The energy used in residential buildings is a significant contributor to CO2 emissions, accounting for 11% of all carbon emissions. This is on a par with emissions from road transport. If the UK is to become net zero, the real estate sector has to play its part.
The Affordable Housing Centre, which sits in the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, provides research and advisory in areas related to affordable housing.
As part of the Centre, the Net Zero Affordable Housing Hub was born out of a collaboration between its director, Professor Stanimira Milcheva, and Dr Bertram Steininger at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
KTH is a leading European university based in Stockholm considered to be at the forefront of engineering and technology research. Sweden, along with other Nordic countries, is widely regarded as one of the leading developers and adopters of energy efficient homes.
By coming together, UCL and KTH are now working to share ideas and best practices in the drive towards net zero housing in both the UK and Sweden.
A joint series of online workshops have already taken place, looking at how we might achieve net zero targets in housing.
The events brought in policymakers and experts from industry, alongside representatives from both universities. Involving industry alongside academia is key, ensuring that world-leading research can be applied in real-world projects.
Among the topics covered were revolutionary real-world examples from Sweden. These include the regeneration of Hammarby Sjöstad and the Stockholm Royal Seaport.
Stockholm aims to be climate positive by 2040, reducing annual CO2 emissions to 1.5 tonnes per person by 2023. (Current UK levels are 5.4 tonnes per person, while in the US the figure is 14.24 tonnes.) These regeneration projects, therefore, have sustainability at their heart, alongside providing much-needed affordable urban housing.
The Affordable Housing Centre aims to continue its work by carrying out funded research and providing advisory services. The long-term objective is to establish BSSC as a go-to place of expertise for sustainable housing, for both industry and academia.
Further resources
Contact
Professor of Real Estate Finance, The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction
Click to email. s.milcheva@ucl.ac.uk