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Products, practices and processes: exploring the innovation potential for low-carbon housing refurbishment among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK construction industry

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  • Killip, Gavin

Abstract

Scenario-based studies agree that the technical potential for CO2 emissions reduction from the housing stock is large. This paper explores how a market might be developed for the refurbishment activities assumed in these scenarios, taking the existing market for repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) as its starting point. Interviews with 16 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry reveal the interdependence of products, practices and processes in housing renovation activities. Conservative practice as well as innovation can be understood as the outcome of multi-lateral influences on firms from other firms, clients, the material buildings and products in their working lives, and from regulations and regulators. Contractors' openness to innovation is contingent on an informal approach to risk assessment, taking account of cost, time efficiency, client demands, and installer confidence in the reliability of the resulting work. The implications of the research are discussed in relation to the need for new practices and processes on refurbishment projects, raising questions for future research on key questions of quality assurance, performance over time, the application of standards, and vocational training.

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  • Killip, Gavin, 2013. "Products, practices and processes: exploring the innovation potential for low-carbon housing refurbishment among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK construction industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 522-530.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:62:y:2013:i:c:p:522-530
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.06.024
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul W. Chan & Andrew R. J. Dainty, 2007. "Resolving the UK construction skills crisis: a critical perspective on the research and policy agenda," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 375-386.
    2. Johnston, D. & Lowe, R. & Bell, M., 2005. "An exploration of the technical feasibility of achieving CO2 emission reductions in excess of 60% within the UK housing stock by the year 2050," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(13), pages 1643-1659, September.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Balezentis, 2019. "Innovative Policy Schemes to Promote Renovation of Multi-Flat Residential Buildings and Address the Problems of Energy Poverty of Aging Societies in Former Socialist Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-18, April.
    3. Kerr, N. & Winskel, M., 2020. "Household investment in home energy retrofit: A review of the evidence on effective public policy design for privately owned homes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    4. Thao Thi Phuong Bui & Suzanne Wilkinson & Niluka Domingo & Casimir MacGregor, 2021. "Zero Carbon Building Practices in Aotearoa New Zealand," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Alice Owen & Alison Heppenstall, 2020. "Making the case for simulation: Unlocking carbon reduction through simulation of individual ‘middle actor’ behaviour," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 47(3), pages 457-472, March.
    6. Owen, A. & Mitchell, G. & Gouldson, A., 2014. "Unseen influence—The role of low carbon retrofit advisers and installers in the adoption and use of domestic energy technology," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 169-179.
    7. Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Balezentis, 2020. "Willingness to Pay for Renovation of Multi-Flat Buildings and to Share the Costs of Renovation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Daly, Daniel & Carr, Chantel & Daly, Matthew & McGuirk, Pauline & Stanes, Elyse & Santala, Inka, 2023. "Extending urban energy transitions to the mid-tier: Insights into energy efficiency from the management of HVAC maintenance in ‘mid-tier’ office buildings," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    9. Galvin, Ray & Sunikka-Blank, Minna, 2014. "The UK homeowner-retrofitter as an innovator in a socio-technical system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 655-662.
    10. O’Keeffe, Juliette M. & Gilmour, Daniel & Simpson, Edward, 2016. "A network approach to overcoming barriers to market engagement for SMEs in energy efficiency initiatives such as the Green Deal," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 582-590.
    11. Killip, Gavin & Owen, Alice, 2020. "The construction industry as agents of energy demand configuration in the existing housing stock," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    12. Jingxiao Zhang & Haiyan Xie & Hui Li & Rose Timothy & Si Pu & Quanxue Deng & Weixing Jin, 2018. "Integrated Framework of Growth Management for Identification of Service Innovation Levels and Priorities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-33, September.
    13. Sam Hampton, 2018. "‘It’s the soft stuff that’s hard’: Investigating the role played by low carbon small- and medium-sized enterprise advisors in sustainability transitions," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 33(4), pages 384-404, June.
    14. Catherine Willan & Kathryn B. Janda & David Kenington, 2021. "Seeking the Pressure Points: Catalysing Low Carbon Changes from the Middle-Out in Offices and Schools," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-21, December.
    15. Wade, Faye & Shipworth, Michelle & Hitchings, Russell, 2016. "Influencing the central heating technologies installed in homes: The role of social capital in supply chain networks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 52-60.

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