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Episodes
We bring the smartest minds in the property carbon-reduction world to FOOTPRINT, so we think it’s only right for us to disseminate all this experience and knowledge freely. Most of what you hear here won’t have been spoken about before; it’s all hot-off-the-press! If you were at FOOTPRINT+ 2025, you can hear all the talks you couldn’t get to while you were in another of our 6 theatres; and if you weren’t, now is your chance to learn why you need to be at FOOTPRINT+ 2026 (and it’s all CPD-approved).
Episodes
Thursday Aug 21, 2025
Thursday Aug 21, 2025
When awarding the PACER initiative funding the UKRI declared that ’the majority of the UK’s national emissions budget will be used in the Built Environment’. Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) are increasingly the only gatekeepers to lower whole life carbon in the built environment with the ability to set targets and decide which projects are permitted. PACER is a software tool designed to be operated by LPAs to assess the carbon documentation submitted with applications and to guide officers in the analysis of those proposals.
Aiming to make the decision-making transparent and democratically sound, PACER has been tested since its launch early 2025 during the assessment of a range of proposed projects. The panel will discuss how it works, the characteristics of the submission requirements and early outcomes found by its development partner Westminster City Council. In aiming to implement Retrofit First policies, how have the planning authority explored these digital tools and could this be a mechanism adopted by authorities around the UK?
The panel will feature Hrabrina Nikolova, Principal Sustainability Officer at Westminster City Council, alongside representatives from Preoptima and developers who have taken part in the pilot applications, who will discuss PACER’s potential as a nationwide mechanism for carbon assessment.
Tuesday Aug 19, 2025
Tuesday Aug 19, 2025
With the goal to achieve carbon neutrality across their UK portfolio of projects by 2045, Skanska have developed practical data driven tools that allow for timely interventions both in construction projects and within their facilities management activities.
The carbon impact of a building from design to operation relies heavily on the plant and equipment installed and maintained as part of a project.
Recognising the urgency to provide comprehensive carbon and energy information for achieving sustainability aspirations and future-proofing assets, Skanska is leveraging digital technology using their own smart building platform and advanced carbon calculation methods for plant and equipment. An expert panel will discuss:
- how to facilitate scrutiny and discussions with all stakeholders about carbon and operational energy performance throughout a building's lifecycle
- how digital tools and services can be used to assess a building's carbon impact from design through to operation
- how to achieve improved efficiencies through data-driven maintenance
Thursday Aug 14, 2025
Thursday Aug 14, 2025
The reuse focused strip out has been successfully delivered by KpH, which by the time of conference will have been followed by comprehensive deconstruction and enabling works phase with the main works commencing this summer.
Utilising Orms’ materials passports research, the team have developed a reuse methodology for the development which has led to immense success in recovering materials for reuse and high-grade recycling. This includes recovery of 15,000 ceiling tiles, 72t stone and over 8,500 lights, every element of the building has been considered for reuse.
Building on the learnings from earlier projects has enable and created:
- an onsite reuse warehouse
- onward use with other developments
- onsite refurbishment of existing windows
- deconstruction and reuse of stone
- manufacturer takeback schemes
Working closely with City of London Council and participating in the ROMULUS research project, the project has so far facilitated reuse of 702t of materials removed from the original building. This is a true retrofit led building.
Tuesday Aug 12, 2025
Tuesday Aug 12, 2025
District East is an ambitious, nature-led life sciences development in Cambridge. The mission is to attract world-class innovation by designing a masterplan that inspires researchers and entrepreneurs, while ensuring that it remains open to the surrounding community. This contaminated brownfield site will be healed using regenerative landscapes designed as places for human interaction. The vision is to allow science to be seen and celebrated and to inspire and benefit local communities. With no formal edges, all of the buildings – from labs to cafes – will be placed in a landscape that respects existing neighbourhood routes.
The team will describe key goals of the project which include:
- how to bring a contaminated, brownfield site back into use within the city
- delivering a unique workplace offer for the life-sciences industry in Cambridge
- working with potential occupiers on the balance between operational energy demand and efficiency goals
- refining the range of potential performance, dependent on use, management regime and tenancy
Thursday Aug 07, 2025
Thursday Aug 07, 2025
Developed as a platform for experimentation and industry collaboration, Hilson Moran's Living Lab in Hays Galleria has been testing new innovations in the industry for nearly a year, one of which is the Artus AR75 unit.
Find the balance between carbon efficiency and performance in this interactive discussion based on test results and real experiences in a live environment.
The expert panel share insights into the operational performance and user experience of:
- Tried and tested low carbon heating and cooling innovations
- Exciting new ways Hilson Moran are using data for decision making and impact
Tuesday Aug 05, 2025
Tuesday Aug 05, 2025
Implementing material reuse requires the construction industry to learn new ways of collaborating, pushing boundaries of the traditional project structures. Effective collaboration, following practical steps, is essential to identify and implement reuse opportunities.
Resolving onsite reuse strategies should be the first objective for project teams, but when reuse on-site isn’t feasible, how do we work across projects to enable the circular economy? Can competitors become collaborators to deliver greater value for all and improve efficiencies beyond the project scope?
Thursday Jul 31, 2025
Thursday Jul 31, 2025
Developers face numerous uphill challenges when faced with retrofit. In order to create the conditions that encourage the reuse of buildings, rather than demolish and build new, it needs to be simpler and more profitable. The reuse of existing buildings has the potential to stimulate economic growth, meet our housing targets, create jobs, improve public health, reduce waste, all whilst working towards a net zero property industry.
There are currently numerous disincentives to retrofit such as VAT, lack of regulation of embodied carbon and/or tax on carbon emissions through. What mechanisms should be employed to remove these obstacles, and whose job is it to do so? How can we have a profitable net zero property industry?
Tuesday Jul 29, 2025
Tuesday Jul 29, 2025
Urbanest Battersea is the largest student living building designed to Passivhaus standards in Europe, the largest Passivhaus building in the UK and the eight largest in the world. Providing high-quality, energy efficient accommodation for 853 students it represents a significant achievement for client, design team and contractor. Passivhaus principles promise lower operational costs despite slightly higher capital cost and improved comfort for the students. For building operators in PBSA and BTR these costs can very quickly be offset.
Having received certification this February the building has yet to be in operation a full year but there have been significant learnings to share:
- how to reduce heating and cooling demand through the design of the building
- how the scheme is reliant on the behaviours of occupants and how urbanest is working to educate its customers
- what the team have learnt through the process of mobilising and operating the building that wasn’t anticipated
