Building a Manifesto for Change: Energy, Retrofit & EPCs

Talk series: Building a Manifesto for Change

Across four sessions, we will explore key climate challenges facing the built environment, sharing bold ideas, uncovering barriers to progress and shaping our Manifesto for Change.

Episode 2: Energy, Retrofit & EPCs

Buildings across the country, from homes to offices, are not being retrofitted at the pace needed to meet the government’s 2030 EPC performance targets.

More than 80% of commercial buildings remain below the required EPC band B rating, and in London the residential sector is retrofitting at one-tenth of the speed needed.

Yet there is a real opportunity to change this. With the right focus and commitment, the UK can scale up retrofit delivery, creating climate-resilient buildings and setting a new standard for what healthy, people-centred places should be.

To understand what is holding back progress, we gathered experts from commercial real estate to socialhousing for the second session in our Building a Manifesto for Change online talk series.

We were joined by Kasang Kajang (she/her), Ksquared, Jon Cochrane (MRICS), Feldberg Capital and our own Love Retrofit lead, Tony Truepenny Phillipson. The session was chaired by Connor Rusby, Senior Sustainability Consultant at Love Design Studio.

The discussion touched upon:

— The widening skills gap across PAS 2035/2030 roles, and the urgency of investing in skilled designers, retrofit coordinators and installers

— The growing need for blended finance models that combine grants, maintenance budgets and private investment to accelerate retrofit

— The limits of EPCs as a true measure of comfort and efficiency

— The challenge of heritage and conservation rules which make retrofit unviable for many listed buildings

— The call for a national retrofit policy and simplified planning processes to unlock consistent, scalable delivery

Challenging the accepted is key to driving real change. The insights from this discussion will feed directly into our Manifesto for Change, both a provocation to the industry and a roadmap for collective action, which we look forward to sharing early next year.

Watch a recording of the discussion on our YouTube channel above.