Professor Paul Ruyssevelt Wins Consultant of the Year for National Building Database Project

UCL’s commitment to impactful knowledge exchange was celebrated at this year’s UCL Innovation & Enterprise Awards, where Professor Paul Ruyssevelt was named Consultant of the Year 2025 for his leadership on the National Building Database project.

Nominated by our team at UCL Consultants, Professor Ruyssevelt’s work exemplifies the power of academic expertise applied to real-world challenges. The National Building Database, commissioned by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, is the result of over a decade of research by the UCL Building Stock Lab. It provides a crucial tool for government policymakers to develop and test strategies for transitioning the UK’s building stock to net zero emissions.

Reflecting on the achievement, Roger de Montfort, Managing Director, UCL Consultants stated:

“It is a privilege to have nominated Professor Paul Ruyssevelt for the Consultant of the Year 2025 award in recognition of the outstanding work by him and his team on the National Building Database project. This achievement is a testament to Paul’s leadership and the exceptional capabilities of the UCL Building Stock Lab team, with whom we’ve had the pleasure of collaborating for more than a decade.
Over the years, the team have delivered innovative solutions to complex challenges for a wide range of clients. Paul and his team have consistently demonstrated their ability to combine cutting-edge academic expertise with a deep understanding of practical application, which has been instrumental in advancing the goals of achieving net zero. This project is a great example of how collaboration between government and a world-class university such as UCL, supported by the professional team at UCLC, can achieve tangible progress, and we look forward to continuing this successful partnership in the future.” 

Professor Ruyssevelt highlighted the impact of the project, saying:

“The National Buildings Database represents the culmination of more than a decade of research and development of digital building stock models at the UCL Building Stock Lab. This commission, from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, enables our research to have real impact through the development of a powerful tool that will be used by government to develop and test the policies needed to transition the building stock to net zero emissions.”

He also emphasised the collaborative nature of the work:

“The project has given us the opportunity to ground our research in the real world through the market research and real building audits undertaken by partners Winning Moves and Verco. We’re also very fortunate to have an informed client who regularly exposes our work to critical review, and I’m sure that the final product will be all the better for this.”

The recognition of Professor Ruyssevelt and his team underscores the vital role that academic consultancy plays in tackling global challenges. At UCL Consultants, we are proud to support and facilitate these collaborations, ensuring that world-class research drives meaningful change.

Creating Impact Through Knowledge Exchange Awards 2025 - full story on UCL Innovation & Enterprise website

Project case study: UCL’s buildings database project will help the UK achieve net zero