Reducing the cost of retrofit through collaboration and opportunism, with Rafe Bertram

Is there a collaboration problem in retrofit within the social housing sector? That was the premise for this conversation with Rafe Bertram, an architect and retrofit expert—appearing in a personal capacity—who was very surprised when I posed the question because he's found collaboration to be a strength in the sector, at least in London.

In the end it led to a conversation about what he's learned from the experiences he's had working on retrofits in the social housing sector, in his community, and even doing big flashy Apple stores.

The most interesting bit though is the strategy he's using to reduce the cost of retrofit, with his theory of reactive planning. It's an approach that takes a systematic integrated asset management approach and adds strategic opportunism into the mix in a way that enables him to piggyback essential works, like roof replacement, and use them as a catalyst for getting into a building to do the sustainability stuff that's usually a lower priority.

Notes from the show

• Rafe Bertram on Linkedin
• Retrofit Kentish Town 
• The Good Homes Alliance website
• Rafe's finance report for the Good Homes Alliance — “The Green Shift – The existing financial incentives for higher environmental performance of new homes” (October 2023) 

More links to articles about green building, favourable finance, and better valuations:

• Homebuyers pay a ‘green premium’ of up to £40,000 for the most energy efficient properties (September 2021)—Lloyds Banking Group
• Halifax includes EPC ratings in maximum lending calculations
• Halifax to use EPC rating in affordability calculations
• Octopus reducing interest rates for finance capital: 4 criteria = 1.25% discount, 6+ criteria = 2.00% discount

**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

We don't actually earn anything from this podcast, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

• Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a proper website)
• Jeff and Dan about Zero Ambitions Partners (the consultancy) for help with positioning and communications strategy, customer/user research and engagement strategy, carbon calculations and EPDs – we're up to all sorts
• Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
• Check Lloyd Alter's Substack: Carbon Upfront
• Join ACAN
• Join the AECB 
• Join the IGBC
• Check out Her Retrofit Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women

**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**