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Nottingham Trent University (NTU) will invest £1.5 million into developing skills, research, training and consultancy to support the UK construction sector reach net zero.
The University will launch the Centre for Sustainable Construction and Retrofit to develop solutions, skills and support locally and nationally to enable the transition to net zero within the built environment sector. This will take the form of new courses and skills training, socio-technical research and consultancy opportunities for business.
Led by Professor Richard Bull, Deputy Dean of the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, the centre will bring together a range of expertise to help the sector reach the ambitious net zero climate change targets by 2050.
He said: “Net zero by 2050 presents a huge challenge to the construction sector, which accounts for up to 50 per cent of carbon emissions. An absence of skills, knowledge and expertise threaten to derail plans for the UK’s important net zero targets. But this ground-breaking centre will enhance the way in which existing buildings and new construction can meet those all-important climate change objectives.
“NTU has a well-earned reputation for sustainability in the built environment and our research in housing retrofit in particular has a strong track record. We plan to develop new ways to support industry, to help them learn the new skills needed to retrofit existing properties en masse, and create new buildings in a sustainable way.”
The Centre for Sustainable Construction and Retrofit will explore how the built environment sector transitions to a low carbon future, while addressing the retrofit skills gap via the creation of new courses and providing consultancy support for business.
It will launch on 14 November at the University’s Newton Building, City Campus, during an event which is open to policy makers, business leaders, academics and students.
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