A national influencer

The UK Government’s 2050 net zero carbon target places significant challenges on housing with 80% of homes that will exist in 2050 having already been built today. Therefore, Orbit faces a long-term challenge to retrofit existing housing stock through cost effective and innovative means.

With increasing developments and trials in retrofit technology but limited research into how these changes will impact people living within these homes, Orbit commissioned a research project with the University of Leeds to investigate how the decarbonisation retrofit programme will impact its customers in situ.

This report provides a summary of the findings and recommendations from that research on how we can best support our customers through the decarbonisation of their homes. We will be using this as a guideline to engaging with our customers throughout the retrofitting process, so not only do we achieve the goal of becoming net zero carbon, but also deliver the best service possible to our customers.

View the executive summary for the report

Orbit has worked in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) to outline how government and the housing sector can work together to tackle climate change.

Housing is a vital part of this challenge because 14 per cent of emissions come directly from energy used in building our homes and living in them and more still is affected by our housing decisions.

Tackling draughty housing also has other benefits. Cold homes cause ill health, so homes that are warmer and less costly to heat are healthier. Poor housing, including cold homes, is estimated to cost the NHS £2.5 billion annually in extra treatment.

For the UK, decarbonising the housing stock is a crucial element in our national effort and one in which the country’s social landlords have a fundamental role to play. To succeed, we need the right technological solutions, financing options and a robust policy framework to be in place.

In this joint briefing we re-establish the case for urgent action, reviewing what’s been achieved and setting out what still needs to be done.

Orbit provides an employment support offer available to all of our customers as well as to the wider community. Despite a strong performance to date we recognise that the world of work is changing and will continue to change rapidly. We, and the wider employment support sector, will have to adapt to become fit for the future.

That is why we commissioned the Learning & Work Institute to undertake comprehensive research into how the world of work will be changing and what this means for us, and the wider sector, as a provider of employment support services that are fit for the future.

Read our Fit For the Future report