A specialist retrofit consultancy has extended its partnership with Crawley Borough Council with a new contract set to make public buildings in the borough carbon neutral by 2040.
NetZero Collective, which formed in 2020 to spearhead the decarbonisation of UK homes, will work on commercial, non-domestic buildings for the first time as part of this new contract. It builds on the cutting-edge research and retrofitting works NetZero Collective has already undertaken on 30 residential homes, including in Crawley.
The consultancy contract will see NetZero Collective’s experts delivering a full energy efficiency review of Crawley Borough Council’s 210 commercial properties — which include everything from leisure centres like the Bewbush Centre (pictured above) to cricket pavilions.
NetZero Collective was developed in response to the national challenge to achieve a carbon neutral economy by 2050. Together with low carbon energy specialists and academic research partners including the University of Southampton, it is supporting landlords across the UK to produce evidence-based decarbonisation plans, aligned to PAS2035 and PAS2038.
The review of Crawley’s commercial buildings, which will include analysis of EPC data energy and carbon performance, will influence the development of a roadmap of recommendations and actions detailing how Crawley can achieve its goal of net zero by 2040. Each public building will be assessed and recommendations will be made for suitable retrofit works, such as the addition of insulation, decarbonised heating and renewable technologies like solar photovoltaic panels and battery storage. The consultancy, which has supported successful funding bids, will then support the council in applying for grant funding from the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to deliver the measures.
NetZero Collective is also encouraging smaller landlords and housing associations which could benefit from decarbonisation works to get in touch if they’re interested in applying for funding from the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund via a joint bid.
This contract extends an existing and successful relationship. Homes belonging to Crawley Borough Council were the first to benefit from NetZero Collective’s retrofitting programme. The first Crawley Borough Council tenant to undergo retrofit works overseen by NetZero Collective has reported saving 80% on their energy bills in the first year.
Neil Waite, NetZero Collective Director, said: “Crawley Borough Council has shown genuine commitment to decarbonising and meeting its net zero goal. They have been one of the founding partners of the NetZero Collective and we are pleased to be continuing this partnership. If these recommendations are implemented, it will have significant impacts for the long-term, such as lower costs for customers and lower carbon emissions locally.
“Achieving net zero in both domestic and non-domestic buildings is a huge challenge but one that we can meet with collective action. We need commitment and the right information to guide our decisions. We believe that smart and straightforward collaborations like this will enable councils and property owners to make the right green investment decisions, based on strong data and research.”
