more vital. With an estimated 2.75 billion buildings globally, the refurbishment of existing assets is essential to tackling climate change while mitigating regulatory and operational risks.
Building on the foundation of the 2014 framework (registrations of which close on 27th Jan 2027), BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out Version 7 (RFO V7) has officially arrived. It empowers building owners, occupiers, and sustainability professionals to enhance the performance, resilience, and long-term value of existing commercial real estate.
Aligning with the Broader BREEAM V7 Framework
RFO V7 serves as a specialised adaptation of the overarching BREEAM V7 suite. By using the New Construction (NC) V7 technical manual as its base, RFO V7 maintains a universal sustainability language across the entire portfolio while respecting the unique technical constraints of upgrading existing buildings.
Key Technical Upgrades:
- Expanded Whole-Life Carbon:
Benchmarking and reporting for both predicted operational and embodied carbon - including MEP systems for a comprehensive picture of a buildings true environmental impact.
- New Resilience Category: A dedicated framework assessing physical climate risks (floods, storms, extreme heat), security, and fire safety.
- Health & Well-being: Upgraded standards focusing on indoor environmental quality for occupants.
- Streamlined Reporting: Enhanced data-collection flexibility, easing assessment for diverse assets like mixed-use buildings.
Structural Changes: Two Distinct Standards
To better serve the market, the previous RFO scheme has been split into two standalone pathways, ensuring projects are evaluated under criteria that accurately reflect their scope:
1. BREEAM Refurbishment V7: Designed for major building upgrades involving structural changes, building fabric, and core MEP systems. Ideal for projects extending beyond individual spaces to boost overall longevity.
2. BREEAM Fit Out V7: Created for tenant-led or interior-focused projects where the wider building envelope remains unaltered. It focuses purely on internal layouts, finishes, local services, and tenant wellbeing without the complexity of a whole-building assessment.
Building Types & Sector Applicability
BREEAM Fit Out Commercial Version 7 is engineered to remain robust across almost all commercial and public sectors, accommodating anything from a simple furniture update to comprehensive interior MEP installations:
- Standard Workspaces: Offices and industrial units.
- Specialised Facilities: Commercial laboratories, healthcare buildings, educational institutions, residential institutions, and government service buildings.
- Retail & Leisure: Retail, hospitality, culture and entertainment, transport hubs, and sports and leisure facilities.Many other building types are eligible along with those mentioned above.
Spotlight on the New "Resilience" Category
RFO V7 introduces Resilience as a standalone category, merging previously scattered themes (flood risk, durability, natural hazards, fire, and security) into a clear, risk-informed progression:
- Early Screening & Risk Assessment: Identifying material vulnerabilities under current and future climate projections.
- Resilience Strategy & Implementation: Moving from awareness to proactive design adaptations.
- Protection of Critical Functions: Ensuring business continuity and operational safety. This structural shift aligns BREEAM directly with international reporting and disclosure frameworks such as IFRS S2, the EU Taxonomy, ISO 14090/14091, and UK Defra adaptation guidelines - protecting asset value, insurability, and occupant safety in an uncertain climate. Watkins Payne possess strong expertise in BREEAM, having successfully certified 225 assessments since the standards inception. Please do get in touch with the team if you have a development that requires a BREEAM assessment - we would be happy to help. Contact details: Bradley Lobetta blobetta@watkinspayne.co.uk