A lot has been said about the importance of tackling climate change, with high profile global commitments made at events like the COP26 conference held in Glasgow in November 2021, and the construction industry’s own National Retrofit Strategy offering a blueprint for how small builders can play their part.
With 29 million homes in the UK in need of an energy efficiency upgrade, there will be a lot of this work around. But while it makes good business sense to consider how to diversify your company to make sure you are ready to take on retrofit jobs, we know that getting started on that journey can often seem hard.
Retrofit support for small builders
That’s one of the reasons why the FMB is partnering with RetrofitWorks, a not-for-profit co-operative with a mission to lower energy bills, create healthy homes and move towards net zero. Having access to RetrofitWorks’ expertise will help more FMB members learn about what retrofit is and access the training and support they will need to take on retrofit projects.
Boosting our campaigning power
As like-minded organisations, the FMB and RetrofitWorks will also continue to campaign for a national energy efficiency home retrofit strategy. It’s clear that small, local builders will be at the heart of getting retrofit done, so we’ll be working together to provide expert guidance and project opportunities, as well as broader support for our memberships.
What to look out for
RetrofitWorks spokespeople will be adding their expertise to services available to FMB members. That might be contributing to the Master Builder Magazine or our webinar series. Retrofit projects and opportunities to work with RetrofitWorks to train or use the services of a retrofit coordinator on a build will be advertised to FMB members in monthly newsletters.
A word from our partners
Russell Smith, Founder of RetrofitWorks welcomed the partnership, saying: “We’re delighted to formalise our relationship with the FMB who have been one of our major supporters for a decade.”
“Together with the FMB, we can amplify our voice in the housing sector…improve understanding of the whole house [retrofit] approach, market this effectively to customers and support builders to access the market and guide them in their work.”
Get involved with RetrofitWorks opportunities
If you are interested in learning more about the support and opportunities that RetrofitWorks can offer*, please contact [email protected] or call 0330 123 1334 and say you’re a member of the FMB.
*Current projects are operating in London, the Southern Counties and the North West.
If you’d like to follow the FMB’s campaigning work on retrofit, please check out our campaign page or email [email protected].
