From 8-12 August, the first ever Green Home Festival took place with FMB Scotland staff and members playing a leading role. At the launch event on Monday 8 August our FMB Scotland Director introduced Patrick Harvie MSP, who opened the festival.
FMB Scotland President Alastair Raitt of H M Raitt & Sons Ltd took the opportunity to question the Minister about current regulatory systems which block the path for contractors to repair and retrofit older buildings. Mr Harvie, Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, is keen to engage with the FMB about this and he outlined the scale of the challenge and some of the measures the Scottish Government was taking to try and tackle today’s environmental issues. Mr Harvie said:
“The climate emergency is already here. But if we adopt many of the actions and ideas being discussed at this week-long Green Home Festival, they will stand us in good stead to mitigate its worst consequences. This is a monumental but essential task. Our building stock is relatively old, and wasn’t always built to high energy standards. This legacy of poor energy efficiency has contributed to emissions and fuel poverty, so we need to start drastically improving that standard.”
The Green Home Festival was organised by the Construction Industry Collective Voice (CICV), of which the FMB is a key member. There were 12 free-to-attend shows with some run online and others in person at the offices of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Edinburgh.
The highlight of the week was a walking tour of a major refurbishment programme in Murrayburn, Edinburgh hosted by FMB member A.C. Whyte & Co Ltd. With the sun blazing in the sky, delegates were shown the various stages of the works, led by AC Whyte’s Contracts Manager, Sean McGuire. A question-and-answer session followed with Simone McAllister and Gordon Nelson of the FMB fielding questions on FMB’s wider work in Scotland.
AC Whyte’s Contracts Manager, Sean McGuire led a tour of a major refurbishment programme in Murrayburn, Edinburgh.
Gordon Nelson said “Sean McGuire and the team at FMB member company A.C. Whyte & Co. Ltd were excellent hosts in an enjoyable and informative walking tour of the company’s ground-breaking programme at Murrayburn. Some delegates arrived via sustainable transport and in style, courtesy of a Mercedes eVito Tourer kindly supplied by Western Commercial Mercedes-Benz.
We all benefitted from learning about the project which is greatly improving the conditions and energy efficiency of mixed tenure homes. I wish A.C. Whyte & Co. Ltd the very best with this and other projects that are underway – with the project at Murrayburn, definitely one to enter for the 2023 Master Builder Awards.
With contributions during the week from the likes of SEPA, Home Energy Scotland, SNIPEF, Gardiner & Theobald LLP and Atelier Ten, the range of topics included
- Protecting from flood risk
- Using sustainable materials
- Demystifying heat pumps
- Retrofitting tenements
- Building sustainable neighbourhoods
- An introduction to electric vehicles (EVs).
The festival is the latest in a string of practical and constructive initiatives launched by the CICV since its creation at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Made up of 29 trade associations, professional services bodies and companies, it has maintained a steady supply of information and practical advice to the sector as well as carrying out surveys, producing animations and posters, hosting webinars and maintaining close dialogue with Scottish Government ministers.
Find out more
If you’ve any questions or would like to find out more about this event, please contact FMB Scotland Director Gordon Nelson.
