Blogs

Going green with Groundwork Wales

Claire Quince, WPA’s Business Coordinator and Andrew Hamar, WPA’s Senior Client Support Manager attended the monthly Youth Engagement Progression Framework (YEPF) in December 2024, at Coleg Y Cymoedd. The YEPF is a group replicated across the entirety of Wales, and focuses on supporting, aiding and discussing the ways in which public sector organisations in Wales can collaborate to help NEET 16 to 18 year olds in the borough of Caerphilly.

The upcoming Procurement Act 2023, due to come into force on 24th February 2025, is set to bring significant changes to the public procurement landscape across the UK, including Wales.

Over the last year in excess of £90,000 has been invested into community projects by WPA. Not only are the projects assessed with regards to benefits achieved and monetary investment, but they are also assessed on the social impact they have on the wider communities.

The Welsh Procurement Alliance (WPA) is part of the LHC Procurement Group (LHC PG), and places community support and engagement at the heart of everything they do. This is demonstrated in their Social Value Strategy, which encourages the regional teams like WPA to engage in team and individual volunteering within work time, to further invest in community support.

Claire Quince, WPA’s Business Coordinator and Andrew Hamar, WPA’s Senior Client Support Manager attended the monthly Youth Engagement Progression Framework (YEPF) in December 2024, at Coleg Y Cymoedd.

To meet the UK’s net zero ambitions we need a sustained retrofit programme to reduce energy consumption, improve thermal performance and decrease the carbon impact of our buildings. Renewable technologies will play a critical role in addressing this challenge – but it can sometimes be difficult for clients when comparing and procuring different solutions.

That’s where frameworks help.

In the realm of energy efficiency and building standards in the UK, PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 are critical. They provide guidelines and requirements for the installation of energy efficiency measures and the retrofit of buildings.

We take a look into the accreditation and its importance in the retrofit journey. 

Local authorities and housing associations are responsible for 6.3 million public sector buildings, and face increasing pressure to improve their existing stock by retrofit and decarbonisation to both meet the environmental targets, and support tenants through the energy and fuel crisis.

Through extensive pre-tender engagement LHC has designed its latest framework to support these challenges.

As the third greatest creator of CO₂ emissions in the UK, behind energy and transport, the construction industry’s challenge to meet net zero isn’t going away. The demand for action is increasing, and institutions like housing associations are being asked what they are doing to meet the 2050 net zero goal.