Homes England has announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Etopia Group to deliver a zero-carbon homes revolution across Britain
Homes England’s partnership with Etopia Group will kick off with the delivery of 30 zero-carbon homes in Wilburton, East Cambridgeshire.
Last year, Etopia Group became the first housebuilder in the world to achieve both the Carbon Neutral International Standard and to join the United Nations Climate Neutral Now Initiative.
The partnership will deliver some of the world’s most energy-efficient homes. All of the homes will have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of 105/100, placing them well-above the highest category of ‘A’. In the UK, only 1% of newbuilds are ‘A’ rated, while the average rating is ‘D’.
Homes England has provided a £3.6m loan facility for the scheme.
‘Meeting climate and housebuilding targets’
Nigel Barclay, assistant director at Homes England, said: “If we’re to simultaneously meet climate and housebuilding targets, then genuinely innovative steps that create supply-side incentives to increase the number of energy-efficient homes being delivered will be vital.
“Our role, as the government’s housing accelerator, is to be bold and take steps that unlock crucial capacity – and offsite manufacturing, with its sustainability and efficiency credentials, is a perfect solution.”
Joseph Daniels, founder and chief executive of Etopia Group, added: “Our partnership with Homes England is a great example of how the private and public sector can work together to deliver highly energy-efficient housing across the UK.
“As world leaders prepare to meet from next week, tackling the emissions produced from construction and housing remains a sticking point. In the UK alone, 40% of our emissions can be linked back to households.
“In order to meet our legally-binding net zero targets, solutions to cleaning up housing’s act will be vital. This partnership is offer an innovative solution to this problem.”
