With less than two months to go before the launch of the Government’s Green Deal, it won’t be long before real opportunities begin to open up for businesses looking to unlock the huge potential of the UK’s domestic retrofit market. But if you are a small to medium-sized business, the chances are you are still trying to figure out how you can win a share of this emerging market.
We’re already blogging regularly about SMEs and how they can get the best out of the Green Deal.
But what about the retrofit challenge itself?
You may have been to a workshop, seminar or even an exhibition to find out more about domestic retrofit. Maybe you’ve had experience of retrofitting services as part of refurbishing a property.
But how do you turn this retrofit experience into a business fit for the future?
Perhaps you’ve been put off getting involved in retrofit because all you ever hear about are setbacks with incentive schemes like the Green Deal, or the red tape you’ll have to wade through, or the training and accreditation you’re going to have to invest in. Maybe you’ve told yourself there’s no harm in putting things off until later – the economy is hardly picking up after all…
Why prepare my business for retrofit now?
The UK has some of the ‘leakiest’ homes in the world. They account for more than 28 per cent of total UK energy use (and associated CO2 emissions). Most (20 million) will still be standing in 2050, when the UK has committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent. This means we need to start retrofitting them on an industrial scale – around one a minute.
At this rate, and at an average cost per home of £25,000, it estimated the retrofit market could be worth £500 billion over the next 40 years. This represents a huge business opportunity for SMEs, which have an essential part to play in ensuring there is sufficient capacity in the supply chain.
What help is out there for my small business?
If you are a small business that wants to ensure your business is at the forefront of a market that is expected to be worth £500 billion over the next four decades, then a great place to start is the Institute for Sustainability’s Low Carbon Domestic Retrofit Guides.
These commercially-focused guides have been written by leading UK retrofit experts and are packed full of practical advice and best practice on domestic retrofit. They’ve already been read by almost 4000 professionals and trades people, including architects, surveyors, builders, project managers, plumbers and electricians, and are now recognised as essential reading for the retrofit sector.
What’s in the Retrofit Guides?
The 12 guides cover topics including:
- Introduction to the low carbon domestic retrofit guides
- Surveying and assessing dwellings for low carbon retrofit
- Planning low carbon retrofit projects
- Funding and procurement for low carbon retrofit projects
- Managing low carbon retrofit projects
- Improving the building fabric
- Improving the building services
- Green retrofit: materials, waste, water and maintenance
- Living in a low carbon home
- Identifying opportunities and promoting low carbon retrofit projects
- Promotion programmes for low carbon retrofit
- Skills, training and accreditation for low carbon retrofit.
The Guides were first published by the Institute in early 2012, but are being re-launched this week with fully updated versions of Guides A and B to reflect the latest developments on Government incentive schemes such as the Green Deal and the skills, training and qualifications required. They are available to download electronically free of charge here. You can view the Institute’s explainer video about the guides here.
