Members from all over the UK gathered in person this month for our inaugural meeting, with more than 50 people in attendance. The day focused on our three core pillars – policy, green skills and training, and innovation – around which working groups are now being developed ahead of meeting once per quarter.
Our close collaboration with relevant government entities was marked by attendance from senior representatives of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). The department’s director for net zero buildings, Selvin Brown, spoke to members about the progress made so far, the scale of the remaining challenge and upcoming government commitment for decarbonisation across the social and private housing sectors.
Derek Horrocks, chair of the NHDG, said: “Since our initial launch just last month, momentum has been building with more Tier 1 contractors committing their membership and the ongoing development of our operations.
“The inaugural meeting marked the first time all members gathered in one place, and we’ve got there very quickly from a standing start, bringing together big-name businesses that need no introduction. The meeting couldn’t have been more positive, and it’s been really heartening to see every single organisation represented and contributing.
“Supply chain capabilities, funding, and developing the skills needed for the retrofit revolution were all key talking points throughout the day – as was how we can attract new talent into the industry too. The day has been full of passion from everyone involved to really sustain collaboration to meet key targets, such as the need for 200,000 more competent retrofitters by 2030.
“With the majority of large-scale domestic retrofit work in the UK set to be carried out by NHDG members over the coming years, we have an important responsibility. Together we must lead the change and develop a robust supply chain capable of delivering government goals and more. Long-term commitments are in place for the decarbonisation of 26 million UK homes to meet net zero, backed by more than £12 billion pledged by this and the next parliament.
“The time is now – and together we have the ambition, resource and drive to push forward, with the opportunity to improve the lives of thousands of people up and down the country currently facing some of the biggest energy and climate crises of our time.”
Our members, including Tier 1 contractors, specialist organisations and energy providers, share a collective mission to drive the delivery of high-quality energy efficiency measures and low carbon technologies at scale across the UK’s housing stock. They are also already delivering large-scale PAS:2035 compliant installations funded by various government schemes, including the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) and Home Upgrade Grant (HUG). Together, members will support retrofit installations for all housing tenures up and down the country, delivering the highest levels of quality and compliance.
