Discover the Building Resilience Index (BRI) with Bureau Veritas

1. Facing unpredictable natural disasters: What should Vietnamese businesses do to strengthen building resilience? 

Since early 2025, Vietnam - particularly the Central region - has been hit by a series of severe storms and unusual floods. Numerous critical structures have suffered roof damage, collapse, or deep inundation. As climate patterns become increasingly unpredictable, traditional response measures are no longer sufficient, especially for high-value assets or facilities essential to business operations. Companies need a reliable tool to assess resilience proactively, minimize risks, and reduce long-term costs.

In Da Nang, by late October 2025 alone, floods submerged many urban areas under 1 to more than 2 meters of water. The city reported 4.1 km of damaged roads and dozens of landslide points that paralyzed transportation. These impacts not only disrupted daily life but also caused business interruptions, leading to additional operational and recovery expenses.

Against this backdrop, businesses and investors face an urgent need to understand the resilience level of their buildings to plan investments, upgrades, and long-term risk mitigation. A notable example is Aeon Mall Hue, which remained safe during record-high floodwaters caused by Typhoon Buloi thanks to proactive measures—such as building on elevated ground compared to surrounding areas. This is precisely why the Building Resilience Index (BRI) has become an essential tool for businesses.

2. Building Resilience Index (BRI): A comprehensive tool to assess resilience for all types of buildings

BRI helps property owners shift from reactive recovery to proactive prevention - reducing repair costs, improving safety, and maintaining operational stability during natural disasters.

So, what is BRI?

The Building Resilience Index (BRI) is a set of indicators that measure a building’s resilience against four major risk categories: Wind, Water, Fire, and Geoseismic (earthquake-related). BRI enables investors, hospitality operators, banks, insurance companies, and government authorities to identify exactly where a building is vulnerable, understand the level of risk, and prioritize improvements to ensure safety, operational continuity, and long-term damage mitigation.

Key principle: The overall BRI score follows the “Weakest Link” rule meaning the building’s total resilience cannot exceed the score of its weakest component.

Proactive prevention approach: Instead of repairing damage after a disaster, BRI shifts the focus to proactive prevention. It uses international criteria to evaluate everything from structural design, materials, foundations, and electrical-water-drainage systems to site location and regional climate data. Assessment results are presented through a scoring system and detailed report, making it easier for property owners to plan upgrades aligned with their budget.

BRI assesses four major hazard categories

• Wind (changes in wind speed): tropical storms, tornadoes, downburts, etc.
• Water (changes in rainfall, water flow, and water levels): flooding, flash floods, storm surge, tsunamis,etc.
• Fire (changes in temperature): wildfires, localized, fire, etc.
• Geoseismic (ground movement): earthquakes, volcanic activity, landslides, etc. 

Who should use BRI and what is it for?

BRI was developed to serve multiple groups in the construction, real estate, and infrastructure management sectors. The most common and easy-to-visualize users include developers, accomodation businesses, financial and insurance institutions, and government authorities.

• For developers and project owners: BRI provides a clear picture of the natural hazards their assets are exposed to. This helps them make informed adjustments, strengthen vulnerable components, or plan upgrades to avoid repeated damage after every storm season. Many companies even use their BRI score as proof of quality and safety when working with customers, partners, and investors.
• For accommodation businesses: BRI offers a transparent scoring system to evaluate how well each building can withstand risks such as floods, earthquakes, and storms. This is especially crucial for hotels and resorts—often located in coastal or high-risk areas—where guest safety is the top priority.
• For banks and financial institutions: BRI delivers very practical value: it allows more accurate assessment of project risks or collateral assets. By understanding how resilient a structure is and the likelihood of damage under different disaster scenarios, lenders can make safer credit decisions and even prioritize projects with stronger resilience. This reduces financial risk while encouraging the market to shift toward more sustainable buildings.
• For insurance companies: BRI provides additional data and clear criteria for risk valuation. Instead of relying solely on traditional disaster models or historical statistics, insurers gain access to detailed technical information for each building. This enables them to design more accurate and transparent insurance packages—and potentially offer lower premiums for properties with high BRI scores.

Assessment Levels of the Building Resilience Index 

The BRI rating scale includes four levels: NR (Not Resilient), B (Basic), A (Advanced), and AA (Global Best Practice). The “+” symbol indicates the presence of operational continuity measures.

3. Bureau Veritas - The pioneer in delivering BRI assessment services in Vietnam based on international standards and real climate data 

We help our clients: 

• Shift from reactive recovery to proactive prevention
• Reduce repair costs and operational disruptions
• Ensure long-term safety and sustainability

Contact our Bureau Veritas experts today to learn how BRI can help your building withstand any natural disaster.