In a bid to help the UK construction industry reach its net zero target, Nottingham Trent University (NTU) will invest £1.5 million into developing skills, research, training and consultancy. The university's new Centre for Sustainable Construction and Retrofit aims to develop solutions, skills and support locally and nationally to enable the transition to net zero within the built environment sector. As part of this, there will be new courses and skills training, socio-technical research and consultancy opportunities for business.
 
The project has been led by Professor Richard Bull, Deputy Dean of the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment who said: “Net-zero by 2050 presents a huge challenge to the construction sector, which accounts for up to 50 per cent of carbon emissions. An absence of skills, knowledge and expertise threaten to derail plans for the UK’s important net zero targets. But this ground-breaking centre will enhance the way in which existing buildings and new construction can meet those all-important climate change objectives."
 
NTU’s record in sustainability and the built environment includes the University’s ‘Scale-up Retrofit 2050’ whitepaper report which called for a nationwide programme to boost the energy efficiency of existing homes through deep retrofit. In addition, its REMOURBAN project demonstrated the benefits of deep retrofits and was showcased as part of the UK Built Environment Virtual Pavilion during COP26. Following this, there was a ‘scaling-up deep retrofit for social landlords’ pilot project, which was funded by the Energy Saving Trust and ongoing collaboration with ARC Partnership and Nottingham City Council.

The Centre for Sustainable Construction and Retrofit will explore how the built environment sector transitions to a low carbon future, while addressing the retrofit skills gap via the creation of new courses and providing consultancy support for business.