Carbon Co-op arranging online session discussing ways to lessen household carbon footprints
The Carbon Co-op, a Manchester-based not-for-profit organisation, is spearheading a pioneering pilot project that could revolutionise the way we approach home retrofitting. The Levenshulme Area-Based Retrofit scheme is a groundbreaking initiative that trials an area-based, fabric-first retrofit approach to improving household energy efficiency.
This innovative project departs from the traditional method of retrofitting houses individually, instead focusing on retrofitting whole streets or neighbourhoods together. This collective approach simplifies the process, reduces costs, and complexities for homeowners, making it a more feasible and attractive option.
The fabric-first approach prioritises enhancing the building's fabric—walls, roofs, windows—to improve insulation and energy retention. This is done before or alongside adding technologies like renewable heating systems. The goal is to make homes warmer, greener, and more energy efficient.
By working area-by-area, the scheme aims to address common barriers to household retrofitting such as high costs and logistical complexity, lack of coordination among neighbours and supply chains, and mismatched retrofit solutions across adjoining properties that can reduce overall effectiveness. The collective approach simplifies these aspects by enabling coordinated planning, bulk ordering of materials and services, shared learning, and community engagement.
The Levenshulme Area-Based Retrofit scheme offers neighbourhood retrofit packages rather than just ones tailored to singular households. This collective approach offers numerous benefits, making it more feasible for residents to invest in greener home upgrades.
On Wednesday 30 October, between 1-2:30pm, a webinar will be held to discuss the importance of retrofitting UK homes and the barriers households face in accessing it. The webinar, chaired by Jennifer Brennan, Co-founder and Director of the research agency Harlow Consulting, will feature insights from an incredible panel of specialists, including Hannah Dixon and Julie Maxwell from Progress in Practice, Aneaka Kelly, Citizen and Community Engagement Lead at Carbon Co-op, Jonathan Atkinson, Co-founder of Carbon Co-op, and Michael Dickinson, Director at B4Box Ltd.
Tickets for the webinar can be found here. This event is an important opportunity for anyone working in the built environment to learn from the Levenshulme pilot and contribute to the national conversation on home retrofitting.
According to the UK Green Building Council, there are 29 million homes in the UK that will need to be retrofitted before 2050, and at least 15 million need to be retrofitted before the end of this decade. The Levenshulme scheme demonstrates a practical, scalable model for overcoming financial and organisational barriers in home retrofits, making it a significant step towards achieving these ambitious targets.
In related news, one in four councils could potentially go bankrupt, highlighting the urgent need for innovative solutions like the Levenshulme scheme to address the nation's housing challenges. The Carbon Co-op's Levenshulme Area-Based Retrofit scheme is a promising example of how collective action can lead to sustainable, cost-effective solutions for improving our homes and our environment.
- The Levenshulme Area-Based Retrofit scheme, led by The Carbon Co-op, is demonstrating a collective approach to home retrofitting that could potentially become a standard practice in environmental-science, addressing issues like high costs and logistical complexity.
- By retrofitting neighbourhoods together, this project aims to make home improvements more feasible for residents, encouraging investments in smart-home-devices and other gadgets that promote a greener lifestyle, contributing to the fight against climate-change.
- The webinar on 30 October, discussing the importance of home retrofitting, offers an opportunity for professionals in technology and the built environment to learn from the Levenshulme pilot and contribute to the national conversation, moving us closer to achieving the ambitious goals set by the UK Green Building Council.
- In a time when one in four councils could potentially go bankrupt, innovations like the Levenshulme Area-Based Retrofit scheme, which shows promise in addressing housing challenges, are a reminder of the importance of collaborative action in creating sustainable, cost-effective solutions for our communities and environment.
