Accelerate to Zero

Today we are taking a deeper dive into neurodiversity in the workplace. In August 2023 research from the National Federation of Builders reported that almost 40% of neurodivergent people working in construction have not told their employer about their condition.

In this week's episode, we are joined by Richard Gwilt, Digital Construction Manager at Kier Group. Since being diagnosed later in life with autism, Richard has been open to sharing his experiences, exploring and recognising the talent and creativity it can offer.

The Accelerate to Zero Podcast this week with a series focused on equality, diversity and inclusion within the built environment hosted by Kirsty Duncan Heads of Stakeholder Engagement at BE-ST.

Our first guest is Emily Carr, design manager at Kier Construction North & Scotland, and former vice-chair of Built Environment – Smarter Transformation’s BE Change Makers. Emily is an advocate for promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in construction and recently completed the Churchill Fellowship where she investigated ongoing initiatives promoting women in Sweden's construction sector.

This week Matthew Paton is joined by Sebastian Andraos, CEO & Founder, HAL Robotics.

Sebastian comes from an architectural background before moving into the world of robotics in 2013, where he aims to facilitate the adoption of digital automation within the construction, design and craft industries.

This week Sara speaks to Marina Topouzi from CREDS – the Centre for Research in Energy Demand Solutions. Marina shared the work that she and the team there are progressing on the Retrofit Salary Sacrifice scheme. This stands to be a really impactful way of incentivising retrofit and opening up all sorts of other related opportunities. We know that scaling retrofit will require manifold ways of approaching and delivering, and this one is at once innovative and totally relatable.

This week we're taking a quick break from the normal programming to give you a slice of the excitement to happen at the International Retrofit Conference: a not-to-be-missed retrofit event on 2nd November.

Sara spoke to Caitriona Jordan, Head of Retrofit Programmes at BE-ST and Rachael Owens, Sara’s co-director at the National Retrofit Hub, as Sara holds that role as well as Head of Citizen Engagement at BE-ST.

As BE-ST and the National Retrofit Hub will be co-hosting the day, they got together to let you all know about the upcoming International Retrofit Conference. There are going to be some incredible speakers and workshops and it struck us as the hosts that perhaps we needed to tell you a bit more about what’s planned and why. A sample of who we will hear from includes Smith Mordak of UKGBC, Rob Deegan the Department of Principal Officer, Residential Energy Efficiency, Government of Ireland, Energiesprong Global Alliance, Professor Sean Smith, Civic Square, Zero Waste Scotland, People Powered Retrofit and so much more.

This week we spoke to Mike Teall and Sophie Leang from Snugg. Snugg is a digital platform to allow users to work out how their home is performing and what they can do next. Now, we are seeing more platforms like this emerge, but we at BE-ST are interested at getting under the surface to see how they differ, where’s the nuance, and most importantly, what are we learning about making this journey easier for everyone? 

This week Tony Gordon, Superglass joins Sam Patterson to discuss a popular insulation material in new build homes and retrofit, how it is made from recycled materials, and how we can give industry a clearer view to achieve retrofit at scale.

Superglass is a leading manufacturer of glass mineral wool insulation, offering thermal and acoustic products for all relevant applications.  Their product is made from up to 84% recycled glass, and when installed saves around 200 times the energy used to manufacture it.  As of June this year, Superglass is part of the Etex group, a global leader in lightweight construction brands.

Joining Sam Patterson this week on the Accelerate to Zero podcast is Sam Baumber, COO and co-founder of IndiNature. Edinburgh-based firm IndiNature creates products using the natural fibre hemp - a plant that can sequester 8-20 tonnes of carbon per hectare every year.

Listen as the Sams go over why IndiNature makes products from hemp, the fire and general performance of the material and how we can relearn and regrow this once relied-upon industry in the UK.

The sustainable material takeover continues this week as Sam Patterson sits down with John Ferguson, Founder & CEO, Sisaltech.

In this season, Sara Edmonds hands over the Accelerate to Zero mic to Sam Patterson, Associate Impact Manager (Sustainability) at BE-ST.

This week the Accelerate to Zero podcast features an interview with BE-ST’s very own Sarah Buchanan, Impact Manager in the Retrofit team. Not only does Sarah have an extensive knowledge of the retrofit space, but she also has taken on her own retrofit project of her home. She is an active member of Loco Home Retrofit, an organisation providing quality advice and whole house retrofit assessments, and an active community of support to share skills and knowledge, also featured in the last series of this podcast. Someone with Sarah’s perspective knows what needs to be done, has experienced the process of trying to get it done, but can also identify the gaps or problems in delivering retrofit. But Sarah frames all of this as opportunity. And she’s right. See the links of useful resources below and enjoy listening.

This week, we bring you an extra bonus episode where Sara speaks to Jonathan Atkinson of Carbon Coop and People Powered Retrofit fame. It was a real joy, and Jonathan shared his extensive insight about the public and third sector and the world of the cooperative approach.

In this week's episode, we explore the growing movement of community-driven initiatives and their impact on local communities. Against the backdrop of social and economic challenges, we speak with Homebaked CLT, a community land trust in Liverpool bringing about change for the better in their community. Both residents, they’ve been working in Anfield and Everton for over 12 years now. They talk about the need to be patient, to build trust and to get organised. Recognising there is a movement building in this place based community driven work, they mention collaborating with other great organisations such as Carbon Coop and South East London Community Energy.

As part of their work they’re developing a deep retrofit of a terrace in their neighbourhood and will soon launch a community share offer to raise the funds to deliver it. Please follow their work and consider supporting them if you can.

Retrofit is a complex area. And making the ideas around it meaningful for people is an area that has been underserved for a long time. But here’s a way to approach it.

Civic Square is a public square, neighbourhood lab, and creative and participatory platform focused on regenerative civic and social infrastructure. We spoke with Magda Petford, Dream Matter Designer, and Charlotte Bailey, Dream Matter Storyteller, about the work they have been doing in Ladywood in Birmingham with the community there.

This week we hear from Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn, two artists in London, driven by a desire to bring about change in their community.

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.

Construction underpins society. Skills underpin construction.

According to Skills Development Scotland, developing construction skills is at the heart of new major changes – it is front and centre in getting us to a net zero society.

Hear two sides of the story from Government and industry, Elaine Ellis of Skills Development Scotland and Jennifer Finn of AC Whyte, discuss action, implementation and the importance of changing the way we approach things in order to make these changes and build skills for the future.

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.

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.