The Optimised Retrofit consortium, a collaboration of 68 partners, has recently welcomed Arup’s former global buildings retrofit leader, Chris Jofeh, to become the Independent Chair of its board.

 

Chris previously chaired the Welsh Government’s advisory group on the decarbonisation of existing housing. Its report was presented to Welsh Ministers in July 2019, setting out ambitious targets to help Wales achieve net zero carbon by 2050.

 

Commenting on his recent appointment, Chris said:

“I am delighted to have joined the Optimised Retrofit Pathfinder Consortium as independent chair of its project board. My role as chair is to help the board to function as well as possible.”

“The Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP) is a crucial foundation for the immense work needed to decarbonise every Welsh home. Welsh Government understands the necessity of testing ideas before they are rolled out across the nation. The lessons learned by the members of the consortium in decarbonising over 1,700 homes in the first phase of the ORP will help Wales move ahead with confidence.”

 

The ORP board is made up of individuals from the consortium, which includes a range of research, innovation, academic, technology, finance, energy, and industry organisations – alongside housing providers – from across the UK.

 

The project board includes:

Sarah Schofield,  Adra

Andrew Bateson, Cadwyn

Owain Israel, Linc Cymru

Stacy Thomas, Merthyr Valleys Homes

Wayne Harris, Pobl

Andrew Carey, Tai Tarian

David Bolton, Valleys to Coast

Vic Cox, Wales & West Housing

Ahsan Khan, ABC

Gareth Wyn Evans, CWIC

Clare Jones, Grasshopper Communications

Wyn Prichard, NPTC Group of Colleges

Andy Sutton, Sero

 

Our panel of experts will support Optimised Retrofit project activities through cutting-edge research, training and upskilling, and establishing frameworks for the retrofit industry. By assisting the project in this way, the board hopes to enable the Welsh economy to become a true leader in decarbonisation.