A series of webinars that will equip you with knowledge and practical guidance around three areas of place-based innovation: Buildings and retrofit; Community empowerment; and Planning, pipeline, and finance.
Resource
Through Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living programme, places across the UK have taken major strides towards achieving their Net Zero ambitions, breaking through numerous non-technological barriers.
These webinars share some of the inspiring insights, best practice, and expertise generated by more than 50 wide-ranging projects. This should help other local authorities understand how they can forge similar paths and help national decision makers and policy-shapers identify how they can better harness the value of place-based innovation.
We focus on three themes critical for many places: retrofitting buildings, empowering communities, and how to bring in finance to deliver impactful projects.
Buildings and retrofit
Broadcast on 10 December 2025
This webinar is the first of three sharing insights from the Net Zero Living programme, with the aim of helping wider stakeholders to benefit from the learnings, best practice, and expertise gained.
Whether you’re a local authority thinking about different ways to approach retrofit, a supplier, an innovator, or a community wanting to tackle the challenge of upgrading our buildings, this session is for you. We explored some of the solutions successfully implemented by the Net Zero Living participants and discussed how to go about scaling them.
We were joined by local authorities and government representatives to discuss their experiences of delivering innovative projects in their areas, and highlighted some case studies that show the role and additional value that local government can bring in using its assets, power, and voice to unlock the local retrofit markets of the future.
Community empowerment
Broadcast on 13 January 2026
This webinar is the second of three sharing insights from the Net Zero Living programme, with the aim of helping wider stakeholders to benefit from the learnings, best practice, and expertise gained.
Whether you’re a local authority thinking about different ways to approach engagement or a community partner wanting to drive change, this session is for you. We explored some of the solutions successfully implemented by the Net Zero Living programme’s places and why they matter.
We were joined by local authorities and government representatives to discuss their experiences of delivering innovative projects in their areas, and how local authorities are uniquely placed to support the delivery of solutions that meet residents’ needs and values.
Planning, pipeline and finance
Broadcast on 12 February 2026
This is the final webinar in our series sharing insights from the programme, with the aim of helping wider stakeholders to benefit from the learnings, best practice and expertise gained.
Whether you’re a local authority grappling with the process of moving from a strategy to securing investment, or an investor or national partner looking to accelerate this process, this session is for you.
We explore the steps successfully taken by the Net Zero Living Programme projects and discuss how these lay the foundations for successful delivery and partnerships.
We were joined by local authorities and government representatives to discuss their experiences of delivering innovative projects in their areas, highlighting how they are using their unique position to stimulate markets and overcome market failures.
Guest preview of selected publicly available resources