Wednesday 2 September 2020
NetZero Collective launches to identify best ways to decarbonise housing
A new collective of businesses and organisations has been launched to enable housing providers to better tackle climate change and drive progress towards net zero.
Led by property services business Liberty, partners from across the housing, energy, property services and higher education sectors have formed the NetZero Collective, which will work to set new standards for the development of low carbon technologies in homes and hit national 2050 goals.
Alongside the University of Southampton's Energy and Climate Change Division (ECCD) and NquiringMinds, the NetZero Collective will conduct research and produce an evidence-based software system to inform how the housing and property sectors invest in ways of decarbonising their assets.
The initiative will work with interested partners able to commit to providing between five and 20 properties each to the research programme, which will officially begin this autumn.
Properties will be surveyed and fitted with energy monitoring equipment, paid for by landlords - this data will be used to specify an appropriate list of retrofit works for each property to maximise energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, without increasing the cost of heating or cooling the property for its residents.
The retrofit works will begin in spring/summer 2021.
Ray Jones, Managing Director of Liberty, said: “Climate change and the national target to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 is a significant challenge for the housing sector and property services providers will need to rise to. This challenge needs a change in strategy and new investment, and it is clear transformation is the only way forward to ensure we play our part in making the UK meet its targets.
“The NetZero Collective has been developed because everyone involved believes that our building sectors need to be at the forefront of this agenda. That is why we brought together a team of industry and academic experts to explore the best and most cost-effective ways to decarbonise buildings in the UK. We believe that this smart and straightforward collaboration will enable housing providers and commercial property owners to make the right investment decisions, based on strong data and research.”
