RetrofitWorks Impact and Options Report 2016

RetrofitWorks is an organisation born out of several pressing needs that are rolled into two key issues; firstly that the housing stock of the UK performs very badly, influencing high energy bills, harm to health and significant environmental impact, and secondly that there is no ‘market’ within which the transformation of that stock can flourish. For a market to exist, both the client and supply side need a common understanding. RetrofitWorks is a cooperative that is owned by both sides of that potential market i.e. two groups of members driving and delivering local retrofit so that they can satisfy each other’s needs: Practitioners: Those seeking work, both tradespeople and professionals. Advocates: Organisations representing the interests of groups of local building owners and tenants, who understand their needs and want to develop the local retrofit market and supply chain to help them.

By the end of June 2016 will have delivered £1,000,000 of work for our members benefit since starting to trade earnest in early 2015. This is mainly through the Smart Homes scheme led by Haringey Council, a DECC-backed Green Deal Communities project. The feedback from the end customer is hugely encouraging, and we continue to develop opportunities and relationships with new members that either wish to win work or design and deliver schemes across the UK. This is a stunning endorsement of the model, the trust that it has built between the two sides of the market and its potential to transform buildings. RetrofitWorks is at a critical stage in its life as an organisation. We are however in an industry based to some extent on shifting sands of policy and we need to establish clear direction. This short report sets out what we have done to date and our options for the future. We hope it inspires more organisations to join and design their own future rather than have it thrust upon them. What we set out to achieve The mission to date has been simple; to create the commercial model, invest in software to support competitive tenders and establish on-site quality assurance, drive the model and then see if it works. As the disappointing uptake of the Green Deal has shown, there is no such thing as a silver bullet when urging building owners to make tricky decisions, spend money and to accept the disruption of the works, but we

Russell Smith, Managing Director, RetrofitWorks June 2016

RetrofitWorks is a Registered Society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 Registered Number 32147 R

Average payment period, RetrofitWorks

to Members2.3 days

Aug 2011 First expressions of interest sought 30th Sep 2011 First meeting of the ‘Green Deal Conduit’ at FSB headquarters 28th Nov 2011 First model options tabled Parity Projects acquired EU funding Aug 2012 Trade association financial input Sept 2012 - Haringey Council join the steering group Detailed work on business case with Haringey Council Nov 2012 Consultation with 900 SMEs May 2013 RetrofitWorks name chosen Incorporation July 2013 ‘Pioneer Places’ funded trials start in Haringey Jan 2014 Software development starts October 2014 Smart Homes Scheme launched in N London Feb 2015 Start trading First non-trial installs July 2015 GLA Contract to trial Private Landlord scheme in Hounslow March 2016 First energy efficiency installs for London Borough of Richmond upon Thames £1m milestone reached 2016 AGM

2012

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2016

Martin and Mike from Associated Response (L) Mr Kelly of Enfield the client (R) with his new boiler

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have shown that it is possible to generate demand and deliver against it from within our own membership. Our work and our membership We put a lot of initial work into understanding how best to apply our members to the opportunities available, but there is no better teacher than experience. We worked very closely with Haringey Council to help them deliver their Smart Homes scheme across the whole of Haringey, Enfield, Waltham Forest, Hackney, Camden and Islington in N London. At the time of writing the scheme is coming to a close and has given RetrofitWorks a great opportunity to prove itself. In competition with other providers of energy efficiency services, we have £1,117,170 projected total income for our members by the time the scheme finishes. We have also commissioned 113 Green Deal Assessments and 10 non-domestic assessments using 8 different Energy Assessors all of whom are also members of our coop. A key feature of RetrofitWorks is that both types of members, practitioners and advocates, generate customers. Under the Smart Homes scheme, the councils carried out the bulk of the generic marketing and generated sales leads. We have reviewed where our leads came from in the figure below:

Smart Homes scheme: where our customers came from Lost customers (104) Converted customers (159)

This shows the value of creating a model into which all parties can bring in customers on their terms – those 104 customers that have dropped out of the process have responded predominantly to generic marketing not directed at them. This proportion is significantly lower for successful conversions, underlining the value of specific, directed marketing.

In October 2015 we started work on a GLA funded trial called the Landlord Energy Grant Scheme in Hounslow, an attractive grant that covered 75% of the value of any energy saving measure up to £8000. This and our work with London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames has given us a strong track record of converting opportunities for our members to compete for. The following pie chart shows the proportions of work types carried out by value. It shows very clearly how we are able to develop a rounded supply chain able to offer all manner of measures; this includes 5 customers with improved ventilation.

Our membership The make-up of Advocate members

Make up of Installer Practitioners

Our members’ work

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Proportions of work types carried out by value

What clients think We have worked hard to understand how we have performed and achieved an 18% feedback response from customers. The table on the right sets out some key responses. On the left is a review of our work by the Manager of the Smart Homes scheme from Haringey Council.

We have created a number of case studies, all of which are available to download from on our website.

Comments on RetrofitWorks itself: 83% of customers would “Recommend using RetrofitWorks to others” Did RetrofitWorks meet your expectations?

I had no expectation Lower Expectation Met Expectation Exceeded Expectation 12% 16% 52% 20%

“When I made contact with RetrofitWorks, they were polite and helpful” 100% agreed “RetrofitWorks staff were generally available to answer & clarify queries” 92% agreed “I valued the retrofit knowledge and advice provided by RetrofitWorks” 83% agreed Comments on the installers: 71% of customers would recommend their RetrofitWorks installer company to others “When I made contact with my installer, they were available, polite and helpful” 96% agreed “During the install, the staff fitters were polite and courteous” 83% agreed

“The RetrofitWorks cooperative delivers high quality installations because the customer offer includes a technical oversight role. They also provide high levels of customer service by coordinating retrofit and building works, and assisting homeowners to navigate the complexities of energy improvements. Within the North London Smart Homes project RetrofitWorks facilitated a smooth installation process for their installers and grant applicants. Their involvement has also given local SME installers the opportunity to participate in a large-scale project - which otherwise may not have been accessible to them - while also improving local knowledge of the challenges of delivering retrofit and installing solid wall insulation” Sadhbh Ní Hógáin, Housing Retrofit Project Manager, Haringey Council

Impact and Options Report 2016 ¦ 4 What our members think

Advocate members

“In a time when it’s critical to achieve savings we sought help from RetrofitWorks which enabled our links to quality energy efficiency installers. What was really good is that a local company was found who fitted right into our organisation. It was challenging to find the kind of flexibilities we needed as a large community centre being open at all hours of the day, by working evenings and weekends at the right price. The quotation was competitively priced and the installation was flawless, to time and budget. RetrofitWorks enabled us to access resources by taking away the bureaucratic headaches and now we look forward to creating savings and reinvesting them in community development – in partnership with RetrofitWorks.” Sona Mahtani, Chief Executive, The Selby Trust RetrofitWorks convenes regular workshops with members to gather feedback on its various components parts. In recent weeks we have drilled in on one key aspect of the cooperative that we wanted to be clear on; whether members see RetrofitWorks as an inconvenient competitor in the market place, or as a genuinely useful approach to support the future market. Overwhelmingly, members of all kinds felt that the model helped with consistency of workload and in areas of the market that they would not normally go, if RetrofitWorks did not exist. This is a great message and one that gives us a lot of confidence in our mission. Opportunities for the future: RetrofitWorks has relied to a large extent on the Smart Homes scheme in N London to be its starter motor. It must now run on its own engine, and we have made great strides in building new schemes for that to take place. At our AGM on the 14th June 2016, we will elect a new Board to help decide on the action priorities that will realise the full potential of the RetrofitWorks model. One of RetrofitWorks key strength is the ability to bring together the trust it fosters between trading parties and certainty in the market through a simple and effective online portal. Here are a few of the areas we can develop for RetrofitWorks members:

Practitioner members

“RetrofitWorks membership enables the smaller specialists to access local markets that are either A) the traditional domain of large contractors, or B) desperately in need of some kind of structure to reduce costs and improve efficiency. We look forward to working with RetrofitWorks to grow our company” Sof Sofoclis, Ecologic-Energy, Enfield

“RetrofitWorks has given me the incentive to invest in my own company by presenting us with a consistent market and a clear and structured process to guide the client, get finished on time and get paid quickly.” Bekim, Stroud Green Windows, Haringey

“Our membership of RetrofitWorks comes with a lot of additional resource alongside the regular access to clients. They help us to understand grant schemes, Planning processes and work with the clients if we need them to integrate with other energy measures that we don’t offer” Jenny, Director, Associated Response, Enfield

Impact and Options Report 2016 ¦ 5 Designing and delivering energy efficiency schemes: the mainstay of the original intention. The components are in place, and with finance added to the mix we can offer our members the ability to support customers’ spending. As a cooperative that holds a Consumer Credit Licence we would be able to offer finance on behalf of our members to their customers. Our members have told us that they don’t want to work in a grant-based regime, so we have worked hard to establish affordable finance. We are already working with number of Local Authorities to allow them to lead such schemes with RetrofitWorks providing the apparatus to attract, filter and manage the supply chain. Bringing structure to maintenance and renovation where it ought to already be: there are many instances across the UK in which work is carried out in an unstructured fashion exposing the manager to risk. In addition, poor structure and slow payments discourage the best local companies from engaging in work that they would be very good at. Based on our experience to date, we are clear that RetrofitWorks is unique in the market in that it builds trusted partnerships through the ownership of the agenda that a cooperative brings, and its online portal’s provides complete transparency of the tender and delivery process. Most excitingly, the Quality Assurance that our process brings means that we have access to a next-day payment facility for our members. This model applies to:

Private rental sector; landlords and lettings agents: the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards regulation requires all tenancies to be in dwelling of at least a G-rating from 2018. RetrofitWorks provides a mechanism to make the changes for such a sector with advice and specialists that ensure those targets are met alongside other regular work required. Social rental sector: We are constantly being told that social landlords have targets to use local suppliers but find it very hard to actually make it happen. Membership of RetrofitWorks means the procurement has in effect already been achieved and the mechanism to access local firms has been created. Home Improvement Agencies: such an agency would have a supply chain mechanism by virtue of joining the cooperative. Referral schemes: any organisation holding a list of ‘trusted contractors’ needs to be sure that their referral can be to organisations whose credentials are constantly checked. RetrofitWorks does this, but moreover if they choose, the referrer can have visibility of every job through our portal. Raising the quality of work: when building a new network from the ground-up, we have to be delivering the best products. The quality is supported by Retrofit Coordinators who are applied to every project depending on the risk involved. In addition, our members get free access to learning and CPD sessions and to underpin this we are pleased to announce our affiliation with the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA) membership to enable access to their excellent Masterclasses at a reduced rate. Membership category for manufacturers: Manufacturers have a lot to offer our members and we will work out how to introduce a formal membership category. For now, our manufacturer friends

Job management using our online Job Portal

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at Kingspan, Ventive and Aereco enjoy Associate Member status but we feel we ought to take this to the next level. It may be that we can host an approved installer network on their behalf or other such interesting opportunities. If any of the contents of this report are of interest, please do not hesitate to get in touch whether you are looking to host a scheme or win some work as a practitioner. If you join, you’re a shareholder; together we can strengthen the local supply chain for the benefit of the local economy and communities within it.

Mr Dunn - New condensing boiler, underfloor and pipe Insulation

Waltham Forrest Ecologistics

Mr Merry - Five white finish aluminium secondary glazed windows Waltham Forest

SEHBAC

Mr Feichtinger - External Wall Insulation Enfield

Be Constructive

Mr Clark, Landlord - New condensing boiler, Powerflush, TRVs, new controls

Hounslow Ecologistics

Mr Killingray - External Wall Insulation (EWI) Hackney

Be Constructive

Mr Harper - Four PVCu windows and French Doors Islington

SEHBAC Tel: 0300 123 1334 Email: info@retrofitworks.co.uk Website: www.retrofitworks.co.uk