The UK later living provider Inspired Villages is set to open the UK’s first net zero carbon retirement village, and has revealed plans to build 25 new net zero developments, and commits to becoming net zero by 2030.
The plans, shared in the group’s annual impact report, will see the development opened in Millfield Green, Bedfordshire next month; the move is set to produce the blue print for the future developments.
At the site, 100% of the homes will have ground source heat pumps and solar panels, as well as being fitted with high quality insulation and EV charging points.
“Outlining our vision, goals and commitments within our Impact Report is an important step to holding ourselves accountable whilst driving climate change and setting a new standard in terms of sustainability for IRCs,” said Inspired Villages chief executive officer Jamie Bunce.
“Our vision to become a climate positive business sees a range of commitments, including our villages being Net Zero Carbon in unregulated energy by 2030, as well as our scope 1 & 2 business emissions.”
“We are making strides towards this with our ninth village, Millfield Green in Bedfordshire, which will open in October as our first Net Zero Carbon regulated scheme. This year we have also started the process of benchmarking our business scope 1 & 2 footprint, which will give us strategic direction for target setting in this area as we head into 2023.”
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Head of Sustainability James Wilcox added: “The planet is beginning to feel the effects of human impact on our climate. As a developer and operator of Integrated Retirement Communities for a potentially vulnerable age group, this is a threat to which we must respond seriously.”
“Our 2022-23 Impact Report begins the process of demonstrating our progress with transparency, outlining our achievements from the past 12 months and identifying where we will need to focus for the future.”
He continued: “Key takeaways include a commitment that all new villages will be Net Zero Carbon (regulated energy) and our aspiration is for this pledge to include unregulated energy from 2025. We have also adopted a fabric first approach to our specification to ensure we first reduce overall energy demand before looking at means of renewable energy generation.”
