Built Different
Startup Coalition is calling for the Government to transform its approach to building and retrofitting homes, powered by British tech – read the full report here.
Our new ‘Built Different’ report finds that, despite evidence showing that insulating homes properly could save the UK economy £136bn over thirty years including £13bn to the NHS alone, successive governments have failed to produce a credible plan to decarbonise buildings and homes. Instead, they have repeated a pattern of unambitious, complex, and ever-changing policies. With the Labour Government planning to accelerate housebuilding to fuel economic growth, the challenge is about to become more acute – we simply do not have the carbon budget to build these homes in a way that is compatible with our net zero goals.
Fortunately, the UK has a burgeoning built environment ClimateTech sector, worth nearly £900m and employing over 2,500 people across the UK. These firms have developed new ways of building and using homes that save both cash and carbon, from firms producing low carbon building materials and construction processes, to cutting edge low-carbon heating systems. Yet the intransigence of big players and poor regulation means this figure is far less than it could be.
Current policies and regulation have locked out cutting edge low-carbon technologies, incentivise the wrong behaviours, and limit household choice.
Our blueprint for Building Differently sets out the steps to change this pattern. Recommendations include that the UK Government should use its buying power to build the market for low carbon building materials, and crack on with reforming Energy Performance Certificates. To overcome incumbent inertia and blocking bureaucracy, the Labour Government should introduce a retrofit sandbox as a first initiative under its Regulatory Innovation Office. It’s also time to address the flailing smart meter roll out, including empowering households to actually use the data on their energy use.