Engaged learning

Our present times feel tumultuous and chaotic; covid, geopolitical tensions, increasingly apparent climate change impacts, conventional financial systems under strain, biodiversity breakdown. Each of these challenges can feel overwhelming. It is here, in this current context, that Contented has been working as part of consortium, including the Sustainable Housing Action Partnership and Sustainability West Midlands, commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA), to develop planning and actions to deliver retrofit. ?

Retrofitting buildings, by adding components and technologies that?it did not have at the time of construction, increases energy efficiency and reduces carbon emissions. Whilst efforts have been made by Government for new build standards, retrofitting existing housing stock is critical to a zero-carbon1 (Ref-1).?We have the technology and now we need to deploy it at scale. It might not be the most high-profile interventions towards net zero,?minor even in the context of global events, but it is essential in achieving a thriving future. ?

Contented supported the facilitation of conversations between Local Government colleagues, elected members, and representatives of the third sector. Each stakeholder brings their own conventions and parameters for delivery, their own challenges and project delivery requirements. By bringing these groups together, and using context appropriate tools and approaches, we can explore fully their specific needs, understand bottlenecks, and support systems thinking. ?

The process is underpinned by technical briefings, where the specifics related to challenge and growth area are presented by active practitioners who bring a sense of achievement, value and best practice to our conversations. Sharing success and understanding how to better overcome challenges is a key takeaway for participants. All these technical conversations and outputs from the sessions are available on the LGA website: https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/climate-change-hub/lga-climate-change-programme-regional-retrofit-action-plan-training.?Please share these widely with other practitioners and networks – there are some really useful resources and case studies available. ?

Contented knows that it is through this?engaged learning process outputs are optimised. Participants can be open to the challenges and compromises that might be necessary, better enabled to work across multiple stakeholders, whilst building a community of practitioners with whom they can continue to collaborate with. Contented enables organisations to unlock the potential of our learning approach across sustainability, climate change and future thinking.?

Ref-1: RICS (2020) Retrofitting to decarbonise UK existing housing stock: RICS net zero policy position paper [accessed online 13/01/2023: https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/news/news--opinion/retrofitting-to-decarbonise-the-uk-existing-housing-stock-v2.pdf]??