Connecting South East SMEs with Low Carbon Opportunities

Building on its work to connect London-based businesses with cutting edge UK low carbon building demonstration projects, the Institute is extending its programme to target business in the South East.

The new £2 million programme, FLASH+, is part financed by the South East European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Competitiveness Programme 2007-13, which focuses on the promotion of sustainable production and consumption.

Flash+, led by the Institute and partnering with the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), will provide free business support to help over 250 Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) exploit high growth, low carbon business opportunities.  It will focus on building performance analysis and give businesses access to learning and best practice from cutting edge retrofit projects.  These will include the Technology Strategy Board’s Retrofit for the Future and Low Carbon Buildings programmes as well as findings from a number of Institute projects.

Ed Metcalfe, Director of Research and Development said: “FLASH+ will focus on the results from measurement, monitoring and evaluation of building performance.  Analysing and comparing data of this type allows us to better understand what works - and just as importantly, what doesn’t – if we want to make buildings more sustainable.  By capturing this information and sharing it with business, we will help inform them about what products, technologies and systems will provide the most resource efficient solutions.”

As with the FLASH programme, knowledge will be captured and shared via established trade and professional networks. These will be managed and coordinated by SECBE (South East Centre for the Built Environment).

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the South East construction sector to directly benefit from leading research and demonstration programmes" said Julian Carter, SECBE’s Head of Commercial Services.  

“With grounded evidence to support the most effective ways of reducing energy consumption in both new and refurbished property, designers, specifiers and contractors will be able to deliver the best performing buildings to their customers.”

The Institute's London programme, FLASH, is a £10 million project, joint-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and supported by the Technology Strategy Board through the Retrofit for the Future programme. The project aims to ensure SMEs in the built environment have access to the information, research findings and best practice they need to take advantage of the sustainable building and refurbishment market. The retrofit of the UK’s housing stock by 2050 is estimated to be worth £200 billion alone.