Embracing new techology

Geraint Sewell, Principal Design Manager at Wates Residential, talks to LABM about the challenges surrounding housing decarbonisation, and how working with supply chain partners to embrace new technologies can help local authorities and housing associations decrease emissions from homes during construction and throughout their lifespan.

When it comes to decarbonisation, housing is one of the UK’s most problematic challenges. The residential sector is responsible for 16% of our greenhouse gas emissions, while just 15% of local authorities can say that more than half of their homes are at energy efficiency band C or above. At the same time, despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak scrapping national housebuilding targets, there is enormous pressure to build new homes. The current backlog is estimated to be around 4.3 million and this crisis shows no sign of slowing.

How then can local authorities address the decarbonisation challenge, when increasing housing provision must also be top priority?

The answer lies with technology

There is a significant opportunity for local authorities to work with delivery partners to find and use new technologies that not only decrease emissions as new homes are built, but also throughout a home’s lifetime.

At Wates, we are transforming our company to become a net zero carbon organisation by 2045. This means exploring the many materials, products and processes that are coming to the fore to enable the development, design and construction of sustainable homes, creating the houses that our country needs without compromising on net zero ambitions.

This includes resource efficient materials with low embodied carbon content or those derived from natural resources, as well as products that deliver significant biodiversity net gains, optimise building efficiency, or help save water.

For instance, we have installed Wates Innovation Network partner Recoup’s Waste Water Heat Recovery System (WWHRS) on