Description

Get in touch - leave me a message

In this episode of Climate Confident, I sit down with Puja Balachander, CEO and co-founder of UpGreen, to explore how commercial landlords and asset managers can accelerate energy efficiency retrofits while keeping costs down.

Buildings account for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, yet many remain inefficient due to financial and logistical barriers. UpGreen tackles this by reducing upfront retrofit costs and enabling landlords to recapture savings from tenants, turning sustainability upgrades into a viable business strategy.

We discuss:

• Why 87% of UK commercial buildings must undergo energy upgrades within the next five years to meet regulations.
• How UpGreen's model cuts retrofit costs by up to 80% while recovering 60% of expenses through tenant savings.
• The hidden inefficiencies preventing widespread adoption of energy retrofits, despite their cost-effectiveness.
• The challenges of scaling retrofits across different markets, from the UK’s public energy performance data to Germany’s fragmented regulations.
• The future of retrofits beyond energy efficiency, including climate adaptation measures for flood and heat resilience.

This episode offers practical insights for commercial landlords, sustainability professionals, and policymakers looking to unlock the full potential of building decarbonisation.

🎧 Listen now and subscribe to Climate Confident to stay ahead of the latest sustainability trends.

🔗 Show links:
🌍 Learn more about UpGreen: getupgreen.com
📩 Contact me: tomraftery@outlook.com

Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day.

Support the show

Podcast subscribers
I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers:

• Anita Krajnc
• Cecilia Skarupa
• Ben Gross
• Jerry Sweeney
• Andreas Werner
• Stephen Carroll
• Roger Arnold

And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes.

🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability?

I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition. 

Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck

And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice. 

If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident