The Public Practice associates driving retrofit and net zero in the public sector

AJ Climate Champions

Episode 45. AJ Climate Champions with Hattie Hartman and George Morgan. Two Public Practice associates explain how working in the public sector has increased their agency as designers.

Public Practice is a social enterprise that places built environment professions in the public sector, primarily in place-making roles and increasingly in key roles that drive retrofit and net zero. ACAN co-founder Lauren Shevills, now lead retrofit innovation and delivery officer at Westminster City Council, explains that Public Practice has changed the trajectory of her career, enabling her to marry her passion for community and stakeholder engagement with technical architectural expertise. Steve Westcott, low carbon programme manager at Greater Manchester Combined Authority, says Public Practice has empowered him to work more strategically and ‘be closer to the conversations’ that matter. Off the back of Westcott’s role, GMCA is recruiting additional Public Practice associates.

On the subject of retrofit, Shevills observes that one major challenge is that retrofit cannot be mandated because it’s currently not part of the planning process. A retrofit first policy requires a rethink of current guidance and Westminster Council has five workstreams underway to explore various aspects of retrofit. Westcott explains that a fabric first approach is often too costly. The GMCA is developing portfolio-wide data collection for the city’s non-domestic estate to inform future grant disbursement decisions.

For show notes and to catch up on all AJ Climate Champions episodes, click here.