NatWest reveals free retrofit programme for construction workers
The leading national bank has teamed up with the Supply Chain Sustainability School to provide a new retrofit learning platform for the sector.
This is the first time the school has partnered with NatWest, but both organisations aim to build capacity and capability to accelerate retrofitting of UK buildings to make them more energy efficient.
As it stands, the construction sector contributes to 40% of the UK’s carbon emissions and as 80% of the buildings that will be standing at 2050 already exist, the UK cannot deliver against its net zero ambitions without retrofitting establishments to become more environmentally friendly.
Alongside helping to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere, retrofitting offers to improve people’s quality of life – making homes more energy efficient, for example, helps to save people in the long-run which, during today’s climate, is welcomed.
Against this backdrop, the school is bets placed to deliver positive change. It’s sustainability platform currently offers free training to 80,000 registered users, covering retrofit as well as 17 key sustainability topics including energy & carbon, waste & circular economy and more.
With this in mind, after the school has obtained NatWest’s support, it’s retrofit projects will hopefully inspire other companies to follow suit.
Ian Heptonstall, director of the Supply Chain Sustainability School, said: ‘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.’
‘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,’ James Close, head of climate change at NatWest Group said. ‘Decarbonising properties will require retrofitting existing buildings to increase their energy efficiency, constructing new energy efficient buildings and decarbonisation of electricity and heating supply.’
James added: ‘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.’
Image: Marcin Rogozinski
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