For the last two and a half years, Parity Projects has been leading on a collaborative initiative to develop RetrofitWorks: The Good Buildings Cooperative.

RetrofitWorks is an innovative multi-stakeholder cooperative designed from the ground-up to offer a reliable and high quality end-to-end retrofit service relevant to customers seeking support both inside and outside of the Green Deal scheme.  At last its puts local trusted practitioners in the driving seat to offer real choice in this emerging market.

It has been developed in close association with over 450 companies, with the support of *Haringey Council and with the UK’s most prominent trade associations and professional institutions that represent over 100,000 small companies. The need for RetrofitWorks centres on the smaller companies collaborating to get themselves and their customers a fair deal in the market since at this time Government schemes to stimulate the market such as the Green Deal are built around large corporations controlling a supply chain.

By virtue of it being a Cooperative, it is owned by its members. There are two sets of members; firstly experienced builders, installers, energy advisers, architects and other building professionals specialising in refurbishment and retrofit services. The second set of members consists of organisations seeking high quality installations either for themselves, their clients or to pass on an assured recommended supply chain to those they represent i.e. local authorities and community groups.

We are now pleased to announce that thanks to the dedicated support of Parity Projects staff and others, RetrofitWorks has been shortlisted for the finals of The Green Economy Awards; formerly the Green Business Awards. The awards will recognise excellence in environmental responsibility, reconfiguration of business models around sustainability principles, and the unsung heroes of the environmental services industry. They are the UK’s most comprehensive awards on the subject.

RetrofitWorks has been shortlisted for the category 16a ‘SME energy efficiency service’: For an SME offering an advisory or related energy efficiency innovation offering a substantial impact. This award is sponsored by DECC.

We will keep you informed on the outcome following the awards night, on Thursday 21st November at One Moorgate Place, London, EC2.

For more information on ENDS Green Economy Awards, click here and for more information on RetrofitWorks click here.

* Haringey Council has been of particular support throughout 2013, contributing to the development of RetrofitWorks. The Council received a grant from the Department of Energy and Climate Change to develop a pilot Retrofit Works Cooperative in Haringey and a business case for the Cooperative including options for the role that the Council (or in the future, other Local authorities) could play within it. The Pilot was developed by Parity Projects, established experts in low energy home refurbishment. This included a series of workshops with local SMEs, community groups and the Council to influence how RetrofitWorks operates. Haringey is the test bed for the pilot phase of RetrofitWorks. The project forms a part of the Haringey 40:20, and Carbon Commission, the Council’s initiative aiming to save 40% Carbon by 2020 while also increasing prosperity and reducing inequality in the borough.