Natwest Group is partnering with the Supply Chain Sustainability School to provide a free retrofit learning platform for the construction industry, with the aim of addressing climate change by upskilling within the segment.
The new platform features CPD accredited courses on 17 key topics including energy and carbon, waste and circular economy and more.
To provide the training, it draws on over 200 partners within the built environment industry and their supply chains – offering training to 80,000 registered users.
According to the UK Green Building Council, around 40% of UK carbon emissions are linked to the built environment, with building works responsible for 18% of large particle pollution.
Director of the Supply Chain Sustainability School Ian Heptonstall said: “Our mission is to enable a sustainable built environment through knowledge and collaboration, however most of our work to date has focused on new builds,” said director of the Supply Chain Sustainability School Ian Heptonstall.
Subscribe to Sustainability Beat for free
Sign up here to get the latest sustainability news sent straight to your inbox everyday
He continued: “To truly fulfil our mission, we must pivot towards the existing building, crafting and delivering learning experiences that empower the UK to retrofit its structures with cutting-edge technologies and systems, positioning us to fulfil our Net Zero commitments.”
“We look forward to tackling climate change through retrofit with Natwest Group.”
Natwest head of climate change James Close added: “As one of the largest lenders in the UK, we have a key role to play in supporting consumers and businesses in transitioning to more energy efficient homes and buildings that are warmer, cheaper to heat, and generate lower emissions.”
“Decarbonising properties will require retrofitting existing buildings to increase their energy efficiency, constructing new energy efficient buildings and decarbonisation of electricity and heating supply.”
He continued: “We want to work at scale to increase demand. But we need the skills and companies to carry out the work and we also want to make it as easy for our customers to retrofit as possible.”
“Our collaboration with the Supply Chain Sustainability School will help cultivate a more mature retrofit supply chain, share knowledge and build the skills needed to retrofit homes and buildings across the UK.”
