Event Description

As part of the N8 Research Partnership’s ambitious Net Zero North agenda, we invite you to join experts from the N8 universities, House by Urban Splash, Northern Housing Consortium and more, to explore how the North can lead the transition to low-carbon construction methods and building retrofit by supporting skills and training, innovation, and wider community adoption.

Retrofit of buildings is one of the key actions recommended in the Climate Change Committee’s 6th Carbon Budget, but also one of the costliest. It is estimated that the Balanced Pathway requires investment of £12bn annually, leading to £5bn p.a. of savings in operating costs. 200,000 jobs will need to be created in the 2020s through to 2050. Specific challenges that need addressing include;

• Convincing UK home- and business-owners to undertake retrofit renovations, at scale, or to adopt and accept new and changing practices regarding heating, build methods and service models.
• Creating a credible consumer proposition and market model for low-prices to support retrofit and alternative construction methods.
• Support a changing value proposition for property that places more emphasis on its environmental credentials compared to its outright value.