How to retrofit your business estate for net zero success
At our 2022 Thought Leadership Summit – The Race to Net Zero – we invited Stuart Bowman to discuss how a low carbon retrofit of existing buildings can accelerate the net zero journey. Stuart has held energy and sustainability directorships in both the public and private sectors. He’s worked in engineering and energy services for over 30 years, the last decade of which has been as Development Director at Breathe, a leading provider of energy performance contracting and energy management services in the UK.
The impact of Breathe
“It was once all about saving money on project builds,” said Stuart. “Now the emphasis has shifted to reducing CO₂ emissions.” With the government increasingly focused on making more of what we have, this change in emphasis is certainly reflected in the number of funding streams available, which include public grants, hybrid funding, and soft loans.
Since it was founded in 2010, Breathe – now part of EDF Energy and Dalkia – has delivered £250m of low carbon projects, saving their clients £30m in energy costs and reducing their carbon emissions by over 160kt. It has achieved this through a number of energy-saving measures, which include installing nearly 57,000 light fittings and deploying 13MWth (megawatt thermal) of thermal power in its clients’ heat pumps.
“There’s a whole plethora of green funding out there waiting to be snapped up.” Stuart BowmanUnderstanding your journey
Though most organisations recognise the importance of net zero, many are unsure of the best way to achieve it. Where do you start? What key landmarks should you be looking to hit along the way? How will you fund it? How long will it take you? Breathe believes there are six key ingredients to a successful net zero project:
Priority – Ensure the approach aligns with the organisation’s strategy and that everyone involved is collaborating effectively.
Business case – Consider how the project will be affected by rising energy prices. What’s the cost of carbon? Also, consider using the funds already allocated to critical backlog replacement.
Funding – Investigate what proportion of the project will, or can be, client funded, grant funded, third party funded, and supplier funded.
Procurement – Get supply chain partners involved early and put standard works contracts in place.
Timing – Lay out your plans and feed these into the business case.
People – Involve all functions of your organisation, identify any training and upskilling needs, and get new talent on board.
Conclusion: retrofitting for future success
With any big project, there can be a temptation to tear down ineffective legacy systems that seem beyond repair and start again from scratch. But through embedding an approach that ties in with your business strategy, involves all key stakeholders, and taps into the many available funding streams at your disposal, retrofitting your estate can give you a solid grounding on which to base your net zero journey.
For more top tips from our expert panel on reaching net zero, check out our key takeaways from the event. If you’re looking for your next executive role or to hire the right ESG leader to drive your organisation forward, or even if you just want to talk to us about your net zero journey, please contact Matt Parkin.
Our highly experienced, well-networked specialists recruit executive and professional leaders across technology and transformation, property and facilities, private equity, strategy and consulting, and manufacturing. To learn more about InX and how our authentic, accessible and adaptable team can help you to accelerate towards your business goals, please contact Natalie Whittlesey.