What We Do

A man stands in a classroom pointing to the left, behind a group of children mostly dressed in red sweaters and cardigans who are sitting around a table with drawings on it. The classroom is decorated with brightly coloured display boards

We deliver school engagement workshops, heat decarbonisation plans, detailed retrofit design, community engagement, whole life carbon studies and estate decarbonisation studies

RAFT's Mission

RAFT’s mission is to respond to the climate emergency by accelerating energy and emissions reductions, resource efficiency and climate resilience in schools and communities. To achieve this RAFT provides evidence-led, actionable information, engagement programmes and building retrofit services.

RAFT’s Vision for the Future

RAFT is committed to a vision of zero carbon, energy efficient, healthy and climate resilient schools, with deeply-engaged communities leading the way in a fair and just transition of society.

RAFT aims to support the delivery of well-performing buildings, biodiverse landscapes, waste and resource efficiency, wide opportunities for green jobs, careers and local supply chains, and emissions-free local economic growth.

Building Retrofit

Decarbonisation planning & design

  • High-level pan-estate planning

  • School heat decarbonisation plans

  • Feasibility studies, eg ASHP, PV, LED

  • Funding application support

  • Detailed design

Building performance assessment (PHPP)

Construction works management – building fabric and services

Evaluation, energy monitoring & data analysis

  • Within our team we have certified Passivhaus designers, and expertise in delivering EnerPHit and other deep retrofit projects. We apply these concepts to our work with schools, where we are able to provide pragmatic solutions that achieve the greatest possible benefits from retrofit, with the funding that is available.

  • Detailed reports for schools, community buildings, or homes, that can be taken to retrofit a building to zero carbon standards. We use detailed analysis of the existing building to provide an holistic, but pragmatic approach to retrofit, that centers improving health & wellbeing, and reducing energy bills and carbon emissions.

  • We have worked on a number of high level plans for local authorities, understanding how they can cost-effectively decarbonise their estates of school buildings and pragmatic measures that might apply across a range of buildings.

Engagement, Training, Knowledge Sharing

School workshop programme

Borough & Diocesan climate action network development

Targeted energy savings programme

Premises manager training

Resources & Guidance

  • We believe that it is important to bring as many people into the Retrofit process as possible. We see schools as a key community hub, whereby engagement and knowledge sharing around retrofit can happen, both through built works and engagement workshops. Recently we ran a premises manager engagement programme, that sought to distribute and share knowledge between premises managers, recognising their key role in achieving retrofit within schools. We are also involved in an ongoing project with the GLA, engaging Londoners with retrofit.

  • RAFT has delivered workshops and illustrated talks on topics ranging from our human relationship with the natural world, to the impact that buildings can have on the planet. We are passionate about engaging children in the built environment of their schools and homes, encouraging them to develop skills of observation and measurement to appreciate the flow of energy and heat. We actively collaborate with class teachers to integrate our workshops into the curriculum and other school activities.

Research & Policy

Informing and supporting policy development

Targeted research, eg whole life carbon, ventilation triage

Leading Industry guidance

  • We have completed whole life carbon studies for local authorities, that looked at whether retrofit could deliver sustainable school buildings in the long-term. We found that retrofit was the optimal solution, based on cost, wellbeing and carbon reduction measures, ahead of new build.