The SEA – Creating homes and buildings fit for the future

Opinion Piece The SEA – Creating homes and buildings fit for the future The Sustainable Energy Association (SEA) is a 21-year-old member-based trade association, committed to shaping a low-carbon, secure energy future in the UK. We offer innovative policy solutions that link up building-level technologies with the wider energy system, ensuring a holistic approach to […]

Why we must embed digital upskilling clauses into construction contracts

Opinion Piece Why we must embed digital upskilling clauses into construction contracts As the digital landscape evolves at pace, I increasingly see a clear and solvable challenge within our industry: we continue to overlook the need to embed digital capability and structured upskilling within our contracts. From my own experience, inconsistent digital adoption is not […]

Finding the right fit: Innovations actually needed in home retrofit

Opinion Piece Finding the right fit: Innovations actually needed in home retrofit For me, defining innovation is simple. It doesn’t need to be something that’s going to change the world; it’s something unique that makes a real, tangible difference. In the world of home retrofit and energy efficiency schemes, despite many impactful initiatives taking place […]

Residents spend up to 90% of their time indoors and the GHA believes the built environment sector can work together to create healthy homes

Opinion Piece Retrofit can work. But we need to do it differently. Across the UK, too many people are still living in homes that are cold, damp, expensive to heat and harmful to health. The reasons are familiar to everyone working in housing and retrofit. We know about the scale of fuel poverty. We see […]

Retrofit can work. But we need to do it differently.

Opinion Piece Retrofit can work. But we need to do it differently. Across the UK, too many people are still living in homes that are cold, damp, expensive to heat and harmful to health. The reasons are familiar to everyone working in housing and retrofit. We know about the scale of fuel poverty. We see […]

Connecting competence, skills, and quality across the RMI sector

Opinion Piece Connecting competence, skills, and quality across the RMI sector Connecting competence, skills, and quality across the RMI sector In today’s construction and Repair, Maintenance and Improvement (RMI) sectors, the partnership between connection, collaboration, and trust are more important than ever. As the built environment adapts to evolving sustainability goals and rising customer expectations, […]

Beyond Celebration: How the Retrofit Academy Awards Help Raise Industry Standards

Opinion Piece Beyond Celebration: How the Retrofit Academy Awards Help Raise Industry Standards Every March, the Retrofit Academy Awards bring together professionals from across the industry to celebrate those leading the race to the top. It is an evening of recognition, but its impact goes far beyond the stage. Events like this matter because they […]

Three core challenges facing SME architecture practices

Opinion Piece Three core challenges facing SME architecture practices The fact that the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is undergoing one of the most profound periods of change in recent memory is not unknown, indeed, new technologies offer extraordinary potential and sustainability is now a non-negotiable imperative. As a result, small and medium-sized (SME) […]

Growth is not simply a target: it is a discipline fuelled by innovation

Opinion Piece Growth is not simply a target: it is a discipline fuelled by innovation In today’s digital construction landscape, growth has taken on a new shape. It is no longer just about market share or regional expansion, it is about transforming how we think, operate and create value in a world that is moving […]

Natural stone: The original sustainable construction material

Opinion Piece Natural stone: The original sustainable construction material We are in a moment where the construction industry is working harder than ever to deliver a low carbon built environment.  There is a fresh understanding of the need for science-based targets, for objective, comparable carbon data and for inter-disciplinary conversations that cut through the green washing. […]

Beyond the blueprint: Raising Retrofit standards for good

Opinion Piece Beyond the blueprint: Raising Retrofit standards for good You may have seen the recent news article claiming that 30,000 homes in the UK, retrofitted under government-funded schemes, could now be at risk of condensation, damp, and mould. That figure may well be an exaggeration, but we know there is still something deeply wrong […]

Retrofit Professionals – Time to Raise the Standard

Opinion Piece Retrofit Professionals – Time to Raise the Standard Six years ago, the UK Government sponsored the development of British Standard PAS 2035. Within a year or so, adoption of PAS 2035 had become a mandatory requirement across retrofit and energy efficiency programmes in England, and some in Scotland and Wales too. The development […]

Building the Case for Marketing Investment in the Built Environment

Opinion Piece Building the Case for Marketing Investment in the Built Environment Building a strong business case for marketing investment in the construction sector isn’t just a good idea, it’s an urgent necessity. Our industry is facing a perfect storm of challenges, from a persistent skills shortage and an aging workforce to supply chain disruptions […]

Managing the Golden Thread of Information to Ensure Long-Term Safety

Opinion Piece Managing the Golden Thread of Information to Ensure Long-Term Safety On 14th May 2025, Building Insights LIVE hosted a major round table, sponsored by K Systems and Winkhaus, bringing together leading housing professionals to examine the realities of the “golden thread of data” for Higher Risk Buildings (HRBs). First introduced by Dame Judith […]

Marketing deficit: Why the Construction and Built Environment sector must invest more to achieve real change

Opinion Piece Marketing deficit: Why the Construction and Built Environment sector must invest more to achieve real change In a sector responsible for shaping the physical fabric of our society – our homes, schools, hospitals, and workplaces – it is striking how little visibility the construction and built environment industry has in the public consciousness. […]

Blueprint for a Green City

Opinion Piece Blueprint for a Green City Birmingham’s journey from “concrete jungle” to a global leader in biophilic design proves that green transformation is possible. Once dominated by grey infrastructure, the city now stands alongside San Francisco, Wellington, and Oslo as part of a network of cities putting nature at the heart of decision-making. In […]

Retrofit Scotland: Origins and future

Opinion Piece Retrofit Scotland: Origins and future Written by: Rob Morrison, Impact Manager – BE-ST Retrofit Scotland was first launched in 2013 as a collaboration of organisations actively involved in the research and implementation of retrofit projects throughout Scotland. Last year BE-ST relaunched Retrofit Scotland to build a platform to accelerate retrofit action across Scotland. […]

‘Greenhushing’ – The Silent Threat

Opinion Piece ‘Greenhushing’ – The Silent Threat Sustainability isn’t optional; it’s essential. Yet, a troubling trend – ‘greenhushing’ – is silencing businesses around their environmental progress. Our new Green Claims Pulse Survey reveals a stark reality: 66% of professionals are more worried about greenwashing than 12 months ago. This fear has led over a third […]

From 98% behind to the forefront of retrofit: why the time for industry action is now

Opinion Piece From 98% behind to the forefront of retrofit: why the time for industry action is now By David Pierpoint, CEO, The Retrofit Academy The UK has lost a decade in the race to net zero. A whole decade. That’s not hyperbole – it’s an evidenced reality, as laid bare in the latest report […]

From frustration to action: why the UK needs a circular economy revolution in construction

Opinion Piece From frustration to action: why the UK needs a circular economy revolution in construction It started, as many things do, with a blank sheet of paper and a head full of thoughts. I wanted to write down what I was seeing, and not seeing, when it came to national and local policy around […]

Decarbonisation through collaboration: driving a just transition and economic growth

Opinion Piece Decarbonisation through collaboration: driving a just transition and economic growth Retrofitting homes is not just about meeting net zero targets. It’s about improving lives and unlocking green economic growth. Home energy use accounts for 13% of Scotland’s carbon emissions, yet around half of all homes still fall short of basic energy efficiency standards. […]

Why Sustainable Building Awards matter

Opinion Piece Why Sustainable Building Awards matter The Exemplar Sustainable Building Awards (ESBAs) were established by the Passivhaus Trust (PHT) and the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP), in partnership with the Sustainable Development Foundation (SDF), to mark two decades of advancing sustainable construction in the UK. This one-off, evidence-based benchmark honours the technical rigor, […]

Future of building services: Investing in the next generation

Opinion Piece Future of building services: Investing in the next generation CIBSE is Building for the Future. Find out how you can shape the future of building services engineering At the heart of the journey to Net Zero lies the building services sector, where engineers play a pivotal role in creating the sustainable infrastructure of […]

Housing 2025: the people have spoken

Opinion Piece Housing 2025: the people have spoken Will Government deliver 1.5m homes this parliament? How much greenbelt will be released? These are the questions which dominate the housing debate in the UK. Yet, the airtime given to them does not provide enough focus on the priorities of the people that are going to live […]

Imagination Is Infrastructure

Opinion Piece Imagination Is Infrastructure Why the future of the built environment depends on how, and who, we invite into the story The future of the built environment won’t be drawn in authoring tools or programmed in code alone. It will be imagined first, by someone who notices a gap, follows a thread, and quietly […]

From complexity to simplicity: why simplicity impacts architecture

Opinion Piece From complexity to simplicity: why simplicity impacts architecture In architecture and construction, we often talk about innovation as if it’s synonymous with complexity. New tools, new standards, new technologies. We get lost in complexity as if it were a virtue. However, more often than not, such reified complexity becomes a barrier: it hinders […]

One standard to build them all: why the UK needs Part Z more urgently than ever

Opinion Piece One standard to build them all: why the UK needs Part Z more urgently than ever The construction industry is no stranger to change. In recent years, however, it’s faced a particularly confusing one: an uncoordinated surge in local authority planning requirements for embodied carbon. These efforts, driven by good intentions and aiming […]

Multi-disciplinary round table delves into the challenges around implementing the Social Housing (Regulation) Act to achieve Healthy Homes for tenants

Opinion Piece Multi-disciplinary round table delves into the challenges around implementing the Social Housing (Regulation) Act to achieve Healthy Homes for tenants A recent Building Insights LIVE industry round table was a unique opportunity for a mix of leading voices from the social housing sector, product manufacturers and expert academics to discuss the key topic […]

Mobilising Retrofit at scale: challenges, opportunities, and the role of RISE

Opinion Piece Mobilising Retrofit at scale: challenges, opportunities, and the role of RISE In March 2025, a landmark £1.79 billion funding package to support domestic retrofit across England was announced by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The Warm Homes programme aims to make millions of social housing and low income homes cleaner […]

Passivhaus target for 10% of new homes

Opinion Piece Passivhaus target for 10% of new homes Passivhaus passing the 1% mark for new homes offers a beacon to the industry. But how can we achieve the same for retrofit and then get Passivhaus from 1% to 10% of all new homes in the UK and get at least 50% of the industry […]

There’s never been a better time to improve the built environment

Opinion Piece There’s never been a better time to improve the built environment It feels like we are at yet another moment where the world around us is transforming in alarming ways. Things that felt certain such as our security, international supply chains, the progression of inclusion and the move to net zero somehow feel […]

Managing complex systems: delivering the healthy, sustainable and affordable future of our homes

Opinion Piece Managing complex systems: delivering the healthy, sustainable and affordable future of our homes Last month, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises the UK Government on how to meet its legally binding emissions reduction targets, published its Seventh Carbon Budget. The Seventh Carbon Budget lays out what the CCC calls the “balanced pathway” […]

Natural Stone: The original sustainable construction material

Opinion Piece Natural Stone: The original sustainable construction material In a moment when the construction sector is working hard to deliver a more sustainable built environment, could the solution be found in one of the oldest building materials, arguably, the original sustainable material? With all the various low-carbon built environment drivers and targets, the time […]

Making an impact in tackling fuel poverty

Opinion Piece Making an impact in tackling fuel poverty Written by Jade Lewis, Chief Executive of Jade Advocacy Government figures show that an estimated 3.17 million households live in fuel poverty in England, that’s 13% of households across the country. This means that they have a low residual income, after accounting for their fuel bills, […]

Embracing change in an evolving market

Opinion Piece Embracing change in an evolving market Today’s construction and manufacturing sectors face unprecedented challenges: reducing waste, lowering carbon emissions, and meeting strict environmental regulations. These challenges have ignited a wave of innovation, particularly in the way we view plastics. No longer is plastics production a zero-sum game between performance and environmental responsibility. Instead, […]

UKNZCBS Technical Steering Group and RIBA Sustainability Lead by Jess Hrivnak

Opinion Piece UKNZCBS Technical Steering Group and RIBA Sustainability Lead by Jess Hrivnak Join Jess Hrivnak, UKNZCBS Technical Steering Group member and RIBA Sustainability Lead, at Futurebuild 2025 for an in-depth exploration of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UKNZCBS). On 6th March, Jess will lead a session at the Futurebuild Arena, ExCel, London—Lessons […]

The climate adaptation challenge and why it is a vital component of climate action

Opinion Piece The climate adaptation challenge and why it is a vital component of climate action Polly Turton, Head of Climate Action and Public Health at Shade the UK. Futurebuild is taking place from 4 – 6 March at the Excel, London, a venue fittingly close to two vital assets for climate adaptation and resilience […]

ACAN response to ARB Code Of Conduct Consultation

Opinion Piece ACAN response to ARB Code Of Conduct Consultation In response to the Architects Registration Board’s (ARB) recent consultation on the proposed changes to the Code of Conduct for registered architects in the UK, ACANs Professional Standards Group offered the following response. ACAN believes that the natural environment should be a key stakeholder in […]

SDG success is within our reach

Opinion Piece SDG success is within our reach Piece by Cressida Curtis, Group Sustainability Director, Wates Group Arriving on the coat tails of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the SDGs had the hardest act to follow. The MDGs had broadly halved global poverty, tripled the middle class and driven a vast improvement in health and […]

The Construction Industry and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Decade of Progress or Missed Opportunities?

Opinion Piece The Construction Industry and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Decade of Progress or Missed Opportunities? Join Professor Saul Humphrey at 12pm on Wednesday 5th March at the Futurebuild Arena for an insightful session in the Futurebuild Knowledge Programme. In “10 years on from their adoption to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals by […]

The SDGs, Goal 12 & construction materials – we can’t meet our carbon or nature commitments without changing how we build

Opinion Piece The SDGs, Goal 12 & construction materials – we can’t meet our carbon or nature commitments without changing how we build Opinion piece by Sue Riddlestone OBECEO & co-founder, Bioregional, NED, Future Homes Hub The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were announced in New York with some fanfare involving Angelina Jolie and a […]

Overcoming retrofit challenges and enhancing sustainable design

Opinion Piece Overcoming retrofit challenges and enhancing sustainable design As the co-director of the National Retrofit Hub and head of sustainability at Buckley Gray Yeoman, I have been engaging with a wide number of stakeholders on the pressing issues facing the retrofit sector in the UK. Our mission at the hub is to co-create solutions […]

Government’s imminently forthcoming Land Use Framework consultation and a discussion on what should happen once it is finally published

Opinion Piece Government’s imminently forthcoming Land Use Framework consultation and a discussion on what should happen once it is finally published Land Economist Stephen Hill sets the scene for the Edge’s Futurebuild session on the Government’s imminently forthcoming Land Use Framework consultation and a discussion on what should happen once it is finally published. Futurebuild, […]

The future of sustainable construction

Opinion Piece The future of sustainable construction The world needs smart, sustainable and resilient infrastructure but challenges like climate change and limited resources mean that the production and use of heavy building materials must evolve. Ready-mixed concrete is the most widely used building material in the world and is essential to society as a cornerstone […]

What’s Needed for Retrofit: Beyond Energy Savings

Opinion Piece What’s Needed for Retrofit: Beyond Energy Savings By Rachael Owens and Sara Edmonds – National Retrofit Hub Co-Directors Retrofit is often framed as a technical challenge: installing heat pumps, improving insulation, and hitting energy performance targets. While these are important, they only scratch the surface of what retrofit is truly about. At its […]

Help protect our mature urban trees – we need to ‘stop the chop’

Opinion Piece Help protect our mature urban trees – we need to ‘stop the chop’ We are losing far too many of our mature urban trees. While tree planting initiatives are valuable, they cannot compensate for the loss of established trees, which provide the greatest environmental, social, and economic benefits. Mature trees reduce urban heat, […]

Passport to a circular future? Rethinking the value proposition of BIM and data collection across a building’s lifetime.

Opinion Piece Passport to a circular future? Rethinking the value proposition of BIM and data collection across a building’s lifetime. Ever more resource hungry, the UK’s built environment is the largest materials-consumer and waste-generator in the economy, accounting for 50% of all materials used and 60% of waste. The impact of this continuous process of […]

Regenerating and Retrofitting our Cities and Regions

Opinion Piece Regenerating and Retrofitting our Cities and Regions Article by David Pierpoint, curator, National Retrofit Conference and Founder, The Retrofit Academy This year’s National Retrofit Conference will be the fifth time we at The Retrofit Academy CIC have curated the retrofit content at Futurebuild. Looking back at the early programmes, there was clearly a […]

Resolving our polycrisis requires all sectors to collaborate and act five times faster

Opinion Piece Resolving our polycrisis requires all sectors to collaborate and act five times faster 5 years ago Futurebuild produced a timeline in advance of what was to be COP 26 in Glasgow. (later postponed a year due to the Covid outbreak). Since then we have had COP27 in Sharm El Sheik, COP28 in the […]

Navigating digital change for value driven growth

Opinion Piece Navigating digital change for value driven growth Rebecca De Cicco FCIOB Chair and Founder of Women in BIM I Director Digital Engineering, DBM Vircon Navigating digital change for value-driven growth means actively managing the transition to new digital technologies and practices within a company, with the primary goal of creating significant and sustainable business […]