BRE IP9/02/1 PDF

Introduction

Developers often face the dilemma of whether to refurbish a building or redevelop the site. Refurbishment is currently seen to be the more sustainable option, but this research considered the long term environmental sustainability of redevelopment and refurbishment using life cycle assessment.

Proven environmentally sustainable options are widely adopted only when developers have confidence in the business viability of the approach. The research therefore also considered the basic financial implications of the choice, including capital costs and whole life costs.

This paper summarises the findings from this research and identifies key results. The aim is to help those responsible to make informed decisions between refurbishment and redevelopment. This includes economic considerations such as the relative likely costs of each. BRE has produced a software tool, Office Scorer, to compare the environmental impacts and whole life costs of refurbishment and redevelopment. It is available free of charge at www.officescorer.info. Case studies from using Office Scorer are described in Part 2 of this paper to illustrate various environmental impacts and whole life costs of different refurbishment and redevelopment scenarios, and the benefits of using the software.