The launch of a BREEAM standard for retrofit in non-domestic buildings has been delayed by a year and this has caused concern by many industry voices.
Originally, at the launch of its most recent iteration of BREEAM for new buildings in July last year, the BRE stated that it would develop the standard by 2012. However, recent developments have revealed that the standard is not expected to be ready until mid to late 2013.
There are many contradicting views on this matter. Gavin Summerson, manager of BREEAM Refurb at the BRE, said that although it had taken longer to develop the standard than expected, people would prefer it to be fully tested.
On the other hand, Sunil Shah, director at consultant DPP, complained that it left only the 2008 BREEAM standard applicable to refurbishment projects was not much higher than current Building Regulation requirements. He added that the delay made it challenging to benchmark refurbishment projects against new build projects because of the differing metrics in different standards.
Sarah Cary, head of sustainability at British Land, stated that the delay does cause some areas of concern; for example, knowing what to incorporate into policy documents. She further added that she had wished the BRE had been more engaged with the industry when the standard was in its development stage.
From a marketing perspective, Partick Brown, assistant director at the British Property Foundation, said that it is a source of some irritation that there’s a delay, but from a technological perspective there are other standards one can use in the meantime.
