Unlocking the full benefits of retrofit

An ongoing study is investigating how social landlords in Scotland are incorporating the wider social and health benefits (or ‘co-benefits’) of energy efficient housing retrofit into asset management and investment decisions.  This work is being led by Changeworks and funded by the Scottish Research Alliance for Energy Homes and Livelihoods. 

Initial finding suggests that the key barrier to integrating retrofit co-benefits into decision making is not lack of awareness, but the absence of regulatory, methodological, financial and data mechanisms to support their incorporation.  

Enabling meaningful integration will require progress across four areas: 

• Clearer regulatory and policy expectations linked to long-term standards; 
• Standardised methodologies for assessing and valuing nonfinancial outcomes; 
• Improved monitoring and data infrastructure capable of evidencing health, wellbeing and social indicators; and 
• Organisational capacity and support to integrate these approaches into business and asset planning 

Next steps 

Changeworks have shared a consultation draft of the report and is interested in any feedback from social landlords and other stakeholders, as well as exploring any opportunity to partner to further explore topics identified by the project. If interested, please contact Dr Ian Cochran, Head of Consultancy at Changeworks (ian.cochran@changeworks.org.uk).