Reinier, an experienced Environmental Engineer, and Kirsty, a seasoned Property and Tech entrepreneur, came together to found Kuppa . Over a cup of tea, they came up with the seed idea for a technology platform which could take the confusion out of the home energy transition and demystify decarbonisation. We talked about humanising data, but also being aware of the potential for action within understanding data and how it can help improve people’s lives....
Oct 04, 2023•49 min
Intuitive technology? Easy to use? Might just take the sting out of retrofit? Tell us more! This week Sara speaks to Louis Daillencourt from Novoville, the people behind Shared Repairs and Shared Works (soon to come!). The app allows you to report issues to owners, get quotes from Trusted Traders, take a vote, and open a digital payment account. Seeing the success with the Shared Repairs app to help residents, Louis began to collaborate with Loco Home Retrofit and Eala Impacts to explore how to ...
Sep 27, 2023•52 min
This week we're back with a brand new episode of the Accelerate to Zero Podcast featuring Dr Ehab Sayed, Founder of BIOHM . The episode focuses on the power of mycelium - the vegetative filament root structure of mushrooms and BIOHM's R&D journey so far. Listeners will learn how mycelium is foraged, developed, cured and how it can be made into a sustainable insulation alternative.
Aug 30, 2023•36 min
This week Tony Gordon, Superglass joins Sam Patterson to discuss a popular insulation material in new build homes and retrofit, how it is made from recycled materials, and how we can give industry a clearer view to achieve retrofit at scale. Superglass is a leading manufacturer of glass mineral wool insulation, offering thermal and acoustic products for all relevant applications. Their product is made from up to 84% recycled glass, and when installed saves around 200 times the energy used to man...
Aug 09, 2023•47 min
Joining Sam Patterson this week on the Accelerate to Zero podcast is Sam Baumber, COO and co-founder of IndiNature. Edinburgh-based firm IndiNature creates products using the natural fibre hemp - a plant that can sequester 8-20 tonnes of carbon per hectare every year. Listen as the Sams go over why IndiNature makes products from hemp, the fire and general performance of the material and how we can relearn and regrow this once relied-upon industry in the UK. IndiNature - www.indinature.co...
Aug 02, 2023•42 min
The sustainable material takeover continues this week as Sam Patterson sits down with John Ferguson, Founder & CEO, Sisaltech. Sisaltech Ltd is the first manufacturer to combine sisal and wool to make insulation. John Ferguson shares his journey as a smaller company creating a new construction material that is circular, sustainable and recyclable.
Jul 26, 2023•38 min
In this season, Sara Edmonds hands over the Accelerate to Zero mic to Sam Patterson, Associate Impact Manager (Sustainability) at BE-ST. Sam's first guest is Ankita Dwivedi, Founder and CEO of Firstplanit . Listen in to hear why Ankita has spent so many years to building Firstplanit, what it does, and how it is helping people to make informed and considered choices.
Jul 19, 2023•56 min
This week’s podcast is not only a great session with HomeNotes, but also the launch of something really exciting. HomeNotes is an organisation who is seeking to fill the gap that homeowners often face when undertaking a refurbishment project when they can’t afford the full suite of professional services to guide them through contractual matters on site, or navigating the supply chain, and so on. We talk about why they decided to fill this gap, and how they are going about it. We also gave a shou...
Jun 28, 2023•44 min
Lisa is a retrofit coordinator, and Technical Lead at RetrofitWorks - a cooperative of retrofit installers and designers. She has an academic background in building physics and Architecture, and has conducted a range of performance evaluations of new, retrofit and refurbished buildings. She uses building forensics as part of an evidence-based approach to low-energy design and reducing the technical risk of construction projects. Throughout lockdown, Lisa took on the challenge of retrofitting her...
Jun 21, 2023•1 hr 3 min
This week the Accelerate to Zero podcast features an interview with BE-ST’s very own Sarah Buchanan, Impact Manager in the Retrofit team. Not only does Sarah have an extensive knowledge of the retrofit space, but she also has taken on her own retrofit project of her home. She is an active member of Loco Home Retrofit, an organisation providing quality advice and whole house retrofit assessments, and an active community of support to share skills and knowledge, also featured in the last series of...
Jun 14, 2023•45 min
This week Sara is joined by Sarah and Michael Lewis. Both are involved in the built environment – Sarah is the Director of Policy and Research at the Passivhaus Trust and Michael is a Teaching Fellow in architectural design at Edinburgh College of Art. They shared a really detailed history of the retrofit of their home, and we focused a lot on important things such as indoor air quality, the state of the grant led measures available, and the need for attention to detail in understanding both the...
Jun 07, 2023•55 min
Sal Wilson is an educator, architect, and passionate sustainability advocate. Sal teaches at The Bartlett, UCL’s Faculty of the Built Environment and the Architectural Association School of Architecture . She has worked across architectural and environmental design practices, including Atelier 10 . She is co-founder of Home Energy Action Lab . But Sal has also undertaken her own retrofit project of her family’s home in Cornwall. In this episode we talk all things upskilling, supply chain dramas,...
May 31, 2023•50 min
Tara Gbolade is an architect and Passivhaus designer and cofounder of Gbolade Design Studio. In this episode we talk all things sustainability in practice. Tara was generous and brave in this discussion. We spoke about how none of us are perfect and that we learn and iterate as we go. This is exactly the sort of example we need to be leading with – letting it be known that we all have to start somewhere, and keep improving as we go. Tara is involved in many things, from the steering group of Arc...
May 24, 2023•50 min
We’ve been long time fans of Marion Baeli’s work here at BE-ST. Marion is partner at PDP London, an architect and Passivhaus designer with a passion for sustainability and low energy design. This led Marion to take part and win a contract as part of a government competition, Retrofit for the Future, which in turn led to the delivery of the award winning 100 Princedale Road project, the first certified Passivhaus retrofit in the UK. But that’s not all, Marion has carried out a deep retrofit of he...
May 17, 2023•49 min
This week, we bring you an extra bonus episode where Sara speaks to Jonathan Atkinson of Carbon Coop and People Powered Retrofit fame. It was a real joy, and Jonathan shared his extensive insight about the public and third sector and the world of the cooperative approach. Check out their work here , also check out People Powered Retrofit , B4Box and also mentioned was the Community Green Deal report by Urbed....
May 03, 2023•35 min
What a way to finish this series on place-based community focused retrofit initiatives! This week we had the pleasure of speaking to Aneaka Kellay from Carbon Co-op in Manchester, an energy services and advocacy cooperative that helps people and communities to make the radical reductions in home carbon emissions. Aneaka works in the Retrofit Team and Energy Commons Team. She is experienced in workshop development, facilitation, and community engagement. And that’s the gold that Aneaka brings to ...
Apr 26, 2023•51 min
Loco Home Retrofit is a Community Interest Company focused on owner occupier retrofit, Loco HomeRetrofit support energy conscious home improvement in Glasgow. Key to their work, is participating in collaborative initiatives to aggregate demand and ensure high quality outcomes and a risk managed retrofit offer to households. Find out more here: https://locohome.coop/ Better still, become a member. If you don’t live in Glasgow, don’t let that stop you reaching out to them. Let’s continue to build ...
Apr 19, 2023•57 min
In this week's episode, we explore the growing movement of community-driven initiatives and their impact on local communities. Against the backdrop of social and economic challenges, we speak with Homebaked CLT, a community land trust in Liverpool bringing about change for the better in their community. Both residents, they’ve been working in Anfield and Everton for over 12 years now. They talk about the need to be patient, to build trust and to get organised. Recognising there is a movement bui...
Apr 05, 2023•51 min
Retrofit is a complex area. And making the ideas around it meaningful for people is an area that has been underserved for a long time. But here’s a way to approach it. Civic Square is a public square, neighbourhood lab, and creative and participatory platform focused on regenerative civic and social infrastructure.We spoke with Magda Petford, Dream Matter Designer, and Charlotte Bailey, Dream Matter Storyteller, about the work they have been doing in Ladywood inBirmingham with the community ther...
Mar 29, 2023•52 min
This week we hear from Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn, two artists in London, driven by a desire to bring about change in their community. Hilary and Dan's project POWER is a ‘show and do’ project building a solar power station across the rooftops of their street in Walthamstow, London through enacting a grassroots Green New Deal – working with art and infrastructure to tackle the interlinked climate/energy/cost of living crises.
Mar 22, 2023•43 min
There is a movement building in communities across the UK in response to a deep need for improving our homes. This series we are taking a look at inspiring examples of community driven and place based retrofit initiatives. In this episode Sara, part of the retrofit team at BE-ST, hears from John Christophers, an architect and passionate retrofit and social justice advocate, all about Retrofit Balsall Heath, where their aim is to see no one left behind in their community. Oh and insulation? Thoug...
Mar 15, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Construction underpins society. Skills underpin construction. According to Skills Development Scotland, developing construction skills is at the heart of new major changes – it is front and centre in getting us to a net zero society. Hear two sides of the story from Government and industry, Elaine Ellis of Skills Development Scotland and Jennifer Finn of AC Whyte, discuss action, implementation and the importance of changing the way we approach things in order to make these changes and build ski...
Sep 29, 2021•54 min•Ep. 7
The built environment is facing unprecedented challenges: Brexit, Covid-19 and climate change. In the next instalment of the Built Environment Innovation Podcast we hear from CSIC’s new Chairman of the Board – Andy Outram, Lead Real Estate Director for Scotland at Turner & Townsend – as he sits down with Stephen to grapple with these challenges and help lead us into a new era through digital transformation, cultural change, sustainable building, and advanced manufacturing techniques. If you'...
Aug 09, 2021•40 min•Ep. 6
Hear from Russell Smith, Managing Director of Parity Projects, and David Peerpoint, CEO of the Retrofit Academy, as they discuss the retrofit challenge with Stephen. Dubbed ‘the greatest challenge of our age’, our guests explore how we can turn this challenge into opportunity and find viable methods to move forward in reaching a decarbonised housing stock by 2050.
Jul 20, 2021•56 min•Ep. 5
A conversation with Alex MacLaren of Team ESTEEM, a student team participating in the Solar Decathlon Middle East, the world’s largest design and construction competition. Their aim is to build an innovative house of the future powered exclusively with solar energy and using Scottish homegrown mass timber and they are manufacturing the timber panels in our own Innovation Factory. Recorded from the inside of our Innovation Factory, you will hear about the project, our equipment and the importance...
Jun 04, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 4
At CSIC we aim to supercharge culture change in the built environment and help build an industry that represents our society. In this episode we sit down with key change makers in this space: Emily Carr, Kier Construction, Douglas Morrison, CSIC, and Anne Johnstone, Fair Futures Partnership.
Apr 14, 2021•57 min•Season 1Ep. 3
To celebrate Scottish Apprenticeships Week we hear from apprentices Emily and Hannah, and Director Neil Sutherland from Makar on the changing face of apprenticeships and the key role they play. View the episode with video here
Mar 20, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In this first episode, CSIC CEO Stephen Good is joined by John Forster to bring you insights into innovation in the built environment. John Forster has founded 3 successful construction businesses as founder of the Forster Group, is one of the founders of the CSIC's Governance board, the former Chairperson of CSIC and sits in the Solar Trade Association in Scotland. He also opened the first roofing skills academy in Scotland resulting in a long and deep history rooted in innovation in constructi...
Mar 20, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 1
