Since 2023 BE-ST and the National Retrofit Hub (NRH) have worked together to enable the delivery of retrofit at scale across the UK. The two organisations are aligned in their commitments to tackling fuel poverty, improving the quality of housing and living conditions, and accelerating the delivery of retrofit across the UK. 

Now the NRH is at the stage to expand its operations and BE-ST is looking to scale its investment in retrofit, an opportunity to evolve the well-established strategic partnership between BE-ST and the NRH has emerged.

Together, the NRH and BE-ST will collaborate on the delivery of key initiatives. This includes supporting The Retrofit Alliance of Nations which brings together retrofit delivery organisations in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, England and the Republic of Ireland to advance retrofit and to encourage collaboration and knowledge exchange to increase impact across borders.

As part of an increased focus on retrofit support, BE-ST is also expanding the role of Caitriona Jordan, associate director of retrofit and energy efficiency at BE-ST, to lead Scotland’s National Retrofit Centre as it moves towards its operational delivery phase.

The Centre is undergoing an ambitious retrofit thanks to a grant awarded to Edinburgh Napier University - BE-ST’s host institution - through Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund. Beyond decarbonising the building, the retrofit aims to transform the Centre into a showcase of what innovative, deep retrofit of large-scale industrial buildings could look like. Funding for this work is delivered by Salix Finance on behalf of the Scottish Government.

On her expanded role, Caitriona said: “Leading Scotland’s National Retrofit Centre at this critical stage is an incredible opportunity to drive real change in how we approach retrofit at scale. Throughout the retrofit of the building we will be learning, documenting, and measuring to meet EnerPHit and Net Zero Public Sector Building Standard requirements - all while creating a living case study at BE-ST that will inspire and inform future retrofit across Scotland and beyond.”

BE-ST’s increased focus on retrofit will also see investment in scaling Retrofit Scotland, a platform to enable engagement, action and delivery of retrofit across communities. This will see BE-ST collaborating with Civic House to open an additional retrofit training centre in Glasgow. This facility will expand BE-ST’s capacity for delivering retrofit training. It is hoped that this model of satellite training centres can be employed over time across the UK to meet demand for retrofit training.

The expansion of the NRH offers the opportunity for Sara Edmonds, who has held the dual roles of head of citizen engagement at BE-ST since June 2022 and co-director at the NRH since July 2023, to transition into a full-time role with the NRH.   

Sara has had a great impact during her time at BE-ST, driving citizen, government, and industry engagement in retrofit initiatives across the UK’s built environment sectors. She will continue to play a key role in consolidating and deepening relationships over the coming months as the strategic partnership evolves.

Commenting on her transition, Sara said: “As I step into this change of pace, my commitment to the expansion of retrofit is stronger than ever. The reality of building a platform for collaboration is about nurturing relationships and encouraging cross-sectoral alignment on retrofit issues.

“There is huge potential in the partnership between BE-ST and the NRH and we are all motivated to make the most of this. Together with BE-ST, the NRH, and all the other key players in the sector, we are working to bring about the change needed to create warmer, healthier, and more sustainable homes across the UK.”

Stephen Good, CEO of BE-ST, added: “The time to invest in retrofit is now. Further deepening our partnership with the NRH is an opportunity to pool our resources and bridge our missions to build on what we have already achieved together and continue to drive innovation, upskill the sector, and advance retrofit solutions at scale.

“As the shape of Sara’s roles changes, the legacy of collaboration that has been established over the last two years between the NRH and BE-ST will continue to grow as the National Retrofit Hub, Scotland’s National Retrofit Centre, The Retrofit Alliance of Nations and Retrofit Scotland gain momentum as collaborating platforms for accelerating retrofit delivery across the UK.”