Introducing: BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out Version 7
In many parts of the world including Europe and the US, more than 80% of the buildings that will be occupied in 2050 already exist. Improving the performance of existing assets is critical to achieving net zero, reducing environmental impact and creating buildings that remain resilient, attractive and valuable in a changing market.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 provides a science-based framework for helping owners, investors, occupiers and project teams improve, adapt and reuse existing buildings, delivering measurable sustainability and performance outcomes.
Choose the right pathway
Refurbishment V7
For projects involving the building fabric, structure, core services and overall asset performance.
Fit Out V7
For occupier-led and interior-focused projects involving layouts, finishes, furnishings and local services.
Why use RFO V7?
RFO V7 helps owners, investors and occupiers unlock greater value from existing buildings. It supports carbon reduction, resilience and wellbeing goals, improves risk management, and provides verified data and portfolio-level insights to help you make confident, evidence-based decisions.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 helps owners maximise value from existing assets through informed refurbishment decisions and measurable sustainability improvements.
- Maximise asset value
Prioritise improvements that enhance performance, reduce operating costs and support long-term returns. - Build resilience
Adapt existing buildings to changing market expectations, regulations and climate challenges. - Plan with confidence
Use consistent performance data to guide investment decisions across your portfolio.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 responds to changing environmental and market demands, helping owners reduce the risk of buildings becoming outdated and improve their long-term resilience.
The standard supports projects at every level from full-scale adaptive reuse to more minor renovations, providing a flexible approach that helps owners reuse or adapt buildings rather than replace them. By supporting ongoing building improvement and decarbonisation over time, BREEAM RFO V7 helps owners reduce the risk of assets becoming obsolete, while maintaining relevance in a changing market.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 aligns with changing market expectations, regulations and climate-related challenges, enabling owners to better identify and manage risks.
BREEAM RFO V7 provides a structured way to address both physical and transition risks, helping owners protect asset value as conditions evolve. By helping owners identify and manage risks tied to ageing assets like regulatory compliance, shifting tenant expectations and environmental concerns, the standard promotes strategies that strengthen building resilience and reduce long-term exposure to evolving climate and market concerns.
Using a consistent global science-based standard, BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 helps owners worldwide build a clearer understanding of sustainability performance across portfolios, and make more informed, consistent decisions at asset level.
BREEAM RFO V7 supports portfolio level planning by translating individual refurbishment decisions into comparable data that can inform long-term investment and asset strategies. The standard also enables owners to compare refurbishment and fit out outcomes across assets, helping identify where improvements will have the greatest impact at portfolio level.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 provides independent evidence of asset performance to support investment decisions and long-term portfolio strategies.
- Protect value
Support refurbishment strategies that strengthen performance and market appeal. - Manage risk
Better understand climate, regulatory and operational risks affecting existing assets. - Support decarbonisation
Track and evidence progress towards sustainability and carbon reduction goals
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 enables project delivery teams to make more efficient use of materials during refurbishment and fit out projects, reducing embodied carbon and environmental impact.
By prioritising the reuse and optimisation of existing building stock over more resource-intensive new construction, BREEAM RFO V7 helps project delivery teams reduce material use and embodied carbon. The standard helps balance performance upgrades with material efficiency, enabling lower carbon refurbishment and fit out decisions without compromising design intent or functionality.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 provides project delivery teams with a clear framework to navigate complex design decisions, maximise sustainability outcomes and communicate value to their clients.
By grounding sustainability in the latest industry data and recognised metrics, BREEAM RFO V7 enables delivery teams to give clients greater confidence in their design decisions. It also supports delivery teams in communicating the trade-offs between risks and opportunities, helping clients understand the value of different design approaches.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 helps investors identify and understand the climate, regulatory and operational risks affecting existing buildings, supporting investment in upgrades that protect asset value over time.
BREEAM RFO V7 helps investors identify and mitigate risks inherent in existing assets, from ageing infrastructure to evolving climate and regulatory pressures.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 helps investors evidence the decarbonisation of existing portfolios through measurable refurbishment and fit out improvements that align with leading global sustainability requirements and regulatory frameworks.
BREEAM RFO V7 provides a practical pathway to decarbonise existing portfolios and align them with evolving market expectations through targeted upgrades and verifiable data.
BREEAM Fit Out V7 helps occupiers create healthier, higher-performing workplaces while improving sustainability performance.
- Create healthier workplaces
Support wellbeing, comfort and productivity through high-quality indoor environments. - Make informed workplace decisions
Assess workplace quality using a trusted and consistent framework. - Support sustainability goals
Access verified performance data to support reporting and decarbonisation commitments.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 helps project teams deliver refurbishment projects that maximise value from existing buildings.
- Deliver better outcomes
Develop refurbishment strategies that respond to client needs and long-term performance goals. - Reduce carbon and resource use
Support the reuse and optimisation of existing assets while reducing embodied carbon. - Demonstrate value to clients
Use recognised performance measures to communicate project outcomes with confidence.
BREEAM Fit Out V7 helps occupiers and corporate tenants maximise the opportunity of fit outs to improve energy efficiency, optimise performance and create long-term value.
The standard provides occupiers with verified performance data that supports sustainability reporting, disclosure requirements and organisational decarbonisation commitments. From energy efficiency to material selection, the standard provides certified, data-backed evidence that interior upgrades support sustainability targets.
BREEAM Fit Out V7 encourages the creation of healthier, more comfortable environments that support occupant wellbeing and productivity.
The standard supports upgrades that drive more efficient spaces by promoting higher-performing lighting, water and interior systems, helping reduce energy use and operational costs. BREEAM Fit Out V7’s focus on features that enhance the comfort and focus of occupants helps drive productivity gains while supporting healthier, more enjoyable spaces.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 provides a consistent framework for assessing refurbishment and fit out projects across asset types and geographies.
- Assess projects consistently
Apply standardised criteria across a wide range of refurbishment and fit out projects. - Generate stronger insights
Use robust performance data to provide clearer guidance and recommendations. - Support decarbonisation strategies
Evaluate how refurbishment decisions contribute to reducing operational and embodied carbon.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 enhances the breadth and accuracy of data collected, enabling sustainability professionals to share stronger insights.
By structuring how performance information is captured across refurbishment and fit out projects, BREEAM RFO V7 helps sustainability professionals guide clients in a way that is clearer and more informed.
BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 equips sustainability professionals with the evidence to advocate for the reuse of existing building stock and provides a structured way to evaluate how refurbishment and fit out decisions contribute to reducing operational and embodied carbon.
By embedding carbon considerations into each stage of assessment, BREEAM RFO V7 enables sustainability professionals to identify where refurbishment strategies can deliver the greatest carbon reductions. It also helps align project-level refurbishment decisions with broader decarbonisation goals by making carbon performance a core part of the assessment process.
Explore the benefits
Discover how BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7 can help maximise asset value, increase resilience, improve risk management, provide portfolio-level insights and verified data, support carbon reduction and enhance occupant
wellbeing.
Download the Benefits of BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out Commercial Version 7 brochure to explore the benefits in more detail.
Ready to get started with BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit Out V7?
Register your project and take the first step towards your assessment.