How Many Pieces Must Fit Together in the Net Zero Carbon Procurement Puzzle?

There are many pieces to fit together in the net zero carbon puzzle. Osborne Director of Operations, James Quy, discusses the procurement challenge for Net Zero Carbon Housing and some of the main purchasing activities that need to be carefully managed and coordinated to achieve the best possible outcomes for residents.

The construction industry is rising to the net zero challenge. Osborne has recently become a ConstructZero Business Champion and is one of the many businesses that have signed-up to the UN Race to Zero campaign and the Race to Net Zero Pledge.

Success can be built on these commitments. But a great amount of detailed work remains to be done – particularly when it comes to retrofitting social housing stock.

Upgrading the housing stock to achieve net carbon zero standards by 2050 is a large and complex challenge. The way that contracts are procured and managed will be critical if the aim is to maximise efficiency and accountability. Single element funding solutions run the risk of creating piecemeal approaches that will be hard to coordinate and won’t be fully optimised. A single source arrangement, on the other hand, places a lot of eggs in a single basket and demands that safeguards are put in place to ensure that value for money is delivered over an extended contract period.

The scale of the task needed to meet the first milestone of a minimum EPC Level C by 2030 isn’t fully quantified. Net carbon zero is an order of magnitude more complex. Audits need to be carried out by people with appropriate experience in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.

Once you reach the level of designing optimum solutions for individual properties you start to reveal the true scale of the task. Retrofit actions are unique to each property and must be planned at a fine level of detail. Turning this data into work plans that coordinate with ‘routine’ property services activities is a significant undertaking.

The importance of regular and effective consultation with residents can’t be over emphasized. It won’t always be possible for residents or their possessions to remain in their homes while retrofit works are carried out. Residents will also want to experience the realities and benefits of retrofit activities and have a meaningful say in the plans.

Vast quantities of materials and equipment will have to be sourced and delivered on a just in time basis. Establishing supply chains with sustainability safeguards – at a time when every other local authority and housing association is trying to do the same – needs a lot of dedicated effort.

Zero carbon retrofit programmes will involve multiple organisations with different specialisms. Work must also be integrated with other repair and maintenance activities such as voids and scheduled maintenance for maximum efficiency.

Quality control, real-world energy efficiency performance, work schedules and resident experience all need to be tracked and reported. With single element funding solutions achieving consistency and full accountability is difficult.

Partnerships formed from the various specialists involved in zero carbon retrofit programmes offer the opportunity of a single point of contact for contracting and programme management is the Osborne approach. This simplifies the task for procurement teams and housing managers. At the same time, financial and operational transparency provides maximum accountability and control to deliver better value and return on investment.

The Osborne team are on two retrofit frameworks and currently scoping and testing design solutions for 116 retrofit schemes. For more information on how Osborne could help your housing retrofit programme please contact [email protected] or visit our Resource Centre.