NatWest and British Gas to Decarbonise 1,000 UK Homes

NatWest Group reports that to achieve the energy demand reductions needed in UK buildings, one million homes need to be treated with insulation measures annually by 2030. 

Retrofitting to make buildings more sustainable can be expensive, reaching up to £35k (US$45.8k) for an average UK home.

NatWest and British Gas have joined a consortium to retrofit 1000 social housing homes, aiming to serve as a blueprint to make retrofitting simpler and cheaper for landlords. 

“It is fantastic to see this project moving forward,” says Marcos Navarro, Director & Sustainability Lead at NatWest Group. 

“By exploring how the implementation of energy efficient measures, alongside financing solutions, can help to reduce the financial burden on landlords, as well as improving the quality and comfort of homes and communities. 

“We aim to build on the successes with Places for People to extend this approach to benefit other social housing landlords across the UK.”

The retrofitting consortium

The consortium conducting this trial includes British Gas, NatWest, Places for People, Sero and Tallarna.

Led by Pineapple Sustainable Partnerships, it aims to revolutionise the retrofitting of social housing. 

Dan Rosenfield, Managing Director for Net Zero at British Gas, says: "As part of our ambition to energise a greener fairer future, we are committed to helping households to decarbonise in a way that is simple and affordable. 

“We are pleased to be part of this collaboration which is set to implement best practices, learnings and technology."

How retrofitting can improve sustainability

Retrofitting involves modifying existing buildings to improve their efficiency.

It can help to conserve resources by reducing the need for new construction materials for new buildings whilst avoiding demolition waste.

Installing new insulation, energy efficient windows and heating systems helps to make homes more energy efficient.

Retrofitting can help homes to meet modern sustainability standards and integrate renewable energy, such as solar panels. 

Greg Reed, Chief Executive Officer at Places for People, says: "Places for People recognises the critical need for fresh ideas in the social housing sector to address sustainability issues.

"By participating in this project, we're driving progress towards our own sustainability goals while supporting the industry in developing innovative, scalable solutions to achieve net-zero emissions."

The consortium’s aims

As part of this pilot project, the consortium is exploring alternative financial options for retrofitting.

Under exploration is a solution where capital is repaid through a variety of sources, including selling solar power generated by homes, government grants and retrofit credits.

It also hopes to investigate the energy needs of social housing and how they can be addressed.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, says: “To reach our clean power by 2030 target, we are going further and faster in upgrading homes across the UK as part of our Warm Homes Plan."

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