Zero Ambitions Podcast

This week's guest is Caroline Ashe Brady of KORE Retrofit in Ireland, one of the objectively successful one-stop-shop retrofit providers to have emerged over the past few years.Caroline is a business leader who we’re a proper fan of, so apologies in advance for our ‘so Caroline please tell us, why are you so great’ style questioning. That said, you can trust us in this opinion, we’ve done the work with these guys. Caroline was happy to talk about their method, process, challenges and offer up some top tips for how to make it work in the sector, which should be valuable to anyone involved wherever they're based.KORE Retrofit is a business that is ambitious about doing better and has demonstrated that retrofit can be a commercial success. It's not easy, and no-one is perfect, but KORE is operating with a practical plan about how they’re going to do better, not just offering up words. Notes from the showCaroline on LinkedInKORE Retrofit's website KORE Insulation's website **SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a website)Jeff, Alex, and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [email protected]; Everything is User ExperienceSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

Returning champion Lisa Ann Pasquale rejoins us on Zero Ambitions to talk about dogs and retrofit. Mainly retrofit though.Informed by Lisa's experiences as a retrofit coordinator, technical lead at RetrofitWorks, and Technical Manager at The Retrofit Academy she knows an awful lot about the challenges faced by retrofit practitioners. Windows, ventilation, product information, and the inflexibility of insurance-backed guarantees all come in for a well-justified shoeing.Notes from the showLisa on LinkedInLisa's video about her own home retrofit (it's brilliant)Lisa's first appearance: What makes for a successful retrofit (February 2022)RICS residential retrofit standard **SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a website)Jeff, Alex, and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [email protected]; Everything is User ExperienceSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women (but not in a patronizing way)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

Returning champion Ellora Coupe joins us to talk about the recent report that Her Own Space has published about the place of women in the retrofit sector, which is heartening, insightful, and damning in equal measure. A great piece of work that everyone interested in the sector should heed.Perhaps more importantly, she's with us to promote the incoming launch of its professional sister network Her Retrofit Space, a network for professional women working in the retrofit sector. It's a network that she's created to fill an obvious cultural deficit and in her words "empower professional women to drive retrofit". It sounds brilliant.Finally, a deserving heads-up for Graphenstone as the first signed-up partner for Her Retrofit Space. Notes from the showEllora on LinkedInThe Her Retrofit Space survey and sign-up web pageJudith Leary Joyce – How you and your builder can save the planet (TEDx St Albans) (Judith is a member advocate of Her Retrofit Space)Katie Hart (also a member advocate of Her Retrofit Space and neuromarketing professional)The Her Own Space websiteThe Her Own Space Facebook group **SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a website)Jeff, Alex, and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [email protected]; Everything is User ExperienceSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women (but not in a patronizing way)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

This week we're going by Joseph Little, Head of Construction & Building Performance in the School of Architecture, Building and Environment at TU Dublin. He joined us to talk about the journey he's been on leading the MSc in Building Performance over the last seven years, but we got into a lot more. Joseph has been deeply involved in the promotion of better building standards by measuring the performance of buildings for years. Not least with the five Breaking the Mould articles he wrote that Jeff published years ago, sounding the alarm on moisture, condensation, ventilation and a bunch of other issues. We get into all of it and tried to be mindful to keep it to a 'reasonable' length. I'm sure we'll have him back though.Notes from the showJoseph Little on LinkedInBE-ST Fest Summit 2024 - The UK's biggest festival for a zero-carbon built environment, Wednesday 6th November 2024The Built to Last case studies hosted on the Dublin City Council websiteJoseph's papers and articles on the TU Dublin Arrow repositoryThis is A link to the Springboard web page for TU412 Postgrad Certificate in Building Performance open until the end of August 2024, apply during June to get best chance of a subsidised place; oddly, it'll only direct you there if you're in Ireland, so more info can be found here on the TU Dublin websitePartial fill cavity wall: have we reached the limits of the technology? By Joseph LittleBreaking the Mould 1 by Joseph LittleBreaking the Mould 2 by Joseph LittleBreaking the Mould 3 by Joseph Little Breaking the Mould 4 by Joseph LittleBreaking the Mould 5 by Joseph LittleThermal bypass risks: A technical review (September 2022), by Mark Siddall**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a website)Jeff, Alex, and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [email protected]; Everything is User ExperienceSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women (but not in a patronizing way)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

This week we're thinking about retrofit differently with Dan Hill from Dark Matter Labs (DML). Or rather, we're talking about retrofit's potential to become a movement for social change.In reality, retrofit is about much more than fabric and economics, it's about people and how they live. With that in mind we should be thinking much more about engagement. This is itself a massive challenge because thinking about people properly, as the users of a building, requires a massive shift in how retrofit practice is organised and enacted. Dan has 25 years of experience from working in housing and planning in senior roles at housing associations, Newham Council, CICs, and in a bunch of other consultative roles.We really enjoy talking about these subjects with him because he has gifted us different ways to thinking about the sector, even when we're talking through familiar territory. So, listen up, eh?  Updated notes from the showDark Matter Labs' published work on RetrofitDML on 'Community Powered Retrofit'Retrofit Reimagined Festival 2022 videos of sessionsRetrofit Reimagined Festival 2023 websiteRetrofit Reimagined Festival 2023 videos of sessionsReport on Feasibility for a Regional Retrofit Impact Fund, with a focus on Outcomes based financing with West Midlands Combined Authority and PartnersCommon Wealth report The Case for Community Energy DemocracyReport on the embodied carbon of retrofit materials versus operational carbonA report on the concept of Embodied biodiversity from Expedition EngineeringThe reference about the 40% figure (fig 1.7) and the maritime trade in fossil fuelsNotes from the showDan Hill on LinkedInThe Dark Matter Labs websiteThe 'People-First Retrofit' panel about the Energiesprong Comfort Plan research we did, held at Futurebuild 2024That story about the Tory Minister who thinks swimming in sewage is good actuallyThe Catalogue of Good Practices a hybrid green finance catalogue for the reconstruction of UkraineThe National Retrofit Hub websiteThe Civic Square websiteThe HEAL (Home Energy action Lab) Linktree page**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a website)Jeff, Alex, and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [email protected]; Everything is User ExperienceSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women (but not in a patronizing way)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

This week we're joined by Iva Merheim Eyre from SMARTER4EU to talk about her recently published report the Catalogue of Good Practices, a document that details a variety of place-based hybrid finance models that have been used to rebuild and renovate homes in locations as wide-ranging as the postwar Balkan states to London's own Westminster.This is all part of a concerted effort to use finance to drive better building standards across the world, not just the EU, and there's a lot we can all learn.Notes from the showIva Merheim Eyre on LinkedInThe Smarter Finance 4 EU websiteThe Catalogue of Good Practices a hybrid green finance catalogue for the reconstruction of UkraineLet's build green and elevate A call to action for municipalities to get in touch with SMARTER4EU**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a website)Jeff, Alex, and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [email protected]; Everything is User ExperienceSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women (but not in a patronizing way)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

Jeff and Dan are joined by Dr. Peter Rickaby again. We were due a catch up so we recorded the conversation because he's always interesting. Peter should need little introduction, so we'll just say he's our favourite retrofit expert (sorry everyone else) and our most frequent guest on the show. He's only returned to the pod, not to the UK. In principle he's migrated to South Africa and is supposed to be retiring, but that's not exactly worked out so far. He has made it to Johannesburg though. Bu, if you haven't encountered him before Peter is one of the heads behind PAS 2035 and Ireland's BER system, amongst many other achievements. Go back and check the earlier episodes too.We had planned to talk about his experiences with the energy situation in South Africa and what we might learn from it but, as ever, we meandered all over the shop covering all sorts: retrofit, natural building materials, heat pumps, fabric first, fabric fifth, novel recycling, embodied carbon etc.Past appearancesRetrofit - Who do you trust? With Dr. Peter Rickaby (May 2023)Dr Peter Rickaby (part 1) on Retrofit, Heat Pumps, EPCs, PAS 2035, LADs, Climate Change, and everything in-between (June 2022)Dr Peter Rickaby (part 2) on Retrofit, Heat Pumps, EPCs, PAS 2035, LADs, Climate Change, and everything in-between (June 2022)The Retrofit Challenge and PAS 2035 with Dr Peter Rickaby (September 2021)**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn pageJeff, Alex, and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [email protected]; Everything is User ExperienceSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women (but not in a patronizing way)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

This week we're joined by Nesta's Deputy Mission Director, Andrew Sissons, to discuss his take on why the UK has such a weird relationship with heat pumps.It was inspired by an excellent Twitter thread on the subject that gained quite a bit of attention the other week. We talk through it all so you might as well listen, or just take a look at the thread, either way it should be interesting.Notes from the showAndrew Sissons on LinkedInNesta's websiteThe Twitter thread: Why have heat pumps become a bit of a contentious topic in the UK? **SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn pageJeff, Alex, and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [email protected]; Everything is User ExperienceSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women (but not in a patronizing way)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

The other week we had a chance to have a conversation with Cypren Edmunds, President of the European Straw Building Association about building with straw, experiences in retrofit, and the meandering path that led him to the green building trade.For us, it was a really interesting chat because we got to talk about how he got into greed building via sport, the music industry, and playing an active role in his community. The wasn't a built environment professional embarking on a curious diversion in a construction career, it's someone who did something else first and found their way into the building trade later in life, led by interest and making the most of the breadth of their experience. And we got to talk about music for a while, but we cut most of that out because we thought most of our listeners wouldn't be too into it.Notes from the showCypren Edmunds on LinkedInThe European Straw Building Association (ESBA) website The European Straw Building Association (ESBA) on LinkedInThe Association of Straw Bale Building UK (SBUK) websiteThe SBUK Members Directory The SBUK on LinkedInThat 80s Loadsamoney character on TVA map of straw buildings in the UK (database)A straw construction technical guide from The School of Natural BuildingStraw BIM**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn pageJeff, Alex, and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [email protected]; Everything is User ExperienceSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women (but not in a patronizing way)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

The Recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is now enshrined in EU law, which has big implications for the built environment everywhere. Even the South East of England.To mark the occasion and get the lowdown on what this all means, we invited friend of the show Ciarán Cuffe back on to talk about it. For those who might not remember, he's the Irish Green Party MEP and Rapporteur to the EU who has been deeply involved in driving it through. And, as a qualified planner and architect he's a politician who really understands his brief.Notes from the showCiarán Cuffe on LinkedInCiarán's own websiteA summary of the EPBDThe Green Party and EFA's promo on the new law Ciarán's current slideshow on the law (on LinkedIn)  His appearance on Zero Ambitions Podcast last year**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn pageJeff, Alex, and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [email protected]; Everything is User ExperienceSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women (but not in a patronizing way)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**