Construction sector backs CLC call for national retrofit strategy

Up to 50 organisations, including representatives of the energy and water sectors, are backing the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) National Retrofit Strategy, which sets out a 20-year blueprint to transform the nation’s housing stock to make it greener and more energy efficient.

Britain’s 28million homes contribute 20% of the country’s carbon emissions so unless these are retrofitted to make them more energy efficient, the CLC claims the UK won’t achieve a zero carbon economy by 2050. 

The CLC National Retrofit Strategy is structured into four phases and calls on the UK government to invest an initial £5.3bn over the next four years to help kickstart the retrofit market. The CLC says the benefits of this investment would lead to an additional 100,000 new jobs; a saving to the NHS of £1.4bn and a reduction in householders’ energy bills by as much as £436.

Andy Mitchell, co-chair of the CLC task force, said: “Given our homes contribute 20% of the nation’s carbon emissions it is essential that we start to retrofit them to make them more energy efficient. With widespread industry support the CLC is calling on the government to adopt the National Retrofit Strategy to make our homes greener. Our strategy has been fully costed and offers a roadmap about how the government can create a low carbon built environment by 2040.”

Brian Berry, chair of the CLC domestic RMI working group, said: “The fact that 50 organisations are backing the CLC’s National Retrofit Strategy is a recognition of the scale of the problem that needs to be addressed. The retrofitting of our 28 million homes needs to be treated as a national infrastructure project.

"It is very encouraging that the construction sector in all its forms wants to step up and work within a long-term strategy. At a time of economic uncertainty and growing pressure to tackle climate change the CLC’s National Retrofit Strategy offer a readymade solution for the government to take forward and showcase to the world at COP26 in November.”