Hertfordshire Futures collaborated with the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, Watford Borough Council, Three Rivers District Council, Dacorum Borough Council and Hertsmere Borough Council to hold a half-day conference on Wednesday 12th June at Hunton Park Hotel, Kings Langley.

Hertfordshire’s housing is set to undergo a remarkable transformation to make homes greener and more energy efficient.  Hertfordshire has secured over £100m of retrofit investment, and Hertfordshire Futures is accelerating business growth opportunities for local people and businesses, and driving the installation of retrofit measures, including low-energy heating systems, solar and insulation, which are key in reducing carbon emissions from homes.

Hertfordshire’s homes need to be greener and more energy efficient.  Around 500,000 homes require retrofitting (19,230 homes a year, 52 homes a day!) - a scale never seen before!  To deliver greener and healthier homes Hertfordshire needs c.60,000 Retrofitters (tradespersons, retrofit assessors, installers, sales, and customer advisors) – many thousands more than we currently have!  Retrofit will provide a huge boost to our local economy by creating thousands of green jobs and upskilling opportunities.

This was a free, "must-attend” event for tradespeople and SMEs to access the retrofit (Greener Homes) business growth opportunity in Hertfordshire and learn how to maximise the local opportunities available!

Helen Pollock, Hertfordshire Futures, Clean Growth Manager said: "It was great to see so many businesses today keen to understand how they can access the retrofit growth opportunities available and get involved in delivering greener homes across Hertfordshire."

In attendance were sole traders - electricians, plumbers, gas engineers, builders and installers; SMEs working within construction, property maintenance and the retrofit supply chain; housebuilders; property owners; energy assessors; and others looking to work in the retrofit sector.

They learnt how and why Hertfordshire’s housing providers, councils, and local businesses are working together to drive improved building performance and reduce energy use in our homes. They also discovered how they can play a part in enabling retrofit at scale across Hertfordshire, and how to gain the right skills, knowledge and experience to access this business growth opportunity.