If the UK is to meet its world-leading carbon reduction targets, create jobs and reduce fuel poverty then the energy efficiency and comfort performance of the UK’s existing 28 million homes must be addressed.
The Sustainable Development Foundation is supporting the development of a National Retrofit Strategy, a framework outlining how we can retrofit the UK’s 28 million existing homes. The initial strategy was developed in consultation with the construction industry, and has more than 50 supporter organisations.
This strategy promises to provide consistency for businesses and households who want to invest in retrofit. Modelling in the strategy shows that if the Government invested just over £5 billion by the end of this Parliament, then this would unlock 100,000 jobs, save 100Mt of CO2 emissions, reduce household bills by £436 on average[1], deliver significant comfort benefits and reduce winter deaths by 6,000 per year.
The SDF team are now working with key industry partners, including the Green Construction Board, the Federation of Master Builders and Retrofit Works, to explore the development of a National Retrofit Task Force. Watch this space for more information.
[1] Savings at 2021 prices – savings likely to be double that rate in 2022