Tuesday 16 March 2021
Construction industry backs ‘National Retrofit Strategy’
The Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) ‘National Retrofit Strategy’ has been backed by 50 organisations, including representatives of the water and energy sectors.
The strategy sets a 20-year blueprint to ensure the UK’s housing stock becomes greener and more energy efficient.
The CLC highlights the nation’s 28 million homes account for 20% of its carbon emissions and says 'retrofitting them is considered essential if the UK is to meet its net zero aims'.
The ‘National Retrofit Strategy’ is made up of four phases and calls for the government to invest an initial £5.3 billion over the next four years to help invigorate the retrofit market. The CLC states that this investment would result in 100,000 new jobs, savings of £1.4 billion to the NHS and a reduction to householders’ energy bills by a possible £436.
Brian Berry, Co-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' offers a readymade solution for the government to take forward and showcase to the world at COP26 in November.”
