Stranded assets, financing sustainability, and carbon as a risk factor, with Alexandra Hedesiu (EnerSave Capital)

This week Jeff introduced us to a new friend he met while working on a EU funded green finance project, Alexandra Hedesiu, Head of ESG & EU Advisory Services at EnerSave Capital.

The EU Life-funded project is called Smarter Finance for EU, and its aim is to develop the market for credible green home certifications and associated green mortgage, loan and development finance products, with €8.5bn worth of projects already built or planned under a previous phase of the Smarter initiative.

As well as getting into the drivers of how large sustainability projects get financed, Alex was able to highlight how the demands of finance are changing the construction industry for the better and how sustainability is being recognised as a risk factor by money men.

It's pretty clear that finance is going to demand more accountability from the construction industry, in terms of sustainability strategy and reporting, and that some developers are already feeling the pain of stranded assets. This is all before we touched on carbon pricing.

It seems clear that all businesses that work within the built environment should think about how they're going to step up in their own accounting and reporting, because pretty soon every entity in the supply chain will be having questions asked of it.

Notes from the show

• Alex on LinkedIn
• EnerSave Capital's website

Retrofit Reimagined
If you're nearby, go! More Retrofit Reimagined 2023 is happening in Machynlleth (Centre for Alternative Technology, 21-22 October), and Glasgow (11 November).


**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**
We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

• Zero Ambitions Partners email address - [e-mail]
• Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page
• Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
• Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon Upfront
• Join ACAN
• Join the AECB 
• Join the IGBC
• Check out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women (but not in a patronising way)
• Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [e-mail]; Everything is User Experience

**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

What is Zero Ambitions Podcast?

Zero Ambitions is a consultancy and weekly podcast about sustainability and the built environment.

We find interesting and experienced guests who know what they're talking about, usually to discuss how we navigate the complexity of decarbonisation and sustainability in the built environment and its many related sectors.

The success of the podcast has seen it grow into a consultancy, Zero Ambitions Partners. The consultancy works with blue chip clients, public sector institutions, and niche-market innovators that operate in the built environment, advising about the development and delivery of sustainability strategy and how it should be communicated.

Hosted by Jeff Colley and Dan Hyde, publishers of Passive House Plus magazine (UK and Ireland) and co-founders of Zero Ambitions Partners.