Retrofitting can play a vital role in supporting households up and down the UK to act on energy efficiency and to help the UK achieve its net zero ambitions. To deliver retrofitting on a scale needed for UK buildings, the construction industry needs to be equipped with new skills and knowledge.
We’re joining forces with the Supply Chain Sustainability School to become their first partner within the finance sector, with a shared ambition of addressing climate change through building the skills the construction industry needs to retrofit the UK’s existing housing stock and non-residential buildings.
Commenting on the new partnership, our Head of Climate Change, James Close, said: “As one of the largest lenders in the UK, we have a key role to play in supporting consumers and businesses in transitioning to more energy efficient homes and buildings that are warmer, cheaper to heat, and generate lower emissions.
“Decarbonising properties will require retrofitting existing buildings to increase their energy efficiency, constructing new energy efficient buildings and decarbonisation of electricity and heating supply. We want to work at scale to increase demand. But we need the skills and companies to carry out the work and we also want to make it as easy for our customers to retrofit as possible.
Our collaboration with the Supply Chain Sustainability School will help cultivate a more mature retrofit supply chain, share knowledge and build the skills needed to retrofit homes and buildings across the UK.”
Ian Heptonstall, Director of the Supply Chain Sustainability School, commented: “Our mission is to enable a sustainable built environment through knowledge and collaboration, however most of our work to date has focused on new builds. To truly fulfil our mission, we must pivot towards the existing building stock, crafting and delivering learning experiences that empower the UK to retrofit its structures with cutting-edge technologies and systems, positioning us to fulfil our Net Zero commitments. We look forward to tackling climate change through retrofit with NatWest Group.”
Supply Chain Sustainability School’s retrofit programme, sponsored by NatWest Group, will be unveiled through a virtual conference taking place on November 7th, 2023. This will introduce CPD-accredited virtual training encompassing e-learning modules, online assessments, conferences, workshops and webinars running until Autumn 2024. These valuable resources will be freely accessible to professionals in the built environment, including NatWest Group’s clients and School members.
