Carbon net zero is a huge opportunity for the UK, but one that requires investment, both of resources and planning. There are many obstacles along the way, and a cohesive strategy is needed to reach these ambitions.

With that in mind, we sat down with Mustafa Mustafa, head of decarbonisation at Morgan Sindall Property Services and asked him about some of the dangers of incorrect retrofit, how the government can ensure the transition to solar energy goes smoothly, and the threat posed to climate measures by misinformation.

• Overheating is rising as a concern in the UK and is being called by some a ‘disaster waiting to happen’. We know insulation itself isn’t the cause of this, but ineffective installation can be a factor. Do you think enough is done to ensure the dangers of overheating are combatted, and could more be done to raise awareness?

There’s definitely an opportunity for more to be done in raising awareness. The focus has been so heavily on making sure we get homes warm and airtight, and overheating has emerged as an extra layer of consideration that maybe so far hasn’t been highlighted enough. Obviously, insulation is not the only cause of overheating, and well-installed insulation as part of considered retrofit won’t cause overheating to be a danger, but when you fail to factor in elements like the orientation of the building and an overuse of double glazing for example, this can become a deadly cocktail. There’s also the case of buildings where the insulation work takes place well after the property has been built and it isn’t factored into the overall makeup of the home, that’s where we see insulation become a danger. More monitoring and more data is vital in order to adapt to the threat that overheating poses, overheating awareness needs to be embedded into the retrofit process from inception, as we’ve seen that especially for vulnerable residents it can pose serious health risks.

• You’ve spoken previously about the links between retrofit and resident health, do you think the role retrofit can play in reducing national health costs is appreciated and capitalised on enough?

No, not at all, and this isn’t just a connection we’ve been trying to emphasise here at Morgan Sindall Property Services, we’ve got figures from the Healthy Homes Hub who have also been pushing to make sure this connection is utilised effectively. For every £1 of retrofit works, it’s estimated to save the NHS £4.50 in return, which is an insane statistic, and one that when you look at the pressure facing the NHS today, we need to make sure is fully taken advantage of. It’s not only physical health like respiratory issues either, but the home also has such an impact on the mental health of it’s residents, without being happy in your home and where you live it’s almost impossible to live a fulfilled, healthy life. Country wide retrofit has the ability to not only help the UK reach net zero, but the health benefits can save the NHS up to £1.4 billion, that can be channeled back into other departments and free up an immense amount of capital.

• Solar panels received a massive boost recently, with plans this year to ensure solar panels are fitted on a vast majority of new builds. The main concern from many voices surrounding this is energy grid costs and delays, what’s your take on these barriers and do you see it as a concern?

Of course it’s a concern, I think one of the consistent faults we’ve seen throughout the journey to net zero is the infrastructure looking to catch up with these country-wide changes, we need the infrastructure in place first. Solar energy is going to be key in fighting fuel poverty, and it’s great to see initiatives like this putting it as a priority, but we need to do the groundwork first. More local grid stations need to be built to harness this energy back, or battery banks for example, these measures to ensure that we can reach these aspirations without running into these teething issues and the infrastructure having to play catch up.

• In today’s age of social media, misinformation is rife and a serious threat, which is especially relevant when it comes to global warming and environmental concerns. This can have a direct impact on retrofit works when it comes to tenant engagement, do you think enough is being done to combat misinformation, and do you see it is an obstacle to widespread uptake of measures like solar panels?

Yes, 100%. Anyone that works in a public facing sector will know, you can have 10 success stories coming from your work, but if one person’s bad experience finds it’s way online and goes viral, or gets picked up as a headline, it will taint so many views on the work and it’s benefits. It’s especially dangerous when it comes to climate initiatives, when you think about how many people are fed misinformation around such a huge threat, but a threat that isn’t tangible, people aren’t seeing global warming take place in front of them, and that makes it an easy target for climate denial and other misinformation. The best thing anyone in the retrofit world can do is make sure to make residents well aware of the benefits, speak to the communities you’re working in and help them to understand why it’s such a priority. We’re fortunate to work with clients who have developed strong net zero strategies such as Westminster City Council, Amplius, and Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. These organisations have gone to great lengths to communicate the right information to all residents, reinforcing acceptance of the necessary works. They’ve also helped to encourage the behaviour changes needed from all of us to truly move the needle toward our shared net zero goals.

• The recent spending review saw the government double down on their commitments to both social housing and energy efficiency, what was your take on the spending review and do you think it did enough for clean energy?

Yes, it was great to see the government stick to their commitment to the Warm Homes Plan, and not remove any of that funding that is going to prove vital for the push for netzero. A lot of people, including myself, were concerned about this and vocal about the need to not backtrack on these commitments if we’re going to hit these ambitious targets. They also committed funds to building safety and cladding remediation, which was another positive, and overall they’ve stuck to their guns with their funding and goals, so it was definitely a positive sign for the industry.

• The National Retrofit Hub recently released a paper calling for a 10-year National Retrofit Workforce Strategy, and identified a lack of skilled workers as one of the biggest obstacles to retrofit at scale in the UK. What do you think can be done to combat this skills gap, and do you think a national strategy is necessary?

I do think a strategy is necessary, but rather an overall construction workforce strategy, that can then enrich retrofit within it. The average age for our tradespeople is only going up, and we desperately need to revitalise the industry with fresh talent. The pivotal part of this plan needs to be getting the training right, actually establishing how courses can be rewarding and leave course members with the right skills, I personally have attended five or six of these courses, I won’t send someone on a training course until I’ve seen it myself and I know exactly what skills they’re going to come away with. So many courses also prep course members to be retrofit assessors, or coordinators, we need more people on the tools that can carry out these works and really make a difference and this needs to be addressed in the training programs. Something akin to a national ranking table could be a strong start, comparing courses and what they offer, as well as what positions alumni have gone on to work in, similar to how we compare universities.