Don’t Waste Buildings brought our year to a successful close on December 3rd with a fantastic year-end breakfast, generously hosted by BVN Architecture at their studio in The Black and White building in Shoreditch.
Thank you so much to BVN for their generosity. They are one of the most respected architectural practices in Australia and have recently launched in London. A fabulously 'can-do' attitude from their team Esme Banks Marr, Jess Smith and Matthew Blair who came to us and asked: “1. How can we help? And 2. Would you like us to host a breakfast for you?” We were only to pleased to reply “Yes, and Yes!”
And many thanks to the 40-or-so people who joined us to reflect on the year to date. A few pics are here, all images courtesy of BVN.
Looking back at what we accomplished in 2024, it’s pretty staggering, considering DWB is an entirely unfunded voluntary effort.
What did we achieve in 2024?:
Published our ‘Hymn Sheet’, setting out our aims and objectives
Gathered about 150 passionate volunteers from across the built environment in London and the UK
Set up 5 work streams: Finance & Tax, Policies, Engagement, Case Studies and Profile Building
Held about 6 team meetings throughout the year
Published 2 guides, including Financial Incentives to Promote Use of Retrofit and Planning Policies Supporting Retrofit
Began engaging with influencers, opinion-formers and policymakers in government
Started a LinkedIn group which has grown to almost 1,400 members in 8 months
Organised 8 case study tours across the UK – London, Hertfordshire, Birmingham
Hosted a webinar with leaders of the UK Key Cities
Interviewed by Zero Ambitions Podcast
Exhibited at the AJ Retrofit Live conference
Responded to the National Planning Policy Framework consultation
Attended the Labour Party Conference
Held a day of tours and talks in Birmingham, including a ‘Sustaining the City Summit’ in association with Birmingham City University
Set up an online DWB merch shop (no waste, no profits)
Started a West Midlands Chapter which held their first case study tour at the Cornerblock Building in Birmingham
Held a Retrofit Policy Roundtable at the Institute of Directors with around 50 government policymakers and industry experts (post-roundtable report to be issued in early 2025! Let us know if you want to receive a copy.)
Started developing a DWB website — launching soon at dontwastebuildings.com (bookmark the URL)!
Got treated to a wonderful year-end breakfast hosted by BVN Architecture to close out the year!
Amazing, and so many ‘thank yous’ to all the volunteers who helped out along the way.
What’s coming in 2025?:
Ongoing policymaker and community engagement
More case study tours
Meetings and networking events
Education and profile building – Op-ed pieces, LinkedIn discussions, podcasts, videos, webinars
Updates to finance/tax and policy guides
New regional chapters (hopefully!) – looking for chapter leads in Scotland, Northern Ireland, North West, North East, Yorkshire, East Midlands, East Anglia, Wales, West, South West, South Coast, South East.
Website launch
Online resources – evidence, best practice, reports, case studies
Achieving the objective – sensible regulation and financial incentives supporting retrofit
If you want to get involved, please let us know via our Take Action page, or visit the Don’t Waste Buildings LinkedIn page to join us.