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A closer look at the BREEAM V7 update for non-residential buildings

Senior Consultant, Sustainability & ESG, Jessica Cronin, shares her insights into the launch of BREEAM New Construction Version 7.0 (non-residential). With the update coming after five years, the scheme has evolved to reflect major industry shifts. Jessica explores the key changes, benefits, risks and next steps for developers and design teams navigating the new standard.

The BREEAM scheme has been updated after five years. Much has changed since the release of BREEAM V6 (with a slight update to V6.1 in that time) and the scheme has had to play catch up following major industry progression towards net zero carbon, biodiversity net gain, and health and wellbeing. The result is the BREEAM New Construction Version 7 scheme that should be better aligned with other standards, but that is going to mean a step change if developers want to achieve their target ratings.

So, what’s changed?

A bunch of new credits and new minimum standards! Credits specifically relating to natural light and artificial light have now been introduced, restructuring the previous ‘visual comfort’ section. Plus, credits are available for installing control points for building services, as well as prediction of operational water consumption. 

Changes have been made to the energy and carbon performance ratios to reflect updates to building regulations and more credits are now available for the prediction of operational energy and carbon, something we have seen increased uptake in recently, so it’s positive to see greater recognition for this.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has now been brought more in line with other requirements and methods such as those set by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), requiring the full scope of the development to be assessed. Previously, an LCA exercise had to be completed prior to the submission of the detailed planning application, but it will now be more flexible with the requirement to complete within 20 days of planning submission, easing the pressure slightly on clients and design teams. Further credits are available for undertaking LCAs at each project stage, which again better relates to expectations set by RICS and others.

Land Use and Ecology will also see significant changes with the criteria being simplified (a benefit to assessors!), and full alignment with the DEFRA methodology to reflect statutory BNG. Previously, 4 credits were available for 10% net gain, however, no credits will be available in V7.0, given the statutory requirements, so significant enhancement and more innovative designs will be required to achieve credits. However, off-site enhancement will now count towards the calculations. 

Benefits and opportunities 

Better alignment with industry standards will help to reduce ‘tick box’ style exercises and isolated reports. New credits and updates to existing credits also encourage betterment of industry standards and there is a renewed focus on energy and carbon emissions at all stages of the building’s life. 

Risks

A number of credits cannot be confirmed until detailed modelling of energy and water is undertaken and there are lots of sliding scales with an increased focus on quantifying and benchmarking. There are likely to be higher costs associated with additional modelling / quantifying results where credits have been added in or updated. Achieving ‘Outstanding’ has also become tougher with more stringent minimum standards to be achieved, including access to natural light, energy performance and predictive modelling, no fossil fuels, LCA at all key project stages, and provision of refrigerants with lower Global Warming Potential (GWP).

Next steps

Registrations for BREEAM V7.0 will open on 30 September 2025 but developments can still be registered to existing New Construction versions 2018, V6 and V6.1 before they close on 27 January 2026. 

Contact our Sustainability & ESG team if you have any developments that would benefit from securing the current version, or if you would like further advice on BREEAM V7.0.

30 September 2025