Building a sustainable future : The role of historic buildings in tackling the climate crisis

Britain’s built heritage plays a crucial role in Britons’ cultural identity, and their understanding of places and their histories. Now, more than ever, we need to preserve historic buildings in order to forge a sustainable and resilient future for our planet. However, climate action is often seen as at odds with heritage conservation, and many energy efficiency measures are perceived as ‘harmful’ to our historic buildings. The Heritage Building Retrofit Toolkit, described in this paper alongside case study examples, aims to challenge those perceptions. It sets out a nine-step methodology which starts from a position of knowledge, balances the risks and considers all opportunities as part of a ‘whole building approach’. The outcome is sensitively integrated solutions that safeguard the future of our heritage buildings, preparing them for a changing climate while reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.