Trial / Demo
Did you miss our Chief Operating Officer, Ruth Kerrigan, speaking at edie’s Net-Zero Carbon Action Sessions recently? You can now catch the session on demand.
Now in its sixth year, edie’s Net-Zero November campaign dedicates an entire month to informing, inspiring and empowering sustainability and energy professionals on the road to a net-zero carbon future.
As part of this year’s campaign, IES were pleased to take part in the Net-Zero Carbon Action Sessions - an afternoon of live, interactive webinar presentations and discussions, all dedicated to giving businesses the tools and insights to accelerate progress on net-zero targets in ways that are transparent and aligned with the latest standards.
IES COO, Ruth Kerrigan, joined a panel of business leaders and sustainability experts in the first of three sessions, for a Q&A style net-zero debate, hosted by edie’s Editor, Matt Mace. The all-female panel featured insights from fellow sustainability experts, Lydia Elliot, Deputy Director of Supplier Decarbonisation at the SME Climate Hub, Becky Gordon, Regional Sustainability Manager at Interface, and Iona Neilson, Head of Climate Action at SailGP, to explore the changes that companies are making to accelerate decarbonisation progress right now, and how they are overcoming the challenges of policy and regulatory changes, budget constraints and continued business growth.
Ruth was able to emphasise the important role that buildings can play in the race to zero carbon, highlighting that every building has savings that stand ready to be achieved, which can benefit businesses, not only from an energy and carbon perspective, but financially too. In a poignant analogy, she encouraged attendees to consider the way we treat our buildings in comparison to our cars. Despite their relatively short lifespan, we look after our cars – putting them through an annual MOT and service, and keeping their systems updated until they reach end of life. However, rarely do we extend the same level of care and attention to our buildings.
Ruth stressed that we need to start treating our buildings with this same level of care, continuously monitoring, checking and upgrading our built assets to ensure that they perform over time. Our buildings are here for the long-term, and sending them to the scrapyard is not an option. However, by employing the tools and technologies which are now readily available, businesses can avoid the risk of an underperforming building or being landed with a stranded asset, to unlock the full net-zero potential of their buildings. As Ruth explained in the session, there are lots of ways we can achieve this, while also creating jobs and generating wider benefits for businesses, society and our planet.
This Q&A debate was followed by a further two sessions, exploring a selection of best practice case studies and a masterclass on delivering robust net-zero transition plans. All three of these sessions are now available to watch on demand, so if you missed the live event, or would simply like a recap on the discussion points covered on the day, you can now watch the recording on demand.
Are you a practitioner working on existing building decarbonisation projects, or a building owner/operator looking to identify the best strategies to get your existing building(s) to net-zero? Download our free Energy Modelling for Retrofit Guide to explore how energy modelling and our dynamic tools can provide the insights you need to improve existing building performance and deliver net zero retrofits with confidence.
