As a member of the Commercial Retrofit Task Group, our associate director Simon Bennett has helped to create UK Green Building Council (UKGBC)’s new guidance to support the industry in the retrofit of office buildings as we strive to reach Net Zero.

Created in collaboration with industry experts, UKGBC’s new report ‘building the case for net zero: retrofitting commercial offices’ reframes retrofit as an iterative process, rather than a standalone project. Key points of the report, which can be read here, include:

• The cost and carbon effectiveness of different commercial retrofit strategies
• Steps for overcoming frequent challenges faced when looking to improve the energy performance of an office building
• The strength of including building upgrades within maintenance and leasing cycle

Retrofit and reuse is at the heart of everything we do and is more vital than ever, with an overall 59% reduction in energy consumption in the office sector required for the UK to reach Net Zero.

Simon said: “I had the great pleasure of being involved in preparing this report with UKGBC, and with the support of Civic Engineers. It was inspirational to be in a room with many industry leaders who were all committed to advancing the cause of Net Zero and sustainability generally.

“What was evident was that there are many enlightened organisations who are trying hard to improve their performance, and it was heartening to see real commitment across the industry. There is still much to do of course, but this report should help to move things on.”

With a passion for complex sites and retrofit, Simon was involved in the completion of 80 Strand, London, a fantastic 1930s Grade II-listed building brought up to date by a sensitive retrofit approach [image credit: Andrew Meredith]. He is also involved in the refurbishment of the former House of Fraser building on Oxford St, London, into The Elephant, a flexible mixed-use destination.