September 30, 2024 30

The Retrofit Academy to play key role in Mayor’s new Zero Carbon Accelerator

Written by Emily Moody on September 30, 2024. Posted in Government, News & Events, Partnerships.

The Retrofit Academy is proud to support the delivery of the Mayor of London’s Zero Carbon Accelerator, a new programme that will transform organisations’ ability to decarbonise and meet London’s net zero target by 2030. 

The Retrofit Academy will be working closely with the Mayor of London, Mott MacDonald, Energy Saving Trust and an alliance of experts in energy solutions, zero carbon strategy, retrofit, modelling, architecture, finance and more.

Research commissioned by the Mayor of London shows that many organisations across London need expert support to achieve net zero. With buildings accounting for 67%* of the capital’s carbon emissions, the Zero Carbon Accelerator will help local authorities and health, education and social housing providers, to reduce their environmental impact.

The programme has been created to address key barriers that have prevented organisations from decarbonising their buildings at the rate and scale necessary to reach net zero by 2030, including a lack of capacity, complex procurement, limited funding and supply chain challenges.

The Zero Carbon Accelerator will provide essential support to organisations at every stage of their decarbonisation journey, from initial advice and training to procuring funding for projects. Key elements of the programme include:

  • Expert consultancy: offering technical expertise in areas such as solar energy, low-carbon heating, and building systems.
  • Skills development: enhancing organisational capacity through tailored training programmes.
  • Project development: supporting the creation of decarbonisation projects ready for investment.
  • Procurement and finance: providing guidance on complex procurement processes and accessing funding opportunities.

The Zero Carbon Accelerator builds on the success of the Mayor’s Low Carbon Accelerators (2016-2024), which have saved an estimated 157GWh since 2016 and attracted over £250m in capital funding to make public sector buildings more energy efficient.  

The Zero Carbon Accelerator offers flexible and varied support to empower organisations to act, aiming to create more green jobs and boost investment in local green economies.

The Mayor of London is delivering the Zero Carbon Accelerator in collaboration with Mott MacDonald, Energy Saving Trust and an alliance of experts in energy solutions, zero carbon strategy, retrofit, modelling, architecture, finance and more: ACA Studios, Altair, Ambue, ClimateView, COWI, EEVS, Energiesprong UK, ERM, IES, Mabbett,  Pascall+Watson Architects, Pollard Thomas Edwards, Retrofit Academy, Zerogram.

*Table 1, London’s emissions by sector in 2021, Mayor of London website