Builders and Homeowners Set to Reap Benefits from New Retrogreen Scheme

A NEW SCHEME to give builders access to retrofit home improvements projects eligible for carbon credits and homeowners to cheaper mortgages is being offered by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

The FMB is partnering with Digital Buildings to offer the scheme, called Retrogreen, to speed up the retrofit process for homeowners and builders. It generates an online specification for retrofit projects, removing the need for builders to visit sites in order to prepare quotes.

Digital Buildings CEO Colin Calder, said: “More than 70 per cent of homes with a mortgage are now subject to UN Net Zero Banking Alliance obligations. To deliver on these commitments, lenders will have to incentivise borrowers to perform 350,000 domestic retrofits a year.”

“Retrogreen is the only service that automatically creates a digital replica of a home and provides a legally binding framework in which a homeowner can create their ideal Home Improvement Plan, secure finance through a financial adviser, obtain competitive quotes from Trustmark registered contractors and benefit from all the consumer protections available from Digital Buildings being a licensed Trustmark Scheme Provider. In addition, registered contractors can submit claims for carbon credits using Retrogreen.”

New Retrogreen Scheme

FMB Chief Executive Brian Berry said the new partnership makes the process of managing carbon credits easier. Retrogreen also provides access to pre-surveyed leads to builders working in retrofit and home improvements.

“The UK has a legal requirement to achieve Net Zero by 2050, which means a huge amount of work needs to be done to improve the energy efficiency and decarbonisation of UK houses,” Brian Berry explained.

“More than 10 million homes in the UK have an Energy Performance Certificate rated D or lower, which is the largest band by number of properties. There are currently eight million lofts that need insulating, five million uninsulated cavity walls and 20 million uninsulated floors that need upgrading if we are to reach these targets.

“Insulation, double glazing and new heating technologies are all in demand. Retrogreen will help connect our builders with the projects that require these trades quickly and efficiently, with the added bonus of improving returns both financially and in terms of social impact.”

Under the carbon credits scheme, every metric tonne of carbon that is reduced or removed from a building project or home improvement work (commonly referred to as retrofit) represents one carbon credit. Carbon credits can be purchased to support decarbonisation of housing stock by improving thermal efficiency or reducing the carbon intensity of a heating source.

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