Accelerate to Zero

In this episode, we are joined by Emily Carr, Emily is a chartered architect with experience in the historic built environment, now working as a design manager for Kier Construction. She is passionate about creating places that reflect today's society and current values, and preserve and celebrate the heritage of the building's context, while also embracing new technologies to create a more sustainable environment for future generations. Emily is also an advocate for promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in construction.

In this episode, we are joined by Professor Robert Hairstains, Robert is the founding Director of the Centre for Advanced Timber Technologies (CATT) at the New Model Institute of Technology and Engineering (NMITE) and Head of the Centre for Offsite Construction + Innovative Structures (COCIS) at Edinburgh Napier University. His specialist expertise is in the fields of timber engineering and technology with a focus on adding value to the timber supply chain with an emphasis on engineered timber products and offsite (modular) construction.

In this episode, we are joined by Gina Colley, Associate Director at ThreeSixty Architects. Gina is not only a former BE Changemaker but also a dedicated champion of ED&I, driving positive change within Threesixty Architecture and setting an industry-wide example of best practice.

In this episode of Accelerate to Zero, we chat with Max Garcia about his global journey to co-founding High Six, a modular design for offsite timber construction company.From Scotland to Canada to France, Max has worked at the cutting edge of innovation in the built environment. He shares how the 2010 Haiti earthquake shaped his mission, the exciting breakthroughs happening in construction, and why collaboration is key to achieving a zero-carbon future.

This episode features Energiesprong UK, independent retrofit experts revolutionising home energy refurbishment. Tune in to learn more about Transform-ER, a game-changing Innovate UK funded project tackling retrofit barriers like rising costs and underperformance. With 13 industry leaders, this initiative is designed to create a cohesive, industrialised sector that delivers high-performance, cost-effective solutions through a standardised process. The aim is to enable one million home upgrades every year by 2030, starting in social housing.  

Welcome back to the Accelerate to Zero podcast, where Sara Edmonds and Rob Morrison were joined by Emma Fletcher live from the BE-ST Fest Summit at Paisley Town Hall. Emma is the Low Carbon Housing Director at Octopus Energy. Her career has centred on leading high impact, high innovation projects in real estate, with a particular focus on housing, energy performance and green energy production. Her practical experience includes starting her career in rural surveying and estate management moving into award-winning housing and regeneration developments.

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? Though it might feature later, this scheme has bigger ambitions.Find out more about Retrofit Balsall Heath.Sara also speaks to the head of retrofit programmes at BE-ST, Caitriona Jordan, and sets out why BE-ST are focusing on retrofit. Go here for more information. And don’t forget to access all the excellent Low Carbon Learning resources available on our Learning Hub Finally, please get in touch if you think there are people that we should be platforming on our podcast. Happy listening!

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 of the work the team are doing to showcase Scottish innovation on the international stage. 

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. 

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

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 construction. View the episode in video here

In this episode, we are joined by Professor Sean Smith from the University of Edinburgh. Sean has had an incredible career and has most recently launched Centre for Net Zero High Density Buildings.CeNZ-HighDB will develop, test and underpin delivery of identified new ‘green’ innovations including high-energy efficiency building fabrics, new lower cost rapid-fit heating technologies, novel community heating-cooling systems for complex multi-use streetscapes and advancements in thermal-cooling modelling and data driven innovation to drive green economy growth.

Join us this week as we shift perspective once again, unlike the other episodes we aren't taking a deep dive into one material. And that's because today's guest is Laurent Verheyden, Managing Director from Soprema, who are a global company, manufacturing a large variety of products. In this episode, we'll be paying attention to their natural fibre ranges including circular textiles, wood fibre and cellulose.

Welcome back to the Accelerate to Zero podcast, where Sara Edmonds and Rob Morrison were joined by Joanna Yarrow live from the BE-ST Fest Summit at Paisley Town Hall. Joanna Yarrow was one of the keynotes of the conference and is an internationally acclaimed expert in sustainable living and a highly respected voice in sustainable business. In this episode she shares insight into her personal journey, work, systems thinking, and the power of place in delivering better social outcomes.

In this episode of the podcast, Sara alongside Ellora Coupe and Cara Holmes are discussing how to the drive uptake of retrofit across the UK.Together they explore how we can move beyond the technical jargon and connect with people on a more emotional level. Retrofitting isn't just about cutting energy bills, but improving the comfort and future-proofing of our homes.

This week Sara welcomes Helene Gosden, Associate Director at Arup, Donal Brown, Director of UK Programs at Ashden Climate Solutions, and Josiah Lockhart, Chief Executive Officer, Changeworks. From the future of retrofit finance to the importance of aligning stakeholders, this conversation provides a rich insight into how retrofit can transform our homes, improve lives, and tackle climate challenges.

In this episode of Accelerate Zero, co-host Rachel Owens, alongside industry experts Gemma, Rob, and Cara, dives deep into the financial challenges and innovative solutions surrounding the retrofit of our homes and communities. With retrofit finance often cited as a major barrier to scaling sustainable practices, this episode explores the existing financial products and the need for better coordination.Tune in to learn how we can make our homes warmer, healthier, and more energy-efficient while also tackling the broader systemic challenges.

In this episode of the Accelerate to Zero podcast, we dive into the topic of retrofit skills with Douglas Morrison, Deputy CEO of Built Environment - Smarter Transformation (BEST), and Pippa Palmer, Founder of Polln and Co-chair of the National Retrofit Hub's Working Group 3. Together, they explore the challenges and opportunities in preparing the workforce for the massive task of retrofitting the UK’s built environment to meet net-zero targets.

Our collaboration with the National Retrofit Hub continues and this week Rachel Owens is joined by Kaye Keenen, BE-ST and Megan Adlen, Travis Perkins.In this episode, we chat about supply chain products and solutions.

The Accelerate to Zero podcast is back with a new series hosted in collaboration with the National Retrofit Hub.In the first episode, Caitriona Jordan (BE-ST) & Rachael Owens (NRH) discuss what it looks like when you put citizens at the heart of data decision-making in retrofit with Lizzy Westmacott, ECD Architects and Louis Daillencourt, Novoville.