Name: Innovation for Commercial Retrofit: What Works and What Scales
Start: 2026-11-05T09:00:00Z
End: 2026-11-05T12:00:00Z

Event summary

This Event is open to Members and Non-Members.

Date:: Thursday 05 November, 2026
Time:: 09:00 - 12:00
Location:: 160 Aldersgate Street, Barbican, London EC1A 4HT

Payment information:: PropTech £0.00
Real Estate Representative £0.00
Prices are exclusive of VAT

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Registration

This event is open to UKPA Gold Members, UKGBC Members and Real Estate Representatives. To secure your place, please register using the appropriate pass.

Real-world energy reduction solutions delivering resilience, returns and results

Commercial retrofit is one of the most urgent and underdelivered challenges facing UK real estate. While the technologies and solutions needed to create more sustainable, efficient and future-proof buildings are increasingly available, adoption remains stubbornly slow.

Recent research with industry leaders highlights the challenge: 31% identify weak business cases as one of the leading barriers to retrofit, alongside policy uncertainty, while only 16% cite access to finance. This points to a wider challenge - the bottleneck is not simply a lack of technology or capital, but the internal frameworks, evidence and decision-making needed to build a compelling case for action and turn ambition into investment.

In November 2026, the UKPA, along side Real Estate:UK, and the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) will bring together 100 decision-makers and practitioners involved in designing, delivering and investing in commercial retrofit.

This will be an action-orientated working session rather than a technology showcase, focused on the practical challenges and opportunities involved in accelerating adoption. Through presentations from industry leaders and practitioners with experience delivering retrofit in practice, alongside structured, themed table discussions, participants will explore proven approaches, real-world case studies, business-case development, ROI and the organisational changes needed to move projects forward.

A key part of the programme will be real-world case studies from real estate organisations, showcasing how they are working with PropTech and other solution providers to address specific retrofit challenges and deliver tangible outcomes. Rather than solution providers simply presenting their products, these sessions will put the focus on the real estate challenge, the approach taken, what was implemented and the lessons learned.

The event will bring together real estate leaders, sustainability professionals, technology and solution providers, investors and other stakeholders to explore what is needed to move from ambition to implementation - and how innovation can play a practical role in accelerating more sustainable commercial buildings.

The aim is simple: to move the conversation beyond why retrofit matters and towards what needs to change to make it happen - giving participants practical insights, evidence, case studies and ideas they can take back into their organisations and turn into action.

For PropTech & Solution Providers

Have a real-world retrofit case study to share?

We’re looking for practical examples of technology and innovation helping real estate organisations reduce energy use, improve building performance and deliver commercial retrofit in practice.

If you’re a PropTech with a relevant client case study, once you register to attend the event and you’ll then receive a short application form to put your case study forward for consideration.

Four organisations will be selected to share their case study live on stage in a two-minute presentation. You can present the case study yourself, have your real estate client present alongside you, or put your client forward to present.

We’re looking for examples that demonstrate a real challenge, a practical solution and tangible results - from energy reduction and optimisation through to electrification, building fabric, water, air quality and circularity.

Deadline to submit your case study: 16 October 2026. Successful applicants will be notified by 21 October.

If your case study isn’t selected, you’re still very welcome to attend the event and take part in the interactive discussions.

For Real Estate Organisations

Join the conversation and share what’s working in practice

This session is designed for the people responsible for making commercial retrofit happen - from identifying opportunities and building the business case through to securing investment, delivering projects and measuring outcomes.

We’re bringing together real estate owners, investors, developers, asset managers, property managers, occupiers, and sustainability and energy professionals to explore the practical challenges of delivering more energy-efficient, resilient and future-proof buildings.

Rather than a traditional conference or technology showcase, this will be an interactive working session, combining real-world case studies with structured roundtable discussions.

You’ll hear from organisations already delivering retrofit projects, explore how technology and innovation are being used to address specific challenges, and share your own experiences with peers across the industry.

The discussions will focus on:

Building energy reduction and optimisation
Building fabric improvement
Electrification, energy generation and battery storage
Design and planning for net zero
Water, air quality, circularity and embodied carbon
Building the business case, demonstrating ROI and securing investment

Whether you’re planning a retrofit project, already delivering one, exploring potential solutions, or working through the business case for action, this session will provide practical insight and peer learning you can take back into your organisation.