Zero Ambitions Podcast: Recent Episodes

Jeff, Dan, Sara, Alex & Duncan

A podcast about sustainability, net-zero goals, and the built environment.

Focused on what can be done to meet the collective challenges that lie ahead, this is a podcast to share good practice, advice and stories about the importance of sustainable building and our obsession with retrofit.

The podcast will bring you interviews with organisations and institutions that play key roles in the move to net-zero homes and the stories of people who are living in them.

We often talk about the notion of selling high performance building to people but we rarely seem to talk with people who actually deal with the customers.

In an effort to fill this gap we were joined by Andy Mitchell, MD at Green Building Store, a long-established retailer of all the things a high-performance building might require, and a passive house specialist.

We start with ventilation before meandering our way through customer needs, the value of design, passive house, window sills, retrofit, and all the sort of things you might expect from us by now.

Notes from the show

Andy on LinkedIn
Green Building Store website

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page
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Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon Upfront
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Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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'EnerPHit need not be any more expensive than retrofit': those are the words that we put into the mouth of this week's guest Mel Reynolds. He stood by them, even if they weren't his own, but advisedly. It's not necessarily easy, but it can be done, and it can be scaled up.

Mel took us through his experience in working on high-performance buildings, learning passive house principles, undertaking his own new builds, and applying everything he's learned to carry out EnerPHit-standard retrofit. The standards and good practices that he's learned have been incorporated as common sense standards to uphold whatever project he's working on, and he's made it work.

The long and short of the conversation is that good planning and design will improve your impact (comfort and carbon) without necessarily increasing construction costs.

Notes from the show

Mel's writing in Passive Hous Plus
Mel on Twitter
The Mews House, in the Irish Times
The Mews Hous on Instagram

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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Returning champion, Dave Pearson of Star Refrigeration joins us to talk about the viability of heat networks. There loads we can learn from Dave's experience, so keep a notepad handy.

Rather than talk in the abstract, we discussed the conditions that make them viable, why anyone should consider one, and how we can make them happen.

Notes from the show

Dave Pearson on LinkedIn
The Star Refrigeration website
An example of Dave's blunt and incisive candour on LinkedIn
The 'Fairopoly' website and animation
Should I Bake and the Baking Forcast Twitter feed (I won't call it X, it's like when Peter Mandleson rebranded the Post Office as Consignia, remember that?)
The new Passive House Plus, featuring the River Clyde Homes project in which Dave and Star are involved

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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Lauding an alternative viewpoint to always aiming for the loftiest standards, in this PH+ Revisited Lloyd is championing Toby Cambray's Insulate Britain-inspired article, from February 2022: Let's get decarbonisation done.

It's an article about taking a differently-considered approach to domestic decarbonisation strategy and one that Lloyd has referenced frequently because of its refreshingly pragmatic look at prioritising our action. Should we favour deep, whole-house retrofits as per traditional Passivhaus dogma, or should we push for the installation of heat pumps and do just enough retrofit to make it all work?

You can read what Lloyd has written about 'heatpumpification' in response to Toby's article on Treehugger but this feels like sufficient summary for here:

"He breaks my spellchecker by verbing heat pumps, writing that while you could just install heat pumps, "this does not however mean that it’s a good idea to put a heat pump in a building with poor fabric efficiency. Although there are cases where other constraints mean we have little choice, ultimately we need to both (mostly) Insulate Britain and (mostly) Heatpumpify Britain." Heatpumpify and heatpumpification have been added to my dictionary".

Retrofit is a part of the climate discourse that can often feel dominated by a puritan attitude towards fabric-first approaches and the heresy that Toby presents feels like a practical philosophy that balances high-performance building with an awareness of embodied carbon.

We also make sure that Richard Lowes gets his credit for authoring this new verb: to "heatpumpify" a home or building.

And, when we get around to learning iMovie, there might be a little bit of video on our Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page, so give us a follow there if you can.

Notes from the show

Let's get decarbonisation done, from Passive House Plus (February 2022)
Toby Cambray on LinkedIn
Greengauge Building Energy Consultants
Lloyd's Treehugger piece in response to Toby's article

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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Joined by returning champion, Rufus Grantham, we're talking about using community and place-based approaches to catalysing large-scale retrofit. To this end he's set up a new consultancy Living Places and he'll tell you all about it this week.

We're not pretending it's actually easy, but if you create the opportunity the finance will follow, and setting up the opportunity is a lot harder than finding money that wants to be put to 'work'.

We cover everything we can in the time we have: net zero neighbourhoods, innovative finance in lieu of debt, social benefit opportunities, supply chains, and touch on the limited (or limiting) role of green mortgages.

We're really looking forward to seeing what happens with this one.

Notes from the episode

Rufus on LinkedIn
The official website for Living Places

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Listen to Accelerate to Zero, Sara's podcast produced at BE-ST, on Apple or Spotify
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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Welcome home Duncan Smith! And, we're pleased to introduce Richard Orr, Head of Asset and Regeneration at River Clyde Homes.

We've been alluding to the things that Duncan is up in his new role as Head of Energy & Sustainability, so we were delighted when he said he'd come back to tell us all about his new life in Greenock.

The work they're doing should be as significant for private developers as it is for the social housing sector. It's a big strategic project, providing better homes for their tenants, and better living for a whole community on the River Clyde.

They're being very ambitious and they're well aware that they won't meet all of their lofty aspirations, but what they're achieving already feels pretty significant. Approaching asset development and renewal with a long-term vision that is addressing: fuel poverty, demand reduction, localised energy generation and distribution, community wealth building, and even a carbon offsetting scheme that could really make a difference.

Notes from the episode

River Clyde Homes
'Back to the Future': the Green Building, built in 1994 in Dublin's Temple Bar
Vertical farming on Brass Eye
IndiNature - Natural fibre construction insulation
The Politics of Change and a Real Green New Deal (part 1), with Robin McAlpine of Common Weal
The Politics of Change and a Real Green New Deal (part 2), with Robin McAlpine of Common Weal

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Listen to Accelerate to Zero, Sara's podcast produced at BE-ST, on Apple or Spotify
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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Kit Knowles is a sustainability consultant whose pioneering practice, Ecospheric, is forging its own path, concerned with making the greatest impact, getting things done, and big backer of research so they can learn how to do better.

This week’s episode can be summarised as being about “the inherent conservation of energy principles associated with a building” i.e. design before fabric, and doing the work on paper before you get close to construction. Hence, ‘fabric second, not fabric first’.

His firm, Ecospheric, is an award-winning consultancy that supports planners, architects, and developers in designing and delivering pioneering eco developments that save carbon and drive technological change. There’s every chance that you’ll have encountered his work before, particularly the renowned Zetland Passive House in Manchester.

We touch on a bit of everything but there’s loads more to see to check the Ecospheric website.

Notes from the episode

Ecospheric's website
Zetland Road in Passive House Plus: The deepest greenest retrofit ever?
Ecospheric on Twitter (or X as it's known now, apparently)

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Listen to Accelerate to Zero, Sara's podcast produced at BE-ST, on Apple or Spotify
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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Today, we have a new show on the feed. Long-time friend and contributor to the Zero Ambitions Universe, Lloyd Alter is taking the reins to look back at some of the fine work that Jeff has commissioned over the years, with a mind to making it more accessible to a wider audience.

So, in parallel with the main show, Lloyd will be curating a tour through some of the best of Passive House Plus, interviewing the work's authors, and looking at the subject matter from a transatlantic perspective.

This week we are joined by journalist Kate de Selincourt to talk about her 'Cold Truths' two-part feature, published back in January of this year. It might seem out of place to be discussing it in July, but these issues shouldn't just be seasonal because if we're only talking about them in winter it's already too late to act.

Cold Truths: Part 1
Cold Truths: Part 2

Kate's links

Kate's own website
Kate on Twitter
Her appearance on our 'overheating' episode last summer
Kate’s research on the PHT website: the Passivhaus Trust Costs & Benefits research report
1. Download the Benefits summary guide (part two) here
2. Download the Health & Wellbeing PDF from here (it's referenced in the further reading section)

Lloyd's other links

Safety checks run down and boom time for criminals: this is why the UK is becoming the ‘dustbin of Europe’ - Lloyd shared this article with us shortly after the conversation, which neatly sums up much of our conversation
A paywall-free link to the FT article Lloyd mentions 'The battle over M&S Oxford Street and construction’s carbon footprint'

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Listen to Accelerate to Zero, Sara's podcast produced at BE-ST, on Apple or Spotify
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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Air quality matters, that's the subject for this week in our conversation with Simon Jones and it's all about ventilation. In this instance, Air Quality Matters is Simon's new consultancy offering outcome-focused ventilation strategy.

Simon is a professional with nearly 20 years of experience within the housing, construction, and building services sector. He's an Associate Member of both The Institute of Environmental Science and the Institute of Air Quality Management, and; he's acted as expert advisor to Government during the pandemic. And, there's more, so check his website and LinkedIn.

Our chat covered ventilation for the home and the workplace, and for health. The broad growing demands around regulation, precipitated by the prevalence of mould and damp, and the work-from-home time bomb, around employer responsibilities.

Notes from the episode

Simon on LinkedIn
Air Quality Matters, Simon's consultancy website
Health and Safety Authority's Code of Practice for Indoor Air Quality
BESA focus areas for indoor air quality

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Listen to Accelerate to Zero, Sara's podcast produced at BE-ST, on Apple or Spotify
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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This week we are spreading the word about the Buildings Action Coalition (BAC), a coalition of professionals from all areas of the built environment, from all over the planet, brought together to support a UN-backed global target for 'near-zero emissions and resilient buildings to become the new normal by 2030'.

Mindful of this 2030 decline, the BAC is bringing professionals together to "turbocharge our progress and work together to make this a decade of delivery".

Jeff was able to arrange for us to be joined by Scott Foster (former Director of Sustainable Energy for the UN Economic commission for Europe, and former guest of the podcast, alongside Barbara-Ann Murphy, CEO of The Enniscorthy Forum (the BAC's parent group) and a Local Councillor.

This really should be of interest to most of our listeners and something we believe that you'll all benefit from.

Notes from the episode

The Buildings Action Coalition web page
The Enniscorthy Forum
The BAC webinars so far (scroll down halfway the page to find them)
The Buildings Breakthrough Target

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Listen to Accelerate to Zero, Sara's podcast produced at BE-ST, on Apple or Spotify
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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This week we're joined by Gillian Campbell, the Communications and Public Affairs Lead at Existing Homes Alliance Scotland, a professional with a wealth of experience in the housing sector.

Gillian has been involved in some really interesting work around influencing government policy around their retrofit strategy. In particular, their research has revealed insights that are relevant to anyone in the retrofit sector: from the need for good messaging, to the importance of timing in using it, and the fundamental need for frameworks that support and enable consumers to act. Whether the audience is a homeowner or asset manage, in Scotland or North America, the lessons are largely relevant to all.

Notes from the episode

The Existing Homes Alliance Scotland
Building blocks for successful customer journeys to net zero homes – EHA Policy Paper
Owning the Future: a framework of regulations for decarbonising owner-occupied homes in Scotland – Report for the EHA by Dr Catrin Maby and Louise Sunderland
Affordable Warmth – Next steps for clean heat in Scotland – Report by WWF Scotland
The Novoville platform we mentioned

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Listen to Accelerate to Zero, Sara's podcast produced at BE-ST, on Apple or Spotify
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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This week we met Peter Warm and Sally Godber, a father and daughter team well known in low energy building for their work at their Warm consultancy. Although Peter may now be retured they've both been instrumental in Warm, consultancy in volved in testing and certification of buildings, as well as training for professionals.

We hadn't intended to focus on passive house, again, thinking that we could dig into their experience as certifiers for low-energy buildings. Our idea was to ask about the basics of how to approach building better, interrogating the things that they commonly see going wrong, and offer some top tips for what to avoid.

They've been heavily involved in the delivery of flagship developments like Goldsmith Street, as well as being notable for their long-running practice. However it took a while for us to get to that because of some remarkable news about their Coaction non-profit.

Unexpectedly we were waylaid by some exciting developments in the work that their new training non-profit has been making, setting out to revolutionise training within the built environment by offering a basic grounding in PH (building physics) first to architectural students with plans to make this available to all professions within the built environment.

We did cover the top tips but only late on: the tl:dr is to get an experienced energy, retrofit, or passive house consultant involved at the earliest opportunity to help steer you right; it is an investment, not a cost.

Notes from the episode

The Warm Consultancy's website is here
Coaction's website for training is here too
The webinar Sally mentions is available to members of the Passive House Institute (PHI) and accessible here; we believe that it is the Quality assurance concepts for fast deep renovation approaches but I don't have a login so I can't check
They also recommended checking last year's Efficiency Now campaign from the PHI as a place you can find some information in lieu of a login
Here’s some info on the stepwise approach that is mentioned frequently too

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Listen to Accelerate to Zero, Sara's podcast produced at BE-ST, on Apple or Spotify
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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This week Beth Williams joined us to talk about structural engineering and sustainability.

She's an associate at Build Collective, (one of Jeff's favourites), and a professional who is long-steeped in green building practice. While there were some rash accusations of 'nepo baby' status, it seems that economic casualty seems fairer.

Trained as an architect Beth went where the work was after the global economic crisis in 2008 and found her true calling in structural engineering. As the only Passive House-qualified structural engineer in the UK, she is well-versed in trying unconventional approaches to structural design, planning for the future, and considering best use of resources.

Notes from the episode

The Build Collective website
We couldn't find a page for the specific ACAN event we discussed, but here’s their event page
IStructE Climate Emergency info
An IStructE retrofit event
ICE Decarbonisation info
ICE Knowledge Networks (some of which are geared towards climate emergency issues)

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agency
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Join ACAN
Join the AECB
Join the IGBC
Listen to Accelerate to Zero, Sara's podcast produced at BE-ST, on Apple or Spotify
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience

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Back in the summer Glasgow-based architect Chris Stewart became the new President of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), so a chat with him was right up our street.

He has long been a strong advocate for the incorporation of sustainability into architectural practice and education, so when Sara found herself on a tour of Shetland in his company she seized an opportunity to book him for the show.

As an individual with a strong track record in ecological design for the built environment, we were delighted to hear about his plans for his premiership and were particularly enthused by his eagerness and willingness to instigate some very necessary change.

Some references from the show

Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland
Christ Stewart
Collective Architecture (Glasgow)

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Contact Zero Ambitions Partners to talk about any professional help you might need (zap@eiux.agency)
Join the AECB
Join ACAN
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications (zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience)

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In our last episode from BE-ST Fest 2022 Alex and Eddie McAvinchey (Scottish National Investment Bank) explore the funding stages available to companies, from concept to commercial scale, as well as the role of the Scottish National Investment Bank in supporting innovative supply chain companies, housing projects, heat networks, and more.

ICYMI - BE-ST Fest 2022 was a day of inspiring speakers, expos, demos, workshops, and other activities, aimed at promoting and advancing our journey to a zero-carbon built environment.

Some references from the show

Eddie McAvinchey
Sunamp
IndiNature
PFP Capital
BE-ST Fest 2022

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Join the AECB
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In episode four of our mini-series, the ZAP team and Christina Gaiger discuss the need for a shift in perception within the industry of the domestic market and how it must become more accessible in order to achieve net zero.

ICYMI - BE-ST Fest 2022 was a day of inspiring speakers, expos, demos, workshops, and other activities, aimed at promoting and advancing our journey to a zero-carbon built environment.

Some references from the show

Christina Gaiger
BE-ST Fest 2022
Useable buildings.org

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Episode three of our mini-series from BE-ST Fest 2022, where we spoke with Jennifer Phin, MD of energy-efficiency contractor A.C. Whyte & Co.

Following her appearance on the BE connected panel discussion, she shared more of her experiences of her leading a retrofit business in a rapidly changing environment.

ICYMI - BE-ST Fest 2022 was a day of inspiring speakers, expos, demos, workshops, and other activities, aimed at promoting and advancing our journey to a zero-carbon built environment.

Some references from the show

Jennifer Phin
A.C. Whyte & Co

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

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In ep two of our mini-series from BE-ST Fest 2022, fresh from the BE Inspired panel, we spoke with Ele George from Elevate, Catherine Cosgrove chair of the Scottish Ecological Design Association (SEDA), Quam Temidayo from Microsoft, and Jeff Colley.

Representing different facets of the industry, we explored some less commonly discussed retrofit topics (for this podcast at least), such as the need for more re-use in retrofit, how looking at the health of occupants is a way you get motivate change, and how digital technology can be harnessed to link social and commercial value in order to move the sustainability agenda at pace and scale.

Some references from the show

ICYMI - BE-ST Fest 2022 was a day of inspiring speakers, expos, demos, workshops, and other activities, aimed at promoting and advancing our journey to a zero-carbon built environment.

Some references from the show

SEDA
Microsoft
iOpt

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

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In this first BE-ST Fest 22 interview we spoke with Chris Stark, CEO of the Climate Change Committee (or Committee on Climate change, both names appear to be out there), and returning guest Stephen Good, CEO of BE-ST to discuss the journey to net zero as well as touching upon the BE-ST Fest Summit itself.

Chris was there to give the opening keynote address, discussing the role of the built environment in addressing climate change. After the main event he and Stephen offered us a few more of their thoughts on why the journey to net zero is tremendously exciting but requires more aspiration, more imagination, and perhaps to take some inspiration from the ambition of the Victorian era's massive investment in infrastructure.

ICYMI - BE-ST Fest 2020 was day of inspiring speakers, expo, demos, workshops, and other activities, aimed at promoting and advancing our journey to a zero carbon built environment.

Some references from the show

Chris Stark
Stephen Good
Built Environment - Smarter Transformation (BE-ST)
BE-ST Fest 2022 programme

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

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Last week, we went to BE-ST Fest 2022, we've definitely mentioned it before. We mention it again because while we were there we took an opportunity to catch up with some of the speakers and some friends of the show.

So, we have a little episode with Sara, Alex, and Jeff to set the scene and introduce the series, as well as offering a little of their experiences having been there as host, panelist, and interviewer.

ICYMI - BE-ST Fest 2020 was day of inspiring speakers, expo, demos, workshops, and other activities, aimed at promoting and advancing our journey to a zero carbon built environment.

Some references from the show

Did Jeff waffle on for 7 or 10 minutes? (Yes he did.)
Built Environment - Smarter Transformation (BE-ST)
BE-ST Fest 2022 programme

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

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We caught up with friend of the show, Robbie McGrath, Head of Sustainability at D/RES Properties in Ireland. He's a mechanical engineer who meandered his way into sustainability, working as a sustainability consultant with corporate asset managers in the nordics and (bizarrely,) the British Embassy in Finland.

We talked about loads of stuff. He's really interesting.

Some of the references from the show

Silken Park, Ireland's largest commercial Passivhaus development, as featured in Passive House Plus, as well as D/RES's own case study.
D/RES's Tinakilly Park, the recent development that we discuss, that featured heavily in a recent issue of the magazine*.
The GRESB website. Bizarrely, I couldn't find an explanation of the acronym anywhere on there; I'm sure that Robbie explains it at one point. Otherwise, it seems like a really good scheme.
That story about rushing foundations to beat building regs in the UK.
Ireland's Building Energy Rating (BER) system for judging A1 on homes.
Polar Night Energy, the Finnish company that heats up sandpits.

*"The magazine" is always Passive House Plus.

*SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION*We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

Join the AECB
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Part two of our long, rambling chat with Tania Jennings about delivering public sector projects including an Energiesprong scheme. She has experience that wraps in collective procurement as well as keeping the momentum up throughout lockdown.

Tania has a keen insight into the many opportunities, as well as the difficulties, in trying to make our homes safer, warmer, and more efficient.

Some of the references from the show.

BE-ST Fest 2020
Energiesprong in the UK
Retrofit Reimagined
Energiesprong in a day
That 2040 documentary
The West London Alliance, the public sector partnership between seven West London local authorities of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, and Hounslow.

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This week we had a long, rambling chat with Tania Jennings about delivering public sector projects including an Energiesprong scheme. She has experience that wraps in collective procurement as well as keeping the momentum up throughout lockdown. Part two up on Thursday.

Tania has a keen insight into the many opportunities, as well as the difficulties, in trying to make our homes safer, warmer, and more efficient.

Some of the references from the show.

BE-ST Fest 2020
Energiesprong in the UK
Retrofit Reimagined
Energiesprong in a day
That 2040 documentary
The West London Alliance, the public sector partnership between seven West London local authorities of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, and Hounslow.

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Guestless, we had a chat amongst ourselves and talked a lot about social housing and retrofit. Eventually, we even got on to talking about Alex's passiv shed.

We've got some links below to the things we talked about.

A link to the BE-ST Fest 2022 web page.
Jan Rosenow's article 'Is heating homes with hydrogen all but a pipe dream? An evidence review'.
That Richard Seymour book: The Disenchanted Earth: Reflections on Ecosocialism & Barbarism (it's really good and a very easy read).
Ryan Philip's blog 'Heat Pumps are not the Answer'.
That Guardian article about how the Scottish rent cap will affect social housing.
The white paper we wrote about how social housing could be a catalyst for the retrofit industry.
We'll add a link to some photos of Alex's shed. Keep an eye on his LinkedIn profile.

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We got a chance to have a chat with a bonafide celebrity, Ed Begley Jr. As well as being a TV and Hollywood actor, Ed is a long-time environmental activist, and in those terms, Ed is a man who walks the walk, not just red carpets.

Jeff got in touch with him to speak about the Platinum LEED house he was able to build following the success of his reality TV show. The interview was actually conducted for Passive House Plus magazine, but we thought it might work as a podcast episode too, so we recorded it and have a version ready to put out as a bonus episode on the Zero Ambitions feed.

We talked about Ireland, what it's like to be a sustainability-focused person promoting better practice in a land of overconsumption, his long-time interest in environmentalism, the challenges of any resource-conscious building project, and Ed's three pillars for driving progress in sustainability activism.

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The immensely knowledgable and experienced Marina Topouzi and Nigel Griffiths joined us for a chat about retrofit, this time adding heritage into the mix and acknowledging the past, not just thinking about the future.

Marina Topouzi is a research associate at the Environmental Change Institute's energy research programme in the Lower Carbon Futures team. Her current project researches deep renovation policy initiatives and policy mixes across the world including both technology-focused and people-focused policies. Marina has been involved in building the Eco Retrofit App - a risk management tool to support low-energy skills literacy and mitigate the risk of poor-quality retrofits. She is a steering group member for the BSI PAS 2035: 2019 Retrofit standards.

Nigel Griffiths is a sustainability and energy efficiency expert in the built environment with over 25 years’ of experience as a practitioner, project manager, author, and consultant. As Director of the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance, he works at the cutting edge of sustainability for heritage buildings. He is the author of numerous reports and several books on sustainable building including the Eco House Manual (Haynes 2007, paperback edition 2016) and more recently From Retrofit to Regeneration: A blueprint for post-Covid recovery.

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Alex and Dan took some time to speak with Allan Smith, Low Carbon Manager at Morrison Construction, to find out about how a tier one contractor is approaching the low-carbon game.

The conversation took in the viability of the Passivhaus standard at scale, the responsibility for leading your supply chain in learning how to deliver for you, a little bit of retrofit, and a little about the difference between private and public sector demand.

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A great discussion with Gavin, the Chief Executive of the CIH, and Callum, who is the National Director in Scotland. We had a fascinating conversation that covered a wide range of housing policies, including new builds, retrofits, the private rented sector and loads. This is the second part of the podcast we recorded.

Last year before CoP26, we spoke to Scott Foster, the Director of Sustainable Energy and Jenna Crammer at the Green Building Alliance in Pittsburgh. This year between the 21st and 23rd of September, the U.S. will host the first ever Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh. The three-day event will feature a high-level plenary, topical roundtable with energy and science ministers from 31 countries, CEOs and experts, side events, technology demonstrations, and other activities. As the High-Performance Buildings Initiative – Centres of Excellence will feature throughout the summit, we thought we would rerelease the episode we did last year.

A great discussion with Gavin, the Chief Executive of the CIH, and Callum, who is the National Director in Scotland. We had a fascinating conversation that covered a wide range of housing policies, including new builds, retrofits, the private rented sector and loads. This is the first of a two-parter, with the second out Thursday the 22nd of Septebmer.

This Zero Ambitions bonus episode is the second part of our CIH collaboration, produced a Scotland's Housing Festival 2022.

Again, we're joined by Callum Chomczuk (National director, CIH Scotland) following the 'Four nations - one PRS system' session.

That session introduced PRS reps from across the UK presenting their take on the priorities and challenges faced by the PRS housing system, particularly looking at post-devolution divergence across the regions.

We were joined by:

Alice Simpson | Board member, CIH Scotland

Professor Ken Gibb | Director, UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE)

Daryl McIntosh | Policy manager, Property Mark

Douglas Haig | Board member, CIH Cymru and non executive Janet Hunter | CEO, Housing Rights

Many thanks to our speakers and all the guys at the CIH who helped us out on the day.

The CIH podcast can be found on the CIH website, Spotify, and the usual other apps.

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We don't have a standard Zero Ambitions episode this week so we're putting out this bonus episode that we recorded back in May.

We are joined by Callum Chomczuk (National director, CIH Scotland) following the festival's opening session "The right to a home". It is the first of a collaborative two-parter we produced a the Chartered Institute of Housing's Glasgow Conference, Scotland's Housing Festival 2022.

At this session our speakers talked about why human rights and dignity must be at the heart of our housing policy, as well as the notion that having a stable, secure home is central to every aspect of our health, wellbeing, educational attainment.

We were joined by:

Gavin Smart | CEO, Chartered Institute of Housing

Dr Elaine Webster | Director, Centre for the Study of Human Rights Law, and Senior Lecturer at Strathclyde Law School

Fanchea Kelly | Chief executive, Blackwood Homes and Care

Mike Dailly | Solicitor advocate and principal solicitor, Govan Law Centre

Many thanks to our speakers and all the guys at the CIH who helped us out on the day.

The CIH podcast can be found on the CIH website, Spotify, and the usual other apps.

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First, thanks for the heads-up, Joe!

Part two of our chat with Robin McAlpine is an experienced political strategist and founder of the Scottish think tank, Common Weal. (Again. it's a little profane at points, so be warned if you have kids about.)

Over the two episodes, we discuss the political landscape, the actual economics of change, how power is exercised in order to activate and inhibit change, and what plans to achieve a zero-impact society might actually look like.

Links to other things that we mentioned
Common Weal website
Common Weal's Green New Deal for Scotland
Common Weal t-shirts
La Haine, "so far, so good" clip
Do watch the whole film though, La Haine
Tales from the Mall, by Ewan Morrison

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Last week we met with 'friend of the show; Jennifer Phin, MD of A.C. Whyte & Co., a firm with decades of experience delivering energy efficiency through retrofit measures

As part of our ongoing conversation about the challenges around retrofit, she has a lot to offer the discourse.

Our discussion included the role of procurement in delivering successful retrofit, the need for greater client-side literacy (to appraise cost vs value), and the desperate need for a stronger education strategy across the board, from building up the body of specialised personnel that the industry needs, to the sorts of education that benefit the occupants, post installation of measures. All common themes, underpinned by a long-term, coal-face contractor's experience.

You'll find A.C. Whyte & Co online and on LinkedIn, but we definitely recommend checking the Skills Academy video.

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This week Dan and Sara had the chance to speak with retrofit pioneer Russell Smith, of Parity Projects and Retrofit Works. As a long-marcher in the retrofit space, we talked about the challenges of being a first-mover in the retrofit industry, the perennial problems it faces, and the necessity for significant culture change at all levels.

This also included a discussion of the impact that localisation and fostering of collaboration could have on catalysing the development of a much larger retrofit industry.

In the light of governmental inertia and the traditionally competitive instincts of the construction sector, collaboration actually offers a viable route to all the players delivering the best possible quality, and importantly, earning more money. Proper collaboration has the potential to deliver the sort of retrofit industry that homeowners, local authorities, and social housing entities really need.

Some links to Russell's work
https://parityprojects.com
https://retrofitworks.co.uk
https://cosyhomesoxfordshire.org

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In this episode, Sara speaks to Charlotte Bailey from Civic Square.Sara spoke to Charlotte about how we value approaches to problem solving in the built environment, going beyond technical responses into considering the importance of building trust and community, as well as the slow work of organising. All key facets of her role as Dream Matter Story Teller at Civic Square.

Throughout the episode we have included a collection of short interviews from participants and audience members at the festival.

Our vox pop lineup includes: Immy, from People Powered Retrofit; Toqueer, from Friends of the Earth Birmingham; Aba, from St Martins Church; David, from Canopy Housing; Cat, from Dark Matter Labs; James, from Rixon Architecture; Bobby, from ACAN; Sam, a local project manager; Sophie, from Carbon Coop; Sarah, from Nettle Fold, and; Scott from Anthropocene Architecture School.

To find out more about the event check the following links. If you need any more context, check our episode with Immy Kaur of the same organisation and Jack Minchella of Dark Matter Labs, published in the lead-up to the Retrofit Reimagined festival.

The speaker lineup from the Retrofit Reimagined festival

Video recordings from the days (YouTube):
1. Systemic Challenges and Opportunities
2. Existing and Emerging Practice

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This week we didn't have a guest, just Dan, Duncan, Jeff, and Sara. But we still managed to record two hours of chatter. We won't subject you to it all.

This episode started out by discussing the right of reply that contractors are probably due on Zero Ambitions (they come in for a lot of stick), and we also talked about the difficulties in maintaining standards from design through to delivery, the way culture needs to change, and a bunch of other stuff.

Dan refers to a bit coming after the end theme, it's been postponed for now. There was a lot more to the conversation, much of which we'll put out on another episode. We ended up talking about the hot weather (boring by now, surely), and discussed whether we sometimes get a little too political, rather than just talking about sustainability and the built environment. If that sounds like it'll be up your street, check it on Thursday.

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With much of Europe in literal meltdown, we wanted to talk about another kind of overheating – natural, but very much carbon-assisted, overheating.

We took some time to pick the brains of three bona fide experts, passive house consultants Nick Grant, Alan Clarke, and sustainable building journalist Kate de Selincourt. All three have been frequent contributors to industry technical guidance from the AECB, the Passivhaus Trust, and even our very own Passive House Plus magazine.

We talked about strategies to prevent or limit overheating right now, a little about the physics of why we feel hot, and how to design new builds and retrofit to reduce the risk of overheating in a warming world.

Nick and Alan have had a hand in some of the UK's most significant passive house projects, covering all shapes, sizes, and typologies – from schools to apartments, private homes, and even climate-sensitive archive buildings.

Kate, meanwhile, is arguably the most forensic journalist covering the minutiae of low-energy building in the UK, with a long track record of seminal articles for Passive House Plus.

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Part two of our chat with Robin McAlpine is an experienced political strategist and founder of the Scottish think tank, Common Weal. (Again. it's a little profane at points, so be warned if you have kids about.)

Over the two episodes, we discuss the political landscape, the actual economics of change, how power is exercised in order to activate and inhibit change, and what plans to achieve a zero-impact society might actually look like.

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Links to other things that we mentioned
Common Weal website
Common Weal's Green New Deal for Scotland
Common Weal t-shirts
La Haine, "so far, so good" clip
Do watch the whole film though, La Haine
Tales from the Mall, by Ewan Morrison

This was a much more political conversation than usual, but don't be put off. Robin McAlpine is an experienced political strategist and founder of the Scottish think tank, Common Weal.

We mainly wanted to speak with Robin about their Green New Deal, a fully-costed programme of action, explaining how life in Scotland will need to change in order to reverse environmental harm and social failure.

We covered a lot too, so it's a long one which we've split into two parts. (It's also a little profane at points, so be warned if you have kids about.)

Over the two episodes, we discuss the political landscape, the actual economics of change, how power is exercised in order to activate and inhibit change, and what plans to achieve a zero-impact society might actually look like.

We really enjoyed Robin's company and hope you do too.

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We also discussed exporting traditional Scots wellness expertise to China, and a few thoughts on the various qualities of Buckfast, the tonic wine that is Devon's primary export to Scotland. That all felt a bit too far off topic to keep in the main body, so we've tacked it on after the closing theme tune. (FYI, it's the most sweary bit too.)

Links to other things that we mentioned
Common Weal website
Common Weal t-shirts
La Haine, "so far, so good" clip
Do watch the whole film though, La Haine

This week we spoke to Immy Kaur of Civic Square and Jack Minchella of Dark Matter labs about the upcoming Retrofit Reimagined festival, who is taking part, why it's happening, and how you can get involved and attend.

For more details check the following links:
bit.ly/RetrofitReimagined22
https://civicsquare.cc/
https://www.architectscan.org/
https://darkmatterlabs.org/Team

We had a chat with architect and building physicist, Gary Wilburn. He's the MD of EP Projects (the architectural wing of Energy Pro Group), and Chair of the Board of Trustees at the AECB.

He's been a pioneer in sustainable construction, pushing innovation in sustainable architecture and design, incorporating building physics and whole-life value as an essential part of the process, across retrofit and new build projects at all sorts of size and scale.

EP Projects website
Please join the AECB, it's excellent value.
Retrofit Reimagined festival, 13-16 July, at various locations across Birmingham.

In this second of a two-part interview with Peter Rickaby, we discuss the challenges of how we upgrade the UK’s historic housing stock and the difficulties we face with our hard-to-treat properties. We talk about heat pumps and the additional energy we’ll need to electrify heating as well as low carbon heat networks and where it could and should be used in conjunction with reducing the energy demand for our homes.

And procurement – are the contracts here that we need to deliver retrofit at scale and what do we need from our procurement managers to do so.

Last week Jeff, Dan, Sara and Duncan met up with Dr Peter Rickaby to talk about all things retrofit. The conversation centred on PAS 2035 and the work that is going on to review the process over the coming year. However, as usual, we got so involved in the various different themes around retrofit that we made enough for two podcasts so this is part one with part two coming out on Thursday.

Great discussion with Yogini of the Passivhaus Trust, Dr Ken Gibb at Glasgow University and Chris Morgan of John Gilbert Architects on the retrofit of the sandstone tenement block in the Southside of Glasgow at Niddrie Road to EnerPHit standards.

The AECB is a network of individuals, companies & organisations promoting sustainable building since 1989. With over 1800 members, their aim is to bring together tradespeople, architects, engineers, and builders interested in low carbon retrofit to train and promote best practices, bring about lasting and sustainable change within the construction Industry and push toward net-zero targets.

In this podcast, we speak to Andy Simmonds CEO of the AECB retrofit standard, CarbonLite, and the Low Energy Buildings Database (LEBD), PH Ribbon and embodied carbon and loads more.

The AECB is a network of individuals, companies & organisations promoting sustainable building since 1989. With over 1800 members their aim is to bring together tradespeople, architects, engineers, builders anyone interested in low carbon retrofit to train and promote best practices. With the aim of bringing about lasting and sustainable change within the construction Industry and pushing toward net-zero targets

Decarbonising the built environment is the greatest engineering challenge the UK has ever faced. We are now in an unprecedented period of transformation that requires innovation at speed and scale. The recent rebranding of Construction Scotland Innovation Centre to Built Environment – Smarter Transformation or BE-ST marked a strategic change in how we address the issues within the built environment and climate change.

In this episode, we speak to Stephen Good and Douglas Morrison about the plans the organisation have and the work they are doing around low carbon learning.

This week we’ve gone back to an episode of the podcast that we recorded in the Autumn of 2021 about the UK Energy Market with Professor Kevin Albertson.

The episode was made just after the Ofgem price cap increase in October. We discussed the UK energy market and how it came about, and the opportunity for the Government to get involved, both in regulating and providing energy to try and mitigate fuel poverty.

Given the latest price increase and energy becoming unaffordable for many households – with average bills potentially reaching £3,000 this year and fuel poverty affecting up to 40% of households – we thought that we would revisit the chat with Kevin.

Conversation with Chris Clarke, who is the Performance and Improvement Director at Scape Group. Scape is one of the UK's leading public sector procurement authority within construction and services. Scape is a leading provider of services that accelerate project delivery, embed value for money and create a positive procurement experience.

We met with Nathan Gambling of the Beta Teach platform and BetaTalk podcast. A champion for better heating systems, better training and education, renewables, and clean technology.

We talked about the challenges and complexities associated with heating engineering, not just heat pumps, and the need to optimise our existing heating infrastructure in order to begin seriously reducing demand because we can't change everything at a stroke. We also discussed challenges and problems around training, finding good engineers, and their value, whether it's really appreciated or not.

BetaTeach is his platform for heating engineers.
BetaTalk is his own award-winning podcast that's well worth a listen.

After our scheduled guest postponed their appearance we took the opportunity to discuss an issue that's been a little bit fractious in the Zero Ambitions chat: should be building new homes at all?

Heads up: it was an evening pod, some drink had been taken; apologies if the early reference to war in Ukraine sounds a bit glib, we aren't able to publish the pre-record chat was a little less centred on us; also Sara was on holiday, and Rachael dropped out at the last minute, so it's a bit of a boys-club episode.

There's a little mild profanity too.

Some links to things we mentioned
Passive House Plus magazine (soon to feature that article Jeff has been wrestling with)
Orson Welles getting drunk
Ronald Rovers: There is no ‘end of life' of a building…
Kwaijo Social Housing Twitter
Alex's French book: Construire ou rénover sa maison
Chicken in a can

Heating problems: systemic issues around design, accessibility, and economics
We talked about how poor system design inhibits accessibility (and optimisation), how the heating industry falls short in terms of diversity, and how difficult it is to find the right solutions, for all sorts of reasons.

Laura de Barra is an award winning author, illustrator, and property portfolio developer and has previously consulted on government schemes such as the Green Homes Grant around which she has some key observations.

What drew us to Laura was her efforts in trying to empower mainly renters to understand and maintain their homes by sharing tips, tricks and knowledge from how to rid your home of mould, to understanding how your drainage system works.

Her two books, Gaff Goddess and Decor Galore were a culmination of years of learning on the job of how to improve the conditions people live in. Showing people that it's possible without needing to spend huge money or be reliant on others to fix things for you.
Whilst the government flails around avoiding delivering policy that would help households to live in warmer, healthier and resilient homes, Laura has some tips that can help you now.

You can find out more here https://www.instagram.com/lauradebarra/
Her books are available here:
https://www.easons.com/gaff-goddess-laura-de-barra-9781848272620
https://www.easons.com/decor-galore-laura-de-barra-9781848272668

Tara Gbolade is an architect, passivhouse designer and cofounder of Gbolade Design Studio, a design-led, community centred practice, focused on sustainable design. She is a member of the Architect’s Declare steering group, sits on a number of design panels and co-founded the Paradigm Network, an organisation that champions black and asian representation in the built environment: https://www.paradigmnetwork.co.uk

Marianne Heaslip is an architect and expert in retrofit, low carbon design, building performance evaluation and participative design. She is an Associate Principle at URBED, works in collaboration with Carbon Coop and plays a key role in People Powered Retrofit, an organisation that exists to tackle many of the barriers homeowners face in commissioning retrofit work on their homes: https://retrofit.coop

Our conversation started with a run-down of International Women’s day and the current state of the industry and went on to explore topics such as: how retrofit needs to be user-centred, solving complex problems by bringing broader voices to the table, and how we can learn from pioneers such as Wangari Maathai and Kate Raworth, who stepped outside and beyond their professions to have wide-ranging positive impacts.

Tara and Marianne signposted lots of fantastic resources:

Book: Culture is Bad for You: Orian Brook, Dave O'Brien and Mark Taylor: https://thesociologicalreview.org/reviews/culture-is-bad-for-you-by-brook-obrien-and-taylor/

Book: Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking: Matthew Syed

Community Organisation: Homebaked Community Land Trust: https://homebaked.org.uk/

Training Organisation: B4Box: https://b4box.co.uk

Plus a few more post-podcast references:

Community Organisation: Arts Emergency: https://www.arts-emergency.org

Book: Programmed Inequality: Mar Hicks: https://programmedinequality.com

And don’t forget to check out:

https://www.paradigmnetwork.co.uk

https://retrofit.coop

https://www.gboladedesignstudio.com

http://urbed.coop

https://carbon.coop

Caitriona Jordan from Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) spoke with us about the importance of training in supporting a just transition and shared some of CSIC's plans for accelerating the built environment’s transition to zero carbon.

Caitriona is Head of retrofit programmes, one of four interlinked programmes across which CSIC delivers impact, and her passion is in Low Carbon programmes including the training and upskilling in Passivhaus, EnerPHit and Retrofit.

Keep your ears open for when Caitriona describes how the CSIC is enlivening the future of apprenticeships and how they are also planning to help homeowners better understand the impact a just transition will have on them.

Construction Scotland Innovation Centre is Scotland’s national innovation centre for the built environment and one of Scotland’s seven innovation centres supported by Scottish Government, Scottish Funding Council and Scotland’s Enterprise Agencies.

www.cs-ic.org/innovationcentre/future-skills/low-carbon-learning/

Episode #31 with Adrian Leaman & Bill Bordass . If you’ve started looking into building performance and post occupancy evaluation at all you’ll soon come across research and tools that Adrian Leaman and Bill Bordass have had a hand in.

Together they were involved in the creation of the BUS methodology, the Soft Landings framework, Probe, which later became Nabers, then Nabers UK and Display Energy Certificates – or DEC ratings.

They are experts in making buildings truly usable through feedback and strategy. The pair’s website UsableBuildings.co.uk is a treasure-trove of guidance, research and case studies aimed at encouraging those who make buildings, think about end users, understand their experiences, and take their feedback seriously.

Some links to the files we discussed

www.usablebuildings.co.uk
https://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/UsableBuildings/Unprotected/GeorgeKasabov1979.pdf
https://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/UsableBuildings/Unprotected/Logistical.pdf
https://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/UsableBuildings/Unprotected/WhoBenefits2Sep2013.pdf
https://responsible-retrofit.org/greenwheel/
https://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/UsableBuildings/Unprotected/FlyingBlind.pdf
https://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/UsableBuildings/Unprotected/Usability.pdf
https://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/UsableBuildings/Unprotected/HowIntelligent.pdf

Zero Ambitions is a podcast about sustainability, net-zero goals, and the built environment. We are focused on what can be done to meet the collective net-zero challenges that lie ahead, talk about good practice (not necessarily best), and obsess about retrofit.

https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/government-launches-the-national-retrofitting-scheme/
https://www.gov.ie/en/biography/c5008-eamon-ryan/
https://www.seai.ie/

A great listen this week with a seasoned and experienced activist and politician. 20 years after an EU directive introduced energy performance certificates for buildings across Europe, Ciarán Cuffe explains why the directive is being recast to drive the push to net zero.

"There is no path to meeting our climate targets that doesn't involve much more ambition [on buildings]. By the end of this decade, we need to see a million homes converted to zero-emission heating systems. We need to see a much bigger emphasis on energy efficiency.”

Patrick Harvie, the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings at the Scottish Government, sets out his decarbonisation vision on this week's episode of Zero Ambitions podcast. Patrick explains the role headline policies from the Scottish Government such as the Heat in Buildings Strategy (HiBS) will play in radically decarbonising Scotland’s homes. Patrick also gives his thoughts on tenants’ rights and the role of the private rented sector, and the role that local authorities can play through local heat and energy efficiency strategies.

There's no question that we must decarbonise our housing stock. But we believe there must be a comprehensive approach to demanding the reduction in the first place, and not just a focus on low carbon heating sources. As part of this approach, retrofit can deliver so many other benefits besides more efficient buildings. Healthier places for communities to thrive? Why wouldn't we want to do that?
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmbeis/1038/report.html

Lisa is one of the most experienced building performance consultants working in the UK. She has extensive knowledge of in-use building operation and management, building physics, low-energy services, and fabric design for new build and retrofits domestic and non-domestic buildings.

She takes an evidence-based approach to building performance and is an expert in built environment research, technical risk management and post-occupancy evaluation.

We spoke to Lisa about PAS 2035, how it can be improved, and some of the projects she has been evaluating over the last few years.

Through our discussion with Lisa, it’s clear that if we’re to meet our climate change objectives and decarbonise our homes, we need to understand the lessons of the past so as not to repeat them in the future. Evaluation is critical, and as a wise man once said, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.

Putting our time and energy where our mouths are! Want to know more about taking action on making the changes we need to see around decarbonising our homes? Tune in and hear more about an exciting collaboration between the NEF and ACAN
Here are some links referred to in the episode
https://greathomesupgrade.org/
https://www.householdsdeclare.org/
Join the campaign collaboration working group
https://chat.whatsapp.com/I63Wguu8lpMCYvDdUK3BRd

Reference is made some reports and articles in this episode, which we share here.

Each Home Counts Review: https://www.eachhomecounts.com/

Housing Quality Network article: "Four key ingredients for sustainability in housing" by Jon Dtraaley
https://hqnetwork.co.uk/news/opinion-things-can-only-get-greener-four-key-ingredients-for-sustainability-in-housing-5772

An interview with James Traynor of ECD Architects about retrofit, EnerPHit, Portsmouth's Wilmcote House project (the largest scale retrofit of its type, in its day), and James's fabulous book about EnerPHit.

https://www.ribabooks.com/enerphit-a-step-by-step-guide-to-low-energy-retrofit_9781859468197

https://ecda.co.uk/projects/wilmcote-house-2/

Bankers Without Boundaries (‘BwB’), an innovator in finance, is a not-for-profit powered by former investment bankers to assist high impact projects that benefit the environment and social good. BwB works with governments, institutions, cities, and foundations to mobilize capital advisory and research services.

They apply financial concepts and structuring expertise to projects to align them with the investment needs of capital markets, considering risk reduction, the scaling and generation of financial returns, alongside broader positive co-benefits and impacts. Their focus is to garner public and private institutional support for projects, enabling public funding to sufficiently leverage private capital to generate requisite scalability.

They are committed to catalyzing investment within sustainable development, they are passionate about facilitating necessary solutions and innovation by accelerating entrepreneurship. Reducing emissions in the built environment is a complex problem with multiple components. Many of these complexities arise from an underlying assumption, in nearly all jurisdictions, that solving the problem is the responsibility of individual property owners.

This week we spoke to Barbara Lantschner of John Gilbert Architects. JGA have been dealing with retrofit for many years and specifically with developing monitoring processes that allow them to get to know the existing buildings that they are working with in order to come up with the most appropriate retrofit interventions and solutions. We discussed these processes and some of the publications released this year addressing with retrofit, particularly the LETI Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide.

This week Rachael Owens, head of sustainability at BGY and coordinator at ACAN and Peter Smith of Beyond Zero Homes talk to us about all things embodied carbon and moving towards circular principles in construction. Rachael was involved in the campaign to regulate embodied carbon in the construction industry launched by ACAN earlier this year, without which the construction industry will not be able to decarbonise at pace. Peter was instrumental in creating the COP26 house which was designed to showcase how you can build and live sustainably by using timber and ecologically responsible cradle to cradle solutions, with a low whole-life carbon footprint.

It's easy sometimes to forget the human element of fuel poverty, and whilst recent energy cost rises are an annoyance to the vast majority reading this post, they are nothing more than that. However, we need to understand the human cost to over three million households in the United Kingdom who can't afford to heat their home and the misery and despair that fuel poverty can bring. This week we hear from Alex Warren, at the Wise Group, on the great work they are doing in supporting people who are unemployed or in fuel poverty. Work that supports those who are vulnerable and helps them navigate a system that can often present a challenge to those who need help the most.

However, we hear about the report that they have commissioned Light Off to Lights On detailing the suffering faced by too many households in Scotland and the West.

It's difficult reading, but it is necessary as we often talk about design or the retrofit of buildings in the abstract of those humans we'll ask to live in them. Warm, healthy, comfortable homes are critical to how we develop a housing system that is fit for purpose within the context of a just transition over the coming decade.

We can use cheap red top headlines such as national disgrace, but that won't help the 600,000 families in Scotland who live in fuel poverty in cold, damp, and unhealthy homes.

Internet of things company IoPT have been providing remote monitoring equipment to social landlords now for several years. We hear the benefits that this type of monitoring can bring to both tenants and landlords and how it can help identify where help is needed, and savings can be made.

Conversation with Sara, Dan, Jeff and Alex on the work that ACAN are doing and how we can look to a grassroots movement in promoting the retrofitting of our homes in a sustainable way to tackle climate change.

Discussion with Jeff, Alex and Dan from User Experience is Everything on CoP26 and how communication is critical to how we progress sustainability and radical change in the built environment.https://www.everythingisuserexperience.com/

The episode features lessons learnt from district heating and the work that West Dunbartonshire have been doing on developing heat networks.

Professor of Economics at Manchester Metropolitan University Kevin Albertson makes the point that we can't put off the change that is required now for future generations and that we need to change our socio-economic systems in a way that we use less energy and the energy we do use is done in a sustainable and equitable for everyone in society.

Dave Pearson from Star Renewables talks about district heating during CoP26

Bankers Without Boundaries (‘BwB’), an innovator in finance, is a not-for-profit powered by former investment bankers to assist high impact projects that benefit the environment and social good. BwB works with governments, institutions, cities and foundations to provide advisory and research services to mobilize capital. They apply financial concepts and structuring expertise to projects to align them with the investment needs of capital markets, considering risk reduction, the scaling and generation of financial returns, alongside broader positive co-benefits and impacts.Their focus is to garner public and private institutional support for projects, enabling public funding to sufficiently leverage private capital to generate requisite scalability. We are committed to catalyzing investment within sustainable development and are passionate about facilitating necessary solutions and innovation by accelerating entrepreneurship.Reducing emissions in the built environment is an extremely complex problem with multiple components. Many of these complexities arise from an underlying assumption, in nearly all jurisdictions, that solving the problem is the responsibility of individual property owners.

Professor of Economics at Manchester Metropolitan University Kevin Albertson makes the point that we can't put off the change that is required now for future generations and that we need to change our socio-economic systems in a way that we use less energy and the energy we do use is done in a sustainable and equitable for everyone in society.

Christina Gaiger is the current President of The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) and is committed to the creative reuse of buildings, alongside the construction of a supportive network for the profession, to give traction to the value of good design.Following graduation, Christina has worked on a wide variety of projects, including universities, education facilities, museum design and domestic architecture, for design-led practices Renzo Piano Building Workshop in Paris and Tsao & McKown Architects in New York.Christina returned to Edinburgh and joined Helen Lucas Architects Ltd at the end of 2014, being particularly interested in the practice’s attention to detail and work in architectural conservation.

This week Professor of Economics at Manchester Metropolitan University is giving us a concept or idea on economics the environment and climate change each day.

Dr Jan Rosenow joins us on the first day of CoP26 to talk about the decarbonisation of our buildings and how we transition to zero carbon heating. The conversation includes the electrification of heat and how we ensure a just transition.As the director of European programmes, Dr. Jan Rosenow leads RAP’s initiatives in Europe on power market design and Efficiency First.

He is responsible for all aspects of leadership, management, and financial viability of RAP’s work in Europe.Dr. Rosenow serves on the Executive Committee of the International Energy Agency’s demand-side management program and sits on the board of the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.

He has also advised the International Energy Agency, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), government departments in a number of countries, and the UK’s Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, as well as serving as an expert witness on several occasions to the British Parliament. He was the lead author of the International Energy Agency’s global assessment of market-based instruments for energy efficiency.Dr. Rosenow also has a strong track record in energy research. He is an honorary research associate at Oxford University’s renowned Environmental Change Institute.

He has authored more than 70 publications in the form of peer-reviewed papers, technical reports, and conference papers. He has also served as an expert witness to the House of Commons.In 2020, Dr. Rosenow was elected to be a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) in light of his “longstanding dedication to moving the UK towards a more sustainable and resilient energy future.”Prior to his engagement with RAP, he worked closely with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy through his policy work for the global consultancy Ricardo. Dr. Rosenow earned several post-graduate qualifications, including a master’s degree in environmental policy and regulation from the London School of Economics and a doctorate from Oxford University.

This week we are joined by Bex Porter who is the Built Environment Lead for the High-Level Champions TeamThe UN High-Level Climate Champions are spearheading the race to a cleaner, safer, healthier and more resilient world. Through our campaigns, Race to Resilience and Race to Zero, we are elevating ambition and mobilizing credible climate action among cities, regions, businesses and investors.A GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO BUILD CLIMATE RESILIENCEThe Race to Resilience is the UN-backed global campaign to catalyse a step-change in global ambition for climate resilience, putting people and nature first in pursuit of a resilient world where we don’t just survive climate shocks and stresses but thrive in spite of them.Led by the High-Level Climate Champions for Climate Action – Nigel Topping and Gonzalo Muñoz – the Race to Resilience aims:By 2030, to catalyse action by non-state actors that builds the resilience of 4 billion people from vulnerable groups and communities to climate risks.Through a partnership of initiatives, focus on helping the most vulnerable, frontline communities to build resilience and adapt to the physical impacts of climate change, such as extreme heat, drought, flooding and sea-level rise, in three area types:Urban: Cities, industrial communities and informal settlements become healthy, safe and thriving spaces that support resilient livelihoods and allow for green recovery post COVID-19.Rural: Smallholder farmers, rural entrepreneurs, and industries across food and agricultural supply chains are adaptive and are equipped to thrive in the face of climate change whilst protecting nature.Coastal: Safeguard coastal and riverine cities, communities and businesses through increased investment in adaptation and resilience and protection of natural ecosystems that support those livelihoods and economies.

Morten is the Business Development Manager at DBDH (Danish Board of District Heating) in charge of all activities in Western Europe.The DBDH is a Danish member organization with members from the entire Danish district heating sector. Thier mission is to “Promote District Energy for a Sustainable City Transformation”. Morten works with governments, cities and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen the development of district energy across Europe including the UK and Scotland..Inspired by the long and successful development and implementation of district heating in Denmark which now provides heat to two million Danish homes, Morten’s job is to provide value and insights that can further develop both the understanding of what district heating is and the value it can bring to the European society, communities and end-users. Well planned and well-structured district heating will play an important part in the future heat profile of any European city with a long-term green profile.Morten's career began in the district heating industry in Eastern Europe and Russia more than 20 years ago with knowledge building and knowledge transfer. This was followed by 13 years as business development director in a large inward investment organization.

Conversation with Michael Jones, the Head of Housing Delivery and Asset Management at York City Council.Michael is the strategic lead for all asset elements of housing at the authority. He is passionate about zero-carbon housing delivery and the energy efficiency of retrofit.Part of a team tasked with leading initiatives that improve the health and wellbeing of residents, he is involved in the design, accessibility and adaptability of housing.Both Michael and York have a clear vision for the service where residents voices are heard and listened to. The objectives are to drive efficiency and performance of repairs, maintenance and adaptations of council services.The authority has been building strong partnerships across the city to make long-lasting positive change with housing as the driver of that change, mitigating fuel poverty and addressing climate change, and building strong, stable, healthy communities.

This week I caught up with Scott McAulay, from the Anthropocene Architecture School.Scott is an architect who has been writing about climate change and the built environment, and the need for radical change and to reshape the architectural education model.I discussed Scott's journey and what has caused him to rebel and how the Anthropocene architecture school has developed and grown over the past couple of years into a voice advocating radical change but also of opportunity.He is unapologetic in pushing for a change in the education of architects to bring the climate emergency to the forefront of design requirements and sees Sustainability and Retrofit as areas that are underrepresented within the architecture curriculum.It was a pleasure speaking to Scot, he is informed, passionate and clear in what he is calling for. Radical change now.

Discussion with Professor Kevin Albertson on the UK Energy Market and the causes of the current energy issues regards increased costs and supply, as well as some of the policy solutions that might be available to us.Prof. Kevin Albertson is an eclectic economist with a background in statistics and economics. He is a member of the Decent Work and Productivity Research Centre, is author/co-author of over 40 refereed academic articles and book chapters, and is co-author/editor of eight books, including the Haynes Guide ‘How to Run the Country’ and ‘Decent Work: Opportunities and Challenges.Kevin’s work ranges from business and social forecasting and the evaluation of government policy to the impact of globalised liberal markets on the political-economic prospects of the UK; the ways, means and implications of privatisation and marketisation in the public sector; and the development of social, and responsible, innovation. He is currently working in the areas of employment and society in a low-to-zero (economic) growth economy, and the wellbeing aspects of relational – as opposed to transactional – socio-economic interactions.• Albertson, Corcoran and Phillips (eds.) (2020) “Marketisation and Privatisation in Criminal Justice” is out now and available from Policy Press.https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/marketisation-and-privatisation-in-criminal-justice • de Saille, Medvecky, van Oudheusden, Albertson, Amanatidou, Birabi and Pansera (2020) “Responsibility Beyond Growth A Case for Responsible Stagnation” is out now and available from Policy Press.https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/responsibility-beyond-growth • To read “1979 and all that”, a conservative critique of the neo-liberal policies established in the 1980s please go to https://academic.oup.com/cje/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/cje/bez037/5550923

Peter Rickaby qualified as an architect at Cambridge University and holds a doctorate in energy studies from the Open University. He worked in leading architectural practices in New Zealand and London before a thirty-five-year career as an energy and sustainability consultant in buildings and housing. He has published numerous technical guides to energy efficiency and was Managing Editor of the Institute of Sustainability's acclaimed suite of Low Carbon Domestic Retrofit Guides. Peter has been a Board Director of the Centre of Refurbishment Excellence (CoRE) and a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Energy Foundation. He contributed extensively to the Each Home Counts review, for which he was also a member of the Implementation Board, and he chairs the BSI Retrofit Standards Task Group. Peter was the Technical Author of the BSI's two UK retrofit standards: PAS 2035 Retrofitting dwellings for improved energy efficiency: Specification and guidance; and PAS 2038 Retrofitting non-domestic buildings for improved energy efficiency: Specification. Now semi-retired, Peter helps to run the UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings (UKCMB) and coordinates the Building Envelope Research Network (BERN@ UCL), both at University College London. Peter is also Technical Director of The Retrofit Academy.

Interview with Scott Foster, who is the Director of Sustainable Energy at the United Nations Economic Council for Europe (UNECE), and Jenna Cramer who is Executive Director at the Green Building Alliance in Pittsburgh and part of the UN Centre of Excellence programme.