The long anticipated BREEAM New Construction V7 is here with registrations now open along with the new BREEAM Platform.
BREEAM NC V7 supersedes New Construction V6.1, with registrations for current V6 and V6.1 closing on 27th January 2026.
This update aims to align with industry objectives with an emphasis on whole-life carbon, biodiversity, resilience and material selection, while reducing complexity and delivering efficiencies across the assessment process.
There are changes across each environmental section to improve clarity and ease of assessment as well as to reflect changes in industry. The key updates include:
- Alignment with EU taxonomy across the majority of issues. EU taxonomy is a classification system established to provide a clear definition of what constitutes an environmentally sustainable economic activity.
- Restructuring of the Health and Wellbeing issues including a new issue which considers the non-visual effects of light.
- Reconfiguration of the Energy issues including two new issues which consider flexible demand responses and installed controls.
- A new issue incorporated into Water which considers the prediction of operational water use.
- Mat 01 has been completely rewritten. The new methodology includes calculations and reporting of LCA and embodied carbon at building level during concept design, technical design, and post-construction stage. This allows for more credits to be achieved for the issue if undertaken at an earlier stage in the design and construction programme (RIBA stage 2, 4 and 6).
- To achieve credits in Pol 01, it is now a pre-requisite for all refrigerant gases to have zero ozone depletion potential.
We consider this to be a very positive step, driving the progression of best practice in the industry. Should you have any queries regarding site registrations and what the new BREEAM NC UK V7 means for your development, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Element Sustainability are experienced, qualified BREEAM assessors and can certify your scheme