Last working day at ABC

I can’t believe that this is already my last working day in my latest role as interim CEO of Active Building Centre . It has been a really rewarding and enjoyable job(well mostly!) to finish the Innovate UK Transforming Construction Challenge research with an amazing group of people.

I have also met some very talented and impactful industry champions across construction and the renewable energy technology supply chain all working to help shift to net zero. It’s been great to gain new insights and knowledge in the field of energy. There is so much more needed now to get the buildings and energy sectors collaborating.?

II have learnt much from real world projects our team have worked on seeking to improve comfort, carbon and cost by deploying more renewable energy systems in buildings. From universities, to housing and on to industrial sites our team has gained and shared insights from new build and retrofit projects alike.

What has been remarkable is that much of this work was undertaken in the midst and shortly after a global pandemic with significant supply chain challenges. One of the biggest challenges I have found in this role has been delivery against tight timelines. It has taught be real benefits for dealing quickly to both deal with problems as well as to position to take new opportunities. It’s something I will take with me going forward.

The rewarding part has been to work with the team to create new research and insights that will be useful for the built environment and energy sectors.?We have all been proud to deliver the ABC Blueprint and a range of great case studies.?You can see a summary of what has been achieved in our final ABC Impact and Legacy report that will be submitted to URKI & Innovate UK soon.

Thanks to Kate Reed ACCA , Saran Lewis , Suzanna Needs , Mathilde Castagnet , Chris Brierley Alan Jenkins Hollie Pinnell who have been helping wind up our the last of our funded activities over the past few months.

I want to thank many of the team and board for the chance to have worked on such an important dimension of climate action geared to help the transition to net zero for the buildings sector. Our board Keith Clarke , Kerry Mashford OBE , Lynne Sullivan RIBA Ian Meikle , Lynne Patmore and past board members Rachel Wells Sam Stacey have been very constructive and supportive and have shown real commitment to this agenda.

Building relationships

I have very much enjoyed build closer relationships with what was BEIS – now split in three Department for Energy Security and Net Zero , Department for Science, Innovation and Technology , Department for Business and Trade .

We have built a strong basis for collaboration with Sustainable Energy Association led by Jade Lewis and have continued close working with SPECIFIC IKC based at 英国威尔士斯旺西大学 who initiated the "Active Building" principles led by Dave Worsley We have engaged with other key organisations like BRE , UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) , Active Building Centre Research Programme , Construction Innovation Hub , Net Zero Industry Wales, Unlock Net Zero , Inside Housing Futurebuild , UK Construction Week , Good Homes Alliance , Energy Systems Catapult , MTC - Manufacturing Technology Centre , ACES (Association of Chief Estates Surveyors and Property Managers in the Public Sector) , Constructing Excellence , Passivhaus Trust , and the emerging National Retrofit Hub along the way.

We have had the chance to engage directly with Minister Lord Callanan, various Shadow Minsters, local MPs, the Climate Change Committee , Western Gateway and the Llywodraeth Cymru / Welsh Government among others. It is good to see a greater focus on buildings from Chris Stark and the CCC.

What next for me?

I have commenced the search for my next role. Though I am taking a short break to travel with family and friends over the next month or so. Ideally I am looking for roles commencing later on in the Summer or early spring.?I am keen to explore senior roles related to innovation, built or natural environment sectors, with a strong commitment to taking climate action, and improving EDI outcomes ideally with some international dimensions.

I am open to considering roles in either public, private or third sector. I love roles that need strategy, engagement, communications and knowledge development. Do get in touch if there is something I might be able to assist with.

What have we produced?

I want to particularly thank Jo A. , Pragya Gupta , Mark Jackson and Andrew Jeffryes for their major contribution as co-authors to the ABC Blueprint.

Some of my recent views are included in this recent article Creating impact & legacy at ABC | LinkedIn some of the key points I have drawn out below:

ABC BLUEPRINT

In October 2022, at UK Construction week in Birmingham we launched our ABC Blueprint which draws on the learnings gained and the talents of the ABC team that was built, and is a collective contribution to help industry, society and government alike. It draws together theory and practical examples from ABC’s work in creating lab-based demonstrations and embedding active energy systems in a range of building types since 2019.

A key part of the blueprint is the 3C’s approach putting comfort at the forefront whilst balancing carbon and cost. The 3C’s, for me,is a really important framework.

Download your copy of the blueprint?here:

CASE STUDIES

Since inception in 2019, ABC has partnered in delivering advice and support to over 100 real world schemes with a value of around ￡300m, to catalyse the uptake of active energy systems in buildings. Ranging from capital projects with Welsh Government to commercial buildings and housing developments with local authorities.

Examples include:

Cross Hands East Strategic Employment Site?comprising 32,500 square feet of low-carbon offices, light industrial units and hybrid spaces for letting, across three buildings. It is an exemplar project that will help transform the way commercial buildings are powered and heated using innovative technology. The new buildings will generate electricity using on-site renewables and incorporate high levels of insulation to deliver a low-carbon development with reduced running costs.

Trent Basin?is?all about renewables and energy integration. There is a community-owned solar PV farm, battery storage and enabling infrastructure, which were installed at the construction stage, keeping the capital costs low. At a household level, Trent Basin residents were given the tools to help them look after their own energy usage. These range from individual circuit power and energy information to a smart heating system, which can all be interfaced via a smart speaker.

Springfield Meadows?is a development of 25 homes in Oxfordshire, built by Greencore Construction in partnership with Ssassy Property. The houses are built to better than Passivhaus energy standards and are a great example of low carbon buildings. Our team’s work involved verifying whole life carbon calculations.

For more on the ABC projects and our learning, you can download our case studies here.

ABC - The journey continues with ESC

ABC had many characteristics in common with the UK’s catapult network. In addition, projects encountered by ABC often needed multi-disciplinary skills to deal with unique building typologies and location differences. With that in mind, as we looked as a board and a team around how best to continue this work, we sought to embed the centre into the catapult network.

We believed this would give ABC a long-term home and I am really pleased that Energy Systems Catapult , led by Guy Newey , ?has agreed to include ABC’s mission in its work going forward. The team can be contacted by [email protected]

Andrew Perry Mathilde Castagnet Dr Tony Eccott Chris Brierley Jo A. Aly Tarek Farrag Deepak Sadhwani Gayathri Sajan Nair Vicky B.

A lasting benefit will be to help bring buildings and energy systems industries together around new innovation projects. Whether it be systems integration, new business models, process and regulation improvements or brand-new innovation in products and sharing the latest in innovation across sectors, this together will help drive the acceleration we need.

The other public benefit legacy will be the use of the ABC demonstrator facilities at Berkeley will now be used by South Gloucestershire and Stroud College to create an EcoFutures centre for green skills. The capacity of the sector to deliver will need this important focus on education going forward.

Thanks to everyone I have met in this role for their support and collaboration over the past year and a half. I look forward to seeing more great work continue to both accelerate the uptake of active energy systems in buildings and build the capacity to deliver especially in the retrofit arena.