Lucy Pedler is an architect with 34 years of professional experience in the UK and USA and has particular expertise in sustainable building practices.

Lucy worked as a Product Specialist at Construction Resources, the UK’s first Ecological Building Centre, for five years. She spent the first two years researching the environmental impact of ecologically sound building materials and systems and the subsequent three years advising architects, other professionals and visitors on the appropriate selection of building materials. She was also responsible for running the seminar programme at Construction Resources and still makes regular presentations to architects and other organisations as part of The Green Register team.

In 1999, Lucy started her own sustainable architecture practice, archipeleco, designing buildings that have a low impact on the environment. In 2005, Paul McWilliams joined archipeleco to then create develeco limited, a company exclusively self-funded to offer refurbishments of existing buildings – usually in very poor condition – and transform the properties into sustainable, beautiful buildings fit for 21st century living.

Lucy created The Green Register in 2000 as part of her lifelong commitment to the promotion of sustainable building.
Lucy is an Earth Champion, on the panel of the Bristol Urban Design Forum and a keen cyclist.

Julia is a low carbon Architect with over 30 years of experience in residential developments, community and charity projects, schools and special schools, master-planning, and heritage, conservation and listed buildings in both new-build and retrofit projects.

She trained as a Passivhaus Designer 10 years ago and works with Passivhaus and AECB Building and Retrofit Standards, using Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) and building physics principles to model each project  to give Clients informed comfort, energy and carbon options for their project decisions.

Julia set up her own practice in 2018, now based in the beautiful setting of Batsford Arboretum in the Cotswolds, delivering architectural work focused on natural materials and integrated sustainable design.

She is a founder member of a small collective called Cotswold Green Homes created in 2021 to allow Clients to come to one place to find experienced low carbon architectural services, renewable heating, solar and electrical specialists, and builders for increased quality and long-term building performance.

She is a Trustee of both the AECB, Association of Environment Conscious Building and SBUK, Strawbale Building UK and was involved in writing a strawbale construction technical guide for UK professionals with SNaB, School for Natural Building.

In 2022 she will be extending her passion for training and building skills by working to develop new areas of technical training events with The Green Register.

Cath Hassell is an expert in sustainable water strategies and low-carbon technologies, formed from a background of 17 years in the plumbing industry and 18 years in environmental building.  She is director of ech2o consultants ltd, a company that works at both a strategic and individual site level, providing technological and behavioural solutions that reduce the UK’s carbon footprint.   

Cath is a founder member of SWIG (the Sustainable Water Industry Group) and was a director of the AECB for seven years. Fascinated by how we use water she blogs about showering at a year of showering variously, and writes regular columns and technical posts.  

She has been a core trainer for the Green Register since its inception in 2000, and regularly delivers workshops to a wide range of audiences, from school pupils to construction professionals, across the UK about environmental issues.  

www.ech2o.co.uk  

Nicholas Heath MA MSc is Founding Director of NDM Heath Ltd, an independent sustainable energy consultancy based in Yorkshire. He has a wealth of experience in the challenges of achieving meaningful building upgrades that address environmental, economic and social agendas. In particular, he has a special expertise in the challenges and solutions for traditional and historic building stock, as well as large-scale social housing regeneration.

Formerly with sustainable development organisation Changeworks – where he remains an Associate Consultant – Nicholas is the author of numerous traditional building retrofit guides, technical papers, research reports and planning guidance, and has extensive experience of technical training development and delivery.

Nicholas has led high-profile research into solid wall insulation on traditional buildings, and has worked with several local authorities and social housing providers to develop city-wide strategies for the responsible retrofit of traditional buildings. He has worked nationally and internationally with a wide range of public and private clients including the Scottish Government, Historic England, Historic Scotland, UNESCO, EST, CITB, RIBA, RICS, STBA and SPAB, as well as numerous architect firms, local authorities and housing associations, universities and community groups.

Nicholas is also Technical Director of the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA), an Affiliate and Technical Panel Member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), and a part-time lecturer at the University of York. In addition, he is a licenced SAP and BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment Assessor, providing both new-build and existing building energy audits and upgrade strategies to the private sector.

Brian is a technician and architect by training, specification writer by choice, environmentalist by action, website author and editor by necessity, educator by calling, carbon number cruncher by urgency. Brian Murphy has 45 years track record in the industry, 37 years in consultancy, Greening up his act since 1999, the last 22 years have been the most gratifying and enjoyable. He founded National Green Specification (NGS) in 2001, funded websites for GreenSpec in 2003, GreenBuildingEncyclopaedia (GBE) in 2012, and GreenBuildingCalculator (GBC) in 2020.

Brian’s career focussed on Specification writing other people’s projects; large and small with a cumulative value of over £2420m. This evolved into writing robust specifications for manufacturer’s products, accessories and systems, which will emerge as part of GBC.

He also gets pleasure from power over numbers in Excel design and decision tools including: WasteCost® lite Whole building calculators: in-use and embodied/sequestered energy/carbon for students, which led to GBC and a Bespoke Historic Building calculator.

Brian has an appetite for recording what he has learned, passing on his knowledge of environmentally sound design and construction through websites, 9000 phrase jargon buster, over 1000 PowerPoint files on Environmentally Sustainable Construction, Specification and Professional Practice GBE CPD seminars & GBE Lectures, which are being added to and can be downloaded from GreenBuildingEncyclopaedia Shop

Brian sits on TRG’s Steering Group; previously presented TGR SBS day-two workshops about Designing-out Waste, Greening Your Office and GreenSpec, whole day event about Waste; bites size seminars about, CAP’EM Life Cycle Assessment, Biodiversity and now GBC Twilight talk.

Robert Borruso has studied to degree level both mechanical engineering and environmental science and has 10 years experience in both fields. This combination gives him an exceptional understanding of the issues associated with moving sustainable energy systems from the fringes to the mainstream of the construction industry, with a focus very much on delivering pragmatic and workable solutions.

Robert is currently working as an independent energy consultant with a client base ranging from small community groups to housing associations. He also has extensive experience in troubleshooting existing underperforming, renewable energy installations. He also occasionally writes on environmental issues in his own, often controversial, style.

Robert’s previous professional experience includes four years as a Product Specialist at Construction Resources Environmental Building Centre and as a Renewable Energy advisor at Sustainable Energy Action, both in London. He now lives in Scotland and is involved in a much more hands on approach with renewables.

Niall Crosson is Senior Technical Engineer with Ecological Building Systems. He holds a degree as a Bachelor of Technology (1st class Hons.) and a Masters Eng. Sc. He is also a Certified Passivhaus Consultant. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Irish Green Building Council and provides guidance on a number of national standard committees.

EBS have pioneered the introduction of natural insulation materials and airtightness to the construction industry in Ireland and the UK for over a decade. His expertise is in the area of building physics, energy conservation, hygrothermal analysis, airtightness, natural insulation, and vapour diffusion open constructions.

Over the last decade Niall has received advanced training from GUTEX woodfibre insulation manufacturers (www.GUTEX.de) and pro clima (www.proclima.com) based in Germany as well as a number of other companies. He has provided guidance to many award winning low energy projects in Ireland and the UK. He has also co-authored and authored chapters for a number of low energy building publications including The Passivhaus Handbook and The Passivhaus Designers Manual. Niall also provides regular technical contributions to a number of construction publications including The Journal of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland.

Joseph Little is the principal of Joseph Little Architects and Building Life Consultancy. He graduated from the UCD School of Architecture in 1996 and from the Graduate School of the Environment at the Centre for Alternative Technology in 2008.

Joseph set-up his own practice in 2003 when he realised that his passion for low energy, environmental building design could only be realised outside of mainstream architectural practices and launched Building Life Consultancy in February 2009.

Joseph’s consultancy has recently held WUFI® hygrothermal training in Glasgow, Leeds and Dublin with Fraunhofer IBP and thermal bridge training in Dublin. Historic Scotland released ‘Technical Paper 15’ in Summer 2012 which is a significant report by Little, and colleague Calina Ferraro, on hygrothermal simulation and internal insulation retrofits in Scotland.

Joe Fitzgerald is Technical Support Engineer & NSAI Approved Thermal Modeller at Ecological Building Systems.

Joe is a trained Energy Manager and graduated from Athlone I.T with an Honour’s Degree in Sustainable Construction & Energy Management. After this he went on to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Green Engineering and joined Ecological shortly after.

In addition to his academic studies, Joe has also spent many years as a tradesman and has completed the Passive House Contractor exam. Most recently, Joe became an NSAI approved Thermal Modeller after completing his examination in Dublin Technological University and is now certified to carry out thermal bridge assessments to evaluate heat loss in buildings.

Neil Turner is Technical Sales Manager at Ecological Building Systems. A former competent person of the BBA/TIMSA U-Value and Condensation Risk Calculation Competency Scheme, who has been involved in developing CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation) European standards, Neil has extensive experience in the building products sector. Neil advises architects, contractors and timber frame specialists on the specification of sustainable insulation products and has been involved in numerous sustainable projects throughout the UK.

Recent projects that Neil has been involved with include:

• Bristol City Council affordable Passivhaus housing scheme with pro clima systems, Halstatt Construction and Gale & Snowden Architects
• York Road Montpelier Bristol, internal and external renovation with Diathonite Evolution system, Andrew Dale Architects
• Oak Meadow Primary School, Thomas Vale Construction and Cygnum pro clima
• West Dulwich Passivhaus new build pro clima systems, RDA Architects

Vince has been in the heating and ventilation industry for 20 years, this time has been split between manufacturers and contractors, giving a good balance of experience of the supply chain and delivery side.

Vince has been working predominantly within the social housing sector for the last 11 years, he is passionate about energy efficiency, and delivering a quality end product.

Ian is a building researcher, specialising in the field of building performance in relation to occupant comfort and indoor air quality. Since 2008, He has been a senior member of the technical team supporting the governments of England and Wales in developing amendments to their respective Building Regulations. Ian is technical lead for Part F (ventilation) and technical author for Part L for dwellings in relation to airtightness, standards for thermal elements, and improving levels of compliance.

Ian is routinely involved in building research programmes, many of which are delivered for national government (BEIS and MHCLG), and for organisations such as AECOM, Energy Saving Trust, the Sustainable and Traditional Buildings Alliance, NHBC Foundation, and the former Zero Carbon Hub. In previous roles, he was appointed by Innovate UK as an expert evaluator under the £8M Building Performance Evaluation programme and provided technical guidance for the £17M Retrofit for the Future programme. Ian is co-chair of the technical working group for ventilation and indoor air quality at the UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings, and is a member of the Retrofit Standards Task Group.

Ilias Igoumenidis is a Technical Support Engineer at Ecological Building Systems. Born and raised in Greece, Ilias graduated from the Polytechnic school of Civil Engineers of Patras University and for many years ran his own Design and Construction company prior to moving to the UK.   Since 2013, he has been heavily involved with low energy consumption in building projects.  He was the first person in the Hellenic Passive House Institute to gain the International Certification of a Certified Passive House Designer. Ilias played a significant part of the first Certified Passive House project [Enerphit] in the south eastern Mediterranean area “Passivistas”.  Recent projects that Ilias has been involved with include:

• Agar Grove, London Borough of Camden, 500 affordable homes for new and existing tenants, putting energy performance and fuel poverty top of the agenda, Hawkins\Brown Architects.
• Glen Cottage, Allonby, Cumbria, internal and external renovation of solid stone property with Diathonite Evolution system.
• St Leonards, Chelsea, London, renovation with Diathonite Evolution and Calsitherm climate board systems, Design & Visual Concepts contractors.

Dave Judd is Technical Sales Executive at Ecological Building Systems.

Dave has extensive experience with energy efficiency retrofits and is well acquainted with the “fabric first” principles of integrating airtightness and insulation in both new-build and existing buildings.

He has also worked within the domestic renewable energy sector, with the main emphasis on solar PV, solar thermal and biomass systems. He has a Degree in Environmental Science and an MSc in Architecture: Advanced Environment & Energy Studies.

Peter has over 20 years’ experience within the Ventilation industry in both the commercial and domestic sectors covering all aspects of its delivery from design to manufacture to installation and commissioning.

For the past 8 years Peter has worked for Aereco Ltd and been one of the leading advocates for Demand Controlled Ventilation within the UK.

Aereco invented and are the market leaders in Demand Controlled Ventilation. For over 30 years they have been at the forefront in understanding and controlling IAQ in buildings. With systems in millions of homes all over the world, they bring an unrivalled practical experience of DCV.

Peter Rickaby is an Energy and Sustainability Consultant working for the building and housing industries, a retrofit consultant to Savills’ social housing team and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at University College London (UCL).  He also chairs the BSI Retrofit Standards Task Group, developing a framework of technical standards for retrofitting buildings.  

From 1982 to 2017 Peter was a Director of Rickaby Thompson Associates Ltd, an energy and sustainability consultancy working for the building and housing industries throughout the UK and across the EU.  The company provided design advice, energy surveys and energy ratings, housing stock energy consultancy, building performance monitoring and evaluation, environmental assessment, technical research and a wide range of training courses for building and housing professionals.

Peter was a member of the expert panel for the evaluation of the Technology Strategy Board’s Retrofit for the Future programme.  Subsequently, from 2013 to 2015, he led the development of the acclaimed Retrofit Coordinator training for the Centre of Refurbishment Excellence (CoRE).

From 2014 to 2018 Peter contributed to the industry led Each Home Counts review and was a member of the Implementation Board.  He was the Technical Author of PAS 2035:2019 Retrofitting Dwellings for Improved Energy Efficiency: Specification and Guidance and of PAS 2038:2021 Retrofitting Non-Domestic Buildings for Energy Efficiency: Specification.

From 2017 to 2022 Peter was Principal Research Fellow at the UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings (UKCMB), and Coordinator of the Building Envelope Research Network (UCL BERN), both at University College London.  Until early 2022 he was also Technical Director of the Retrofit Academy.

Nigel Harvey 

Recolight Chief Executive 

Nigel joined Recolight as Chief Executive and Company Secretary in 2009. A passionate environmentalist, Nigel has championed action on both the circular economy and the climate crisis within the lighting and WEEE sectors: 

• Chair of the UK’s WEEE compliance scheme trade association, the WEEE Scheme Forum (WSF) since 2011, and a director of WSF Ltd since 2013.  
• Active member of the Joint Trade Association (JTA) which works with producer trade associations including the LIA, to obtain a fair UK WEEE system.  Supported the JTA in the preparation of the successful proposal to operate the WEEE compliance fee in 2014 – 2020.  

• Founder director of EucoLight, the European Trade Association for lighting WEEE compliance schemes, and was elected EucoLight Vice President for 2017 – 2019. 
• Member of two BSI committees for the development of a new remanufacture standard for lighting equipment and the review of WEEE standards.  
• A champion of the adoption of circular economy principles in the lighting sector.   

Nigel has published over 100 articles on WEEE, lighting and the circular economy over the last five years.  He was voted Lux Magazine Person of the year in 2012 and has been named as one the UK’s 100 most influential people in the waste/resources industry for the last five years. He is also a climate activist. 

Mark Gilbert

General Director

Starting his forestry training in 1997 at Bangor University with a BSc (hons) in Forestry and forest products Mark had a bright and standing future ahead of him. Mark has spent his whole profession learning, developing, building, and supporting the forestry industry. Evolving his career at East Brothers Timber, he now sits as one of the key directors of the company aiming to spearhead its future into the evolution of the trade, aiming to grow it protentional with the times. With an abundance of knowledge within the trade he specialises in transportation, purchasing and grading whilst maintaining the day-to-day operations and running of business production.

Email:mark@eastbros.co.uk

Contact No:01794 340240

Beth Williams MEng (Hons), CEng MICE 

Twitter: @BethWilliamsSE 

Beth is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Certified PassivHaus Designer, and associate at Build Collective, a bespoke engineering consultancy based in Bristol. 

Beth has over 10 years’ experience in low-energy and low-carbon design and construction, focussing on timber frame PassivHaus buildings. Her project experience ranges from domestic extensions to new build sports halls and high security NHS facilities.  

Alongside practice work, Beth is a visiting tutor at Bath, Cardiff and UWE architecture schools, and group leader for the AECB Bristol & Bath local group. Beth is passionate about making low-energy buildings simple to build, affordable and available to all. 

Ian Hutchcroft,  

Director, Energiesprong UK 

Energiesprong is an approach to delivering zero carbon retrofit & new build homes, using offsite approaches, financed by savings and with performance guaranteed.  

Ian is part of the Energiesprong team adapting the Dutch developed approach for the UK market, working closely with teams in Netherlands, France and Germany.  He is leading ground-breaking delivery projects across the UK, including the Mayor of London’s Retrofit Accelerator Homes programme and the Zero Energy Buildings Catalyst project, and now building a volume market with social landlords and industry partners. Ian is also Chair of Plymouth Energy Community and has previously worked with pioneer NGOs, local authorities and architects developing zero carbon solutions.  He has won two Ashden Awards for sustainable energy innovation. 

Christian Dimbleby, Associate and chartered engineer 

Christian is a dual-qualified Architect and CIBSE Chartered Engineer.  

Since joining Architype, he has developed a specialism of delivering radically low energy in-use and truly sustainable educational projects – from early years to university buildings. 

He has delivered some of the studio’s most ambitious and complex designs, including The Enterprise Centre at the UEA; Harris Academy Passivhaus Secondary School in Sutton, and the Passivhaus Plus Hackbridge Primary School, ‘The UK’s first net zero school’. He is currently advising a number of leading organisations to help them monitor and meet their sustainability goals in the face of the climate emergency. 

Matthew Wellesley Smith 

NBT is a building fabric materials supplier dedicated to delivering better buildings with simple, robust and effective systems. NBT systems utilise the inherent advantages of natural and sustainable materials to deliver exemplary energy performance, fabric durability, and occupant health and comfort; all with materials of ultra-low environmental impact. NBT products are backed by design, specification and construction support which contributes to a joined up process, prioritising whole building performance, and closing the gap between design aspiration and reality. 

NBT’s expertise in traditional buildings has been developed in partnership with leading academic and not-for-profit organisations in the retrofit sector, including University College London, SPAB, the STBA (authors of the DECC funded Responsible Retrofit Report), the Good Homes Alliance, and  the Usable Buildings Trust. Bringing this expertise to bear on specification and installation ensures that the conservation of energy enhances, rather than compromises, conservation of traditional buildings. 

Matthew provides technical support for the application of NBT products to existing buildings. Several years’ project management experience on traditional building renovations, an MSc in Environmental and Energy Studies, and subsequent specialisation in moisture transfer and its effects on building fabric have provided a valuable combination of theoretical expertise and practical experience. 

Andy Sheppard  – ARUP

Andy is a senior sustainable buildings consultant who leads Arup’s sustainable buildings team in Yorkshire. He has extensive experience of all aspects of sustainability at both building and site-wide scales and as a BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes assessor. Andy is skilled in developing carbon strategies for organisations and projects, and has a particular interest in the cost-effective refurbishment of homes, commercial buildings and property portfolios. He has recently authored technical publications for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on Climate Change adaptation and on the Impact of Population growth.

andy.sheppard@arup.com  

Emma is a BREEAM Accredited Professional (AP) Assessor and has a broad experience of providing environmental assessments and audits on a range of both large and small projects, with a particular focus on educational and community based developments. As part of her work, Emma also enjoys being involved with the consultation process of schemes, to ensure the specification of developments are individually chosen for the building users, with the aim to ensure a socially and environmentally successful development.  

After finishing his Chemistry degree in 1995 Chris Brookman started Back to Earth as a sustainable construction company. By 2007 the company had morphed into sourcing and supplying innovative sustainable construction materials in an attempt to bring them into mainstream construction. Using his experience of sustainable construction and the experience gained from building his own certified Passivhaus Chris now advises on materials and systems that can simplify construction and improve the performance of buildings. 

Tomas Gartner, Director, Gale & Snowden Architects 

Tomas trained and worked as an Architect in Germany prior to moving to the UK in 2007 when he joined Gale & Snowden Architects and Mechanical Engineers. Since 1992 the practice’s team of architects, mechanical engineers, Passivhaus designers, landscape architects, permaculture designers and planners specialises exclusively in integrated, ecological and sustainable design and planning. In 2014 Gale & Snowden have become the first Building Biology Consultancy in the UK to be officially accredited by the Institute for Building Biology and Ecology (IBN) in Germany. Since 2008 Tomas has been involved with a range of Passivhaus schemes including residential, education, commercial, refurbishment and leisure facilities. Tomas is a Director of Gale & Snowden Architects, a founding director of the UK Building Biology Association and a chartered member of the RIBA and ARB. He is a Certified Building Biologist IBN, Passivhaus designer and trained BREEAM assessor.  

Stacey is joint Managing Director of Eight Associates. Stacey has a wide range of ecology experience gained over the last nine years working within the consultancy, local authority, charity and education sectors. She has experience of completing ecological surveys, overseeing ecological assessments and can offer advice and guidance throughout the development process. She is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM). 

Stacey has implemented varied habitat creation projects and subsequently compiled management plans. She has experience writing wildlife policy and advising on the ecological aspects of planning applications from both an officer and an applicant aspect. Stacey is licensed BREEAM assessor and Suitably Qualified Ecologist for BREEAM assessments and can advise on the optimal solutions in achieving the highest possible levels of biodiversity. 

Simon Jones       Commercial Director UK and Ireland, Aereco Ltd.               Chair, Irish Ventilation Industry Association,                 Industry Expert, Irelands National Mirror Group for the recast EPBD. 

Simon brings over a decade of experience in building services and renewables and in particular ventilation. He has been a leading voice in better recognition of ventilation and IAQ as a critical partner to advancing building techniques and standards in Ireland.  

Simon is the Commercial Director for the UK and Ireland for Aereco Ltd. Aereco invented and are the market leaders in Demand Controlled Ventilation. For over 30years they have been at the forefront in understanding and controlling IAQ in buildings. With systems in millions of homes all over the world, they bring an unrivalled practical experience of DCV. 

Simon Corbey – Associate Director 

Simon is a Chartered Surveyor, with a Masters in Architecture; Advanced Energy and Environmental Systems from UEL/CAT with a thesis on the BedZED lessons. He worked at Construction Resources (London’s first green building store); BioRegional, based at BedZed, where his duties included a LCA of B&Qs product range and setting up One Planet Products. Simon has worked under the umbrella organisation of the Sustainable Development Foundation, initially working for the Good Homes Alliance and now working for the ASBP to enable real change in the industry and help deliver low carbon healthy buildings. His work with the ASBP concentrates on seminars and learning events but also includes liaising with members and involvement with policy. 

Tom Woolley B.Arch, PhD is an architect and environmental researcher living in Northern Ireland.  He is internationally known for his work on sustainable architecture and construction.   

He was Professor of Architecture at Queens University Belfast from 1991 to 2007.   

Tom Woolley has published widely on community participation, housing, green architecture and healthy buildings, including the Green Building Handbook, Natural Building, Hemp and Lime Construction and Low Impact Building.  His latest book to be published by Routledge later this year is Building Materials, Health and Indoor Air Quality. Tom has spoken at numerous conferences and workshops around the world including Canada, South Africa, Malaysia, Holland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Poland. He is a member of the board of Bryson Energy, and CIH Northern Ireland. Tom is also a consultant to Dublin City Council working on the Wiser/Life/Rediscovery project in Ballymun. 

Tom has a BSc in Ecology and Biogeography from the University of Brighton and an MSc in Research in Carbon Emissions Auditing from the University of Central Lancaster. He has a keen interest in integrating natural and developed environments, with expertise in arboriculture – the study of trees in an urban environment. His experience ranges from felling trees through to masterplan level discussions with Local Planning Authority – all of which provide him with a practical and realistic perspective to trees on development sites. 

Tom produces pre-planning sustainability reports and provides advice to design teams in line with BREEAM to enhance the environmental performance of buildings. Tom also provides arboricultural support from tree surveys produced with AutoCAD drawings to the on site supervision.