Mears achieves finalist place at the Unlock Net Zero Awards

We’re delighted to have been shortlisted in partnership with ECD Architects and Keegans for the Collaboration of the year - Retrofit projects category at the Unlock Net Zero Awards. This finalist place recognises our collaborative approach and dedication in providing energy efficiency measures to thousands of homes across the UK.

The Unlock Net Zero Awards seek to recognise and champion progress on the journey to decarbonisation for the UK housing sector and the supply chain that supports it.

Over the last two-years, Mears along with ECD Architects and Keegans have developed a close relationship, working collaboratively to help achieve the governments targets of net zero emissions by retrofitting social housing at an increasingly large scale. Our long-term relationship allows us to work efficiently, and learn and challenge one another, to improve the efficiency and comfort of thousands of homes in the UK.

Since our initial collaboration on a feasibility study of a single estate in May 2021, we have supported twelve successful bids with Local Authorities and Housing Associations, to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) waves 1 and 2.1. This has saw us retrofit 20 homes, thus far with 3,797 more in design or currently underway.

By mid-2025, our collaboration will have:

• Retrofitted 3,817 homes, averting around 6,200 tonnes of carbon emissions
• 1633 kgCO2 saved per property per year through retrofitting
• 495 total jobs and apprenticeships created and sustained
• Over £1m per year saved in resident fuel bills

 Richard Hughes, Partnership Development Director commented:

“We’re thrilled to be Unlock Net Zero Awards finalists along with ECD Architects and Keegan’s. With around 27 million existing homes in the UK that need to be retrofitted, carrying out this work at scale is critical to mitigating climate change. As our collaboration has grown, we are able to scale up the size and number of projects that we can tackle and find successful solutions to new challenges.”

As a sector leading and PAS2030:2019 accredited contractor, our expert team work with suppliers and subcontractors in all regions to ensure we’re creating warmer, healthier homes for our communities.

Awards Ceremony

The Unlock Net Zero Live Awards will take place as the opening ceremony at the CIH Housing 2023 conference. The event is held on Wednesday 26th June at Manchester Central. We’re very excited for the awards ceremony and can’t wait to see if we bring home a trophy on the night!

Download our decarbonisation report here to learn more about the importance of creating warmer, healthier homes.