DSSR attend the All-Energy Conference at SEC

The DSSR Sustainability team was represented at the All-Energy Conference at the SEC Event Campus by Sustainability Specialist, Atheya Rajeev. Here is her account of the event:

By Atheya Rajeev

As part of the sustainability team, I attended the All-Energy Conference at SEC Event Campus. I engaged with a wide range of important topics, covering grid & networks, local & community energy, heat decarbonisation, and retrofitting in the built environment. It was particularly encouraging to see a strong alignment across sectors towards achieving net zero, alongside a clear emphasis on empowering the next generation to lead and shape the future energy workforce.

My highlights included sessions on the following topics:

• Clean Power 20230: Are we still on Track?
• Alleviating Fuel Poverty Through Community Ownership
• Heat Network Scotland – A Home and a Voice for the Heat Network Sector in Scotland
• Retrofit Realities: Delivering Warmer and Healthier Homes on the Road to Net Zero

The sessions attended provided a strong cross-sector perspective on the challenges and opportunities shaping the UK’s transition to a net zero energy system, many of which directly reflect the work we are delivering at DSSR.

Much of the discussion explored whether current policy, infrastructure investment and delivery capacity are sufficient to meet national targets, highlighting the critical role of grid resilience, coordinated planning and demand reduction. These are areas where DSSR actively contributes through intelligent building services design, reducing operational energy demand at source while supporting wider system decarbonisation.

A recurring theme across the shorter sessions was the importance of people-centred and place-based solutions. The session on alleviating fuel poverty through community ownership demonstrated how local energy models can deliver both social value and long-term resilience, aligning closely with DSSR’s ethos of creating efficient, cost-effective buildings that deliver tangible benefits for end users.

Discussions around Heat Network Scotland reinforced the growing importance of low-carbon heat infrastructure, an area where our in-house expertise—including CIBSE Heat Network consultancy and low-carbon energy assessment—allows us to support clients in navigating emerging policy and technical requirements.

The “Retrofit Realities” session was particularly relevant to the built environment, focusing on the practical challenges of upgrading existing buildings to meet net zero targets while improving occupant health and comfort. This mirrors a significant proportion of DSSR’s current project work, where our sustainability specialists apply advanced modelling, BREEAM methodologies and performance-led design to balance fabric improvements, services upgrades and whole-life carbon considerations.

As I noted earlier, I was particularly encouraged to see such a focus on the diverse ways we can achieve net zero, and what I believe is a vital emphasis on empowering the next generation of the future energy workforce. It is essential to have a meaningful commitment to delivering low-carbon, high-performance buildings through multidisciplinary collaboration, evidence-based design and a proactive approach to sustainability.