Radian rewarded for retrofit success

Saturday 6th March 2010

Radian, a leading provider of housing and care in the South East of England, extended its award winning pedigree at the Sustain Magazine Awards held at Chelsea Football Club on Tuesday 2nd March. The national awards which celebrate the UK’s leading organisations in Sustainability, Business and the Built Environment, recognised Radian as being the best for its contribution to saving energy.

The Award for Energy was handed to Radian for its pioneering project in Highfield Road, in Petersfield. This exemplar project has seen the full ecological refurbishment, known as retrofit, of a group of 20 homes constructed from reinforced pre-cast concrete, and classified as ‘hard to treat’ in terms of energy efficiency improvements as they are of non-traditional construction and do not have cavity walls. The finished homes have been refurbished to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 85%, improving the Energy Performance Certificate band from E to B, and from a standard Assessment Process rating of 43 to 85.

With the UKs housing stock responsible for a third of all carbon emissions, it is essential that a national retrofit programme of around 500,000 homes per year must start now, in order to stand a chance of reaching the Government’s agreed targets by 2050. Radian, who was also shortlisted for awards for its work in water efficiency and regeneration of land, is delighted to be leading the way both in defining and disseminating the retrofit process necessary to achieve this regionally and nationally.

Lindsay Todd, Chief Executive of Radian said, “Radian is committed to championing lower energy, sustainable homes. Effective retro-fit brings economic and comfort benefits to our customers as well as confronting the challenge we all face of achieving carbon reduction targets. We are committed to showcasing this work, and hope that through the Highfield Road scheme, which won the Award for Energy, and our other two projects short-listed for Sustain Magazine Awards, we can encourage innovation in our sector, and contribute to the knowledge of what works.”

Radian is a sector leader with an enviable track record in sustainable projects and has pro-actively piloted many environmental innovations over recent years. Its approach and specific expertise in retrofit has helped to secure European Regional Development Funding from SEEDA to undertake an eighteen month study to build capacity for low carbon retrofit in the South East region.

Paul Ciniglio, Radian Sustainability Manager said, “We are delighted to receive another highly respected accolade for the pioneering work which Radian is carrying out to reduce the carbon footprint of our housing stock, whilst simultaneously building and regenerating sustainable communities. This award has been achieved by applying our technical know-how whilst working closely with residents in the local community to meet their wishes.”

Radian are particularly proud that, with the exception of the solar panels, all the retrofit work has been managed and undertaken by Radian Services, it’s in-house contractors, who will also undertake the training of 175 organisations in retrofitting skills.

Of the award winning Highfield Road project, the Sustain Magazine Awards Judging Panel declared, “This all-round package of measures demonstrates deliverability and promises real potential for replication – one to copy!”

Posted by Kim for Radian Group Ltd.