My commitment to fostering crucial industry dialogue saw me co-facilitate a significant roundtable in mid-April 2023, kindly hosted by Cisco at their London City HQ. This discussion, focused on “Retrofitting buildings and the drive towards net zero,” brought together a highly influential group of developer, owner, and operator participants, including representatives from British Land, Landsec, Patrizia, Brockton Everlast, CBRE, WiredScore, the Department of Education, Canary Wharf Group, Arup, and other key stakeholders.

The session tackled a pressing industry challenge: while the need to retrofit existing buildings for energy efficiency to meet net zero goals by 2050 is widely acknowledged, practical guidance remains scarce. Our discussions aimed to bridge this gap, focusing on real-world insights from those directly managing and operating extensive property portfolios.

Several key takeaways emerged from these insightful conversations:

• Sustainability as the Primary Driver: There was strong consensus that sustainability, not merely the addition of new services, is the fundamental impetus for retrofit projects. Unlike new builds, retrofits deal with existing infrastructure and often, live occupiers, making technology specification more complex. The focus is on achieving ambitious targets, such as reducing average energy consumption from 160 kWh/m² to 55 kWh/m² annually, as highlighted by Dr Matthew Marson.
• Scaling through “Low Hanging Fruit”: Participants agreed that significant carbon reduction (up to 30%) can be achieved through efficient operations of existing building technologies. This involves optimising HVAC run times with AI and moving towards autonomous operation, proving immediate ROI through carbon reduction without impacting occupier experience. Such successes are replicable and scalable, encouraging investment.
• The Critical Role of Operations and the Skills Gap: A vital point raised was the disconnect between ‘Operations-led’ and ‘User Experience-led’ approaches, and the urgent need for operations teams to be involved earlier in smart building specification. This discussion underscored a significant skills gap among those responsible for operating and maintaining smart technologies at the sharp end, emphasising the need for education and new hires, including data analysts, to ensure smart technologies deliver on their promise.
• Agility and Prototyping in Retrofit: Despite complexities, retrofitting offers opportunities for agility that new builds often lack. Shorter timeframes and existing infrastructure enable rapid prototyping. As noted by Mike Hook, this allows for more informed data-driven decision-making, not just for current retrofits but also for informing technology templates in new build projects. Fiona Sawkill of British Land, for instance, spoke about focusing on critical data from five key systems before considering asset replacement.

This roundtable exemplifies my core Market Engagement philosophy: bringing together diverse, high-calibre professionals to collaboratively address complex challenges. It highlights how fostering dialogue among developer/owner/operators provides pragmatic pathways to accelerate the industry’s drive towards net zero and create truly effective buildings.

For a full report on the discussions and key insights, you can read the article in Smart Buildings Magazine: Retrofitting buildings and the drive towards net zero