Policy & Advocacy

Since 2007, we have been bringing together some of the most influential leaders in politics, business, local authorities, civil service and NGOs to accelerate action for a green built environment.

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In this webinar, we’ll walk you through the proposal and the key questions we’re seeking feedback on. This is your chance to help shape the future of the industry.

Who Should Attend?

This event is designed for anyone who may be interested in responding to the Regenerative Places Framework consultation, particularly those involved in housing development or retrofit. It is an opportunity for all built environment stakeholders to provide feedback. We encourage anyone with an interest in regenerative design in the built environment to join this webinar and respond to the consultation, from experienced professionals to those with a general interest.

WITH THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS

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This report aims to empower the retail and logistics sectors to drive rapid reductions in energy use and whole life carbon. It does this by highlighting commonly used retrofit measures for these buildings and examining the possible impacts on energy performance and their estimated cost of implementation. It also identifies other key considerations for deciding what and when to undertake retrofit measures.

This report is primarily for those working on retail and logistics buildings in the following roles: owners and landlords, occupiers/tenants, property and facility managers, designers and other consultants.

Calls to Actions

Based on the findings of this report, the following actions are recommended for those involved in the retrofitting of retail and logistics buildings:

1.

Landlords and occupiers to collaborate for maximum impact

2.

Electrify systems and maximise on-site renewable energy generation.

3.

Take a broad view of environmental and social impacts.

4.

Collect and share data on the impacts of real world retrofit projects

Advancing Net Zero Partners

Our Advancing Net Zero work is made possible thanks to our programme partners

Project Partners of Building the Case for Net Zero: Retrofitting Retail & Logistics Buildings

Commercial Retrofit

Energy required to heat, power and operate commercial buildings accounts for nearly a quarter of the built environment’s carbon footprint in the UK. Significant improvements in energy efficiency must be accelerated across all sectors. To address this challenge, Ģ��ֱ�� working with a team of industry experts to accelerate the delivery of commercial retrofit programmes.

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Advancing Net Zero

Created in 2018 as part of a World Green Building Council former global Advancing Net Zero programme, UKGBC’s Advancing Net Zero programme has a mission to lead the UK’s transition to a net zero built environment. It has produced leading guidance such as the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework and the Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap, whilst working with organisations and experts across the industry.

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Why this report matters

Despite rapid innovation across materials, digital technologies, construction systems and business models, many solutions��remain��underutilised. Fragmented decision-making, risk-averse cultures, misaligned procurement��models��and limited access to scale-up finance continue to hold back progress.��

Without faster adoption, the industry risks higher long-term costs, missed opportunities, and slower progress towards net zero and more resilient places.��This report focuses on what needs to change to move from isolated innovation to system-wide implementation.��

Drawing on insights from a broad range of stakeholders, built environment practitioners and industry experts, the report identifies seven key themes that influence whether solutions scale: organisational readiness; adopter needs and solution; finance and business models; certification and verification; risk, insurance and warranties; delivery and implementation; outcomes and knowledge sharing.

Across these themes, the report sets out 77 actionable enablers to support organisations in accelerating adoption.��

Download the report here

Scaling Initiative Partners

Thank you to our Scaling Initiative Partners for their generous support:

Solutions & Innovation

The built environment is both a major contributor to the climate and ecological crises, and a key part of the solution. At UKGBC we recognise that the scale and urgency of these challenges cannot be address with business as usual, but radical transformation. This requires innovation in technology, business models and ways of operating, and ensuring these innovative solutions scale at the pace required.

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Following the publication of the Warm Homes Plan in January, the Committee held a one-off evidence session to scrutinise the plan, and examine the adequacy of measures within it to help address fuel poverty and support the workforce to meet the anticipated growth in demand for clean energy technologies.

Jo gave evidence in the second session around how effective the Warm Homes Plan will be for retrofit and low-carbon heating systems. There were questions around workforce, the Boiler Upgrades Scheme, and the role of a Warm Homes Agency. Jo emphasised the need for immediate and consistent policies to support delivery and build industry confidence for investment, highlighted the importance of taking a whole house approach to ensure retrofit measures are appropriate and support both decarbonisation and bill reduction, and even spoke from personal experience about the difference a heat pump can make to home comfort.

Policy and Advocacy

Since 2007, we have been bringing together some of the most influential leaders in politics, business, local authorities, civil service and NGOs to accelerate action for a green built environment.

Learn more

The post UKGBC gives evidence on the Warm Homes Plan appeared first on UKGBC.

This week, the Government set out its Warm Homes Plan, representing the most significant investment in our housing for a generation. Its primary aim is clear: cut energy bills and carbon emissions by retrofitting the UK’s notoriously draughty homes. It also, encouragingly, acknowledges that upgrades must deliver ‘year-round comfort’ and begin to address overheating through low-cost, practical interventions. This signals a welcome recognition that Britain’s homes must work for people in every season and not only be cheaper to heat in winter. The challenge and opportunity now lie in ensuring these ambitions translate into tangible, resilient outcomes alongside deep decarbonisation.

With Met Office figures showing 2025 as the UK’s warmest year on record,��the evidence could not be clearer that the climate crisis is accelerating. Homes across the country are overheating in summer, flooding in winter, and suffering damp and mould all year round. These are not isolated issues, but parts of the escalating climate crisis.

As Emma Howard Boyd CBE, who led the London Climate Resilience Review, puts it:

Making our homes energy-efficient and low-carbon is a vital step toward a better future. By integrating climate resilience – like flood protection and cooling – directly into the Warm Homes Plan, we create a win-win scenario: homes that are safe and comfortable to live in while being more affordable to run.”

The risks are stark. The Climate Change Committee’s 2025 Adaptation Report projects that heat-related deaths could triple by mid-century without urgent action. Poorly ventilated airtight homes will trap heat. Inadequate moisture management will exacerbate damp and mould. And flooding will cause devastating disruption if we do not adapt homes to withstand it. These failures would undermine the very purpose of the retrofit programme: to improve comfort, health and security for households.

The solutions are well within reach. Practical, low-regret measures can be integrated seamlessly into retrofit: shading and ventilation to manage heat, flood resistance for homes in at-risk areas, and water efficiency to prepare for drought. It is heartening that the Warm Homes Plan outlines the inclusion of passive cooling measures, such as internal blinds, shutters, reflective window films, and effective building materials, especially within low-income and social housing schemes. This provides a foundation we can build on together, while also integrating nature-based solutions such as green roofs, rain gardens and street trees that reduce both flood and heat risks while boosting biodiversity and wellbeing. As Howard Boyd says: “Resilience is not an add-on. It’s about creating homes that actually work for people all year round, being cool in summer, warm in winter, and dry when it floods.”

The Government’s commitment to exploring overheating metrics within Energy Performance Certificates marks constructive progress. The next step is to embed adaptation considerations systematically within retrofit programmes so that every funded upgrade supports adaptation as well as efficiency. Doing so would unlock far more than energy savings. It would cut NHS costs, protect the most vulnerable, and help communities withstand the physical shocks that climate change will continue to bring. It would also deliver wider social benefits including cleaner air, greener streets, and stronger, healthier communities.

Delivering on this shared ambition will require government, local authorities, industry and civil society to work together.

In implementing the commitments of the Warm Homes Plan, we urge the Government to:

Set

standards that demand retrofit delivers resilience alongside energy efficiency.

Align

climate, health and housing policy, recognising the shared benefits.

Invest

in skills and innovation so the workforce can deliver resilient retrofit at scale.

Back

place-based and nature-based approaches that strengthen communities as well as homes.

Work

collaboratively with partners to test and scale no-regret adaptation measures across housing types, ensuring no household is left behind.

What’s needed now is coordinated action and sustained collaboration.”

We know the risks, and we know the solutions. What’s needed now is coordinated action and sustained collaboration. The Warm Homes Plan provides the right foundation to future-proof Britain’s housing and safeguard people’s lives and livelihoods. By working together to integrate resilience fully into delivery, we can ensure that the retrofit revolution creates homes that are not only low carbon, but truly climate-ready.

Unpacking the Warm Homes Plan: Member Town Hall and Discussion

Join us for this interactive town hall to unpack and share insights on the Government’s new Warm Homes Plan.

Learn more and register here

UK Climate Resilience Roadmap

This Roadmap sets out a vision for a climate resilient built environment, sharing clear recommendations for the industry and policy, and next steps needed to increase the climate resilience of our built environment.

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The Warm Homes and Buildings Plan: UKGBC Policy Team Analysis

The UKGBC policy team give you an overview of the long-awaited Warm Homes Plan, with more insights in our full analysis.

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This Warm Homes Plan represents a vital and necessary step towards delivering comfortable, affordable and future-proofed homes and buildings across the UK.

UKGBC has long issued a clarion call for a long-term national strategy to tackle the challenge of retrofitting all our homes and commercial buildings at scale, and we are pleased to have worked alongside industry and government to help shape its development.

We welcome the ambition for a solar ‘rooftop revolution’, low interest loans to help households wean themselves off volatile fossil fuels, and the focus on protecting low-income householders. By harnessing abundant solar energy and heat pump technology to both heat and cool buildings, the plan will help future-proof against rising bills and our rapidly warming climate.”

Our Analysis

Key Figures

£15bn of public funding confirmed for home retrofit this Parliament:

£5 bn

for low-income schemes

£2 bn

consumer loans

£2.7 bn

for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme

£1.1 bn

for Heat Networks

£2.7 bn

innovative finance through the Warm Homes Fund to invest in home upgrades

£1.5 bn

other funding for Warm Homes Plan Programmes and Devolved Administrations

The government’s Warm Homes Plan marks a significant moment for the UK’s housing stock. With £15��billion��of public funding committed this Parliament, the Plan sets out an ambitious programme to cut energy bills permanently, tackle fuel poverty,��and accelerate the transition to low-carbon homes.

At the heart of the Plan is a strong focus on technologies that can help households reduce their energy costs. Rooftop solar is positioned as a central pillar, with the government estimating that measures in the Plan could support solar installations on up to three million��additional��homes by 2030. Combined with falling costs and existing market demand, this could more than double the rate of deployment seen over the last fifteen years.

UKGBC welcomes the focus on clean energy technologies,��but��we are��also��clear that building fabric must remain a core part of the solution. The Plan rightly recognises that��insulation and other fabric measures, when installed with��appropriate ventilation, are a cornerstone of energy efficiency, particularly for low-income households, but with��the overall emphasis increasingly leans toward technologies such as solar and batteries as the primary routes to bill reduction.����

There was much needed focus on adaptation and resilience, with an extension of Boiler Upgrade Scheme support for air-to-air heat pumps, which can provide cooling as well as heating. As the UK faces hotter summers alongside colder winters, ensuring homes deliver year-round comfort is increasingly important, as demonstrated in UKGBC’s industry-leading Climate Resilience Roadmap.��

A major strength of the Warm Homes Plan is its focus on low-income households. £5 billion is allocated to fully funded retrofit packages, with a target to lift up to one million families out of fuel poverty. Delivery will increasingly be led by local authorities and housing associations, with a move toward a single, streamlined low-income scheme. This place-based approach reflects best practice and aligns closely with UKGBC’s Local Area Retrofit Accelerator work. Coordinating upgrades at neighbourhood scale can deliver better outcomes, from lower bills and improved health to local jobs and regeneration. 

The introduction of a government-backed consumer loan offer is another important development. UKGBC has long called for accessible, low-cost finance to support home upgrades, and these low-interest loans will play a valuable role in unlocking private investment and supporting households who want to act. 

The Plan also provides long-awaited clarity on Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for rented homes. Aligning standards across the private and social rented sectors by 2030 is��an important step��in protecting renters from high energy bills and poor living conditions.��Additional reform of Energy Performance Certificates,��offers an opportunity to provide clearer, more��accurate��information about the most��appropriate upgrades��for different homes.��

The creation of a new Warm Homes Agency to coordinate delivery, consumer advice and oversight is a welcome move��–��consumer confidence, quality assurance and clear redress mechanisms are essential for success at scale.��The Plan also recognises the importance of skills, supply��chains��and UK manufacturing, including continued support for training and an ambition for 70% of heat pumps installed in the UK to be manufactured domestically by 2035.��

The challenge now is delivery��and getting the transition from old to new right.��UKGBC looks forward to working with government and industry to turn this Plan into action on the ground.��

Unpacking the Warm Homes Plan: Member Town Hall and Discussion

Join us for this interactive town hall to unpack and share insights on the Government’s new Warm Homes Plan.

Learn more and register here

Policy & Advocacy

Since 2007, we have been bringing together some of the most influential leaders in politics, business, local authorities, civil service and NGOs to accelerate action for a green built environment.

Learn more

The post The Warm Homes and Buildings Plan: UKGBC Policy Team Analysis appeared first on UKGBC.

Key trends highlighted in the report include:

Increased focus on resilience

This includes not only climate resilience, but social and financial resilience, shaping design, investment and operational priorities.

A move towards action

With more organisations entering the implementation phase of transition plans, exposing the gap between strategic ambition and the realities of delivery.

From values to value

Clients and investors are increasingly demanding proof of commercial, social and environmental returns, shifting the sustainability conversation from principles to performance.

Technology development

Rapid advances, particularly in AI, offer powerful tools for optimisation and decarbonisation, while introducing new energy, water and resource challenges.

Scaling-up

Innovation in materials, construction systems and digital platforms continues to expand, but adoption remains constrained by capacity, trust and fragmented markets.

Grid capacity and energy systems

Despite substantial national investment, local constraints and long connection queues persist. With growing battery storage and buildings acting as active energy assets, the built environment’s role in system flexibility continues to increase.

Yetunde Abdul, Director of Industry Transformation, UKGBC, said:

As a network that brings together innovators, practitioners and thought leaders from right across the built environment, Ģ��ֱ�� uniquely placed to spot the shifts shaping our sector. This report distils the insights we hear every day from our members, partners and industry who are working at the leading edge of delivery. We publish it each year to help industry navigate complexity and to shine a light on the solutions and approaches gaining real traction.“

Emily-Rose Garnett, Senior Advisor – Solutions & Innovation, UKGBC, said:

The insights in this report are grounded in what we’re hearing on the ground: organisations working out how to responsibly use technology and AI, scale retrofit, close performance gaps, rethink materials, engage supply chains and build climate resilience. It paints a picture of an industry that is working to transition from intent to action, but grappling with the challenges required to achieve this. As we enter 2026, our hope is that industry and government recognise the scale of the opportunity ahead, and the transformative impact we can unlock through collective action.” 

Solutions & Advisory

At UKGBC we take a collaborative approach to identify and showcase innovative solutions and support with their scaling and implementation.

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Access the Report by filling out the form below:

This report is intended as a signpost for industry to key developments and reflect what Ģ��ֱ�� hearing from industry and in research by others.�� While this is a summary of some of the notable trends, solutions and examples of which UKGBC has become aware, there are likely to be others that are not mentioned. UKGBC does not formally endorse any of the individual solutions listed.����

Solutions and Innovation

At UKGBC we take a collaborative approach to identify sustainability challenges across the built environment and help source and implement the solutions to them.

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What if, every time we built or retrofitted something, the communities and ecosystems around us got better?

‘Regenerative’ principles are being discussed within the built environment at an increasing rate. However, there is a lack of consensus within industry on what we mean by ‘regenerative’, and particularly how, and at what stage principles should be implemented, or outcomes measured.

The Regenerative Places Framework Task Group will explore this crucially important challenge, building the compelling case to industry and policy makers for the benefits of place-based regenerative approaches, and examining the pathways, approaches, and shifts in practice needed to achieve more regenerative outcomes on projects.

The Task Group is considering how regenerative approaches can be applied to the retrofit of existing homes and communities at scale, and additional housing that meets local community needs and aspirations. Informed by UKGBC’s Regenerative Places programme, including the Local Authority Retrofit Accelerator pilot projects delivered by The MCS Foundation, this project aims to develop guidance for industry and policy makers on how to embed regenerative approaches into projects from the earliest design stages, delivering tangible social, environmental and long-term economic value. With nearly 19 million poorly rated homes and interconnected housing and climate challenges, there’s a pressing need for transformative action.

Task Group members:

Thank you to our Regenerative Places Programme Partners for their ongoing support:

We’re also grateful for the support of the MCS Foundation

Regenerative Places Programme

Our programme utilises a place-based retrofit strategy to enhance local network capacity, strengthen resilience against future climate-related challenges, and deliver broad regenerative benefits to communities.

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