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This week, our chair Derek Horrocks has been representing the National Home Decarbonisation Group at one of the built environment’s leading conferences, Tomorrow’s Net Zero.

Taking part in a roundtable discussion, Derek was joined by professionals from across the wider sector, including representatives from investors and housebuilders focused on new-builds. Together, they explored the need for urgency and action to tackle the scale of the net zero challenge in housing.

Derek Horrocks, owner of Sustainable Building Services

Derek said: “Making homes more energy efficient is a huge talking point across the industry, but it’s important to remember that at the middle of it all are real people. That’s why from the three themes of the roundtable, action is the most important point.

“The urgency becomes particularly pertinent for social homes. We are leading the way in this space. Not only are we delivering the high levels of compliance required for key funding schemes like the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, but we’re also delivering works that have a truly transformative impact on the lives of thousands of people.

“These residents tend to feel the impact of lower energy efficiency in their homes more acutely, which in turn adds health, financial and mental stress – not to mention discomfort. We are one of the largest providers of retrofit residential decarbonisation works, but the key for us is placing people at the heart of what we do.

“We make sure that residents are central to our delivery commitments – staying comfortable and informed throughout every stage of the process and benefitting from the improvements long-term. It’s this approach that leads to outstanding feedback from residents on our customer care throughout projects, which we’re incredibly proud to receive time and time again.”

Find out more about our people-first approach to social housing retrofit decarbonisation here.