Shows
Zero Ambitions PodcastDelivering high-density, high-volume, Passive House in Central London, with Attzaz Rashid (Barratt London) and Joel Callow (Beyond Carbon)In this episode, we are joined by Attzaz Rashid (Barratt London) and Joel Callow (Beyond Carbon) to talk about Barratt London's move into Passive House.It was a chance to get into what attracted Barratt to developing this Lo-E homes proposition and how they came to feel confident about committing to deliver certified Passive House apartments, the team effort that's been employed to make it work, and the way this change has brought about a renewed enthusiasm for the job in some of the project's participants.It's a really interesting exploration of how the rigour...
2025-09-241h 23Zero Ambitions PodcastReducing the cost of retrofit through collaboration and opportunism, with Rafe BertramIs there a collaboration problem in retrofit within the social housing sector? That was the premise for this conversation with Rafe Bertram, an architect and retrofit expert—appearing in a personal capacity—who was very surprised when I posed the question because he's found collaboration to be a strength in the sector, at least in London.In the end it led to a conversation about what he's learned from the experiences he's had working on retrofits in the social housing sector, in his community, and even doing big flashy Apple stores.The most interesting bit thou...
2025-09-101h 15Zero Ambitions PodcastCircularity, supply chains, and bringing a bio-based material to market, with Daniel Dinizo and Charmaine Cu-Unjieng (NaturLoop)This episode is all about case study in circularity and a group of people turning waste into useful materials for the built environment. Daniel Dinizo and Charmaine Cu-Unjieng of NaturLoop are bringing a new bio-based product to market that transforms waste coconut husk into a material that's something between MDF and a particle board.For us, this presented a chance to talk about how sustainable materials are developed, the challenges of bringing them to market and how responsible businesses can approach supply chain development (the big challenge now). As professionals who work with LCAs, EPDs...
2025-08-261h 12Zero Ambitions PodcastGreening homes and creating growth—the UK finance sector is seriously interested in green building, with Ian Bhullar and Ronnell Reffell (UK Finance)In this episode we are exploring the relationship between financial institutions and the built environment in relation to sustainability, building performance and mitigating climate change with Ian Bhullar and Ronnell Reffell from UK Finance, the UK financial sector's membership organisation.The episode itself was prompted by a report that UK Finance published in relation to the incoming UK Government's own Warm Homes Plan: Greening Homes, Creating Growth: Unlocking demand for green home finance. Its recommendations will be familiar to anyone who has been working in the green building sector but it's notable because these arguments and demands...
2025-08-131h 15Zero Ambitions PodcastBig plans for tackling non-residential retrofit, with Nick Taylor and Olga Khroustaleva (Building Atlas)We're joined by our new friends from Building Atlas, Nick Taylor and Olga Khroustaleva, who join us for a conversation about commercial retrofit—the non-residential kind. They’ve got a data driven business Building Atlas that helps commercial asset owners to plan pragmatic retrofit pathways for commercial real estate.This isn’t just important because of how much energy the non-residential sector consumes, it’s also because 70% of non-residential building assets are on course to become stranded assets because of their EPC rating and MEES regulation.They...
2025-07-301h 25Zero Ambitions PodcastPrescription heating and experiments for a just transition, with Rose Chard (Energy Systems Catapult)In this episode Rose Chard joins us to describes her multilayered and multi textured approach to innovation and research. It's a conversation about Energy Systems Captapult's experiment in prescribing heating to keep people warm—that's pretty much it, but there was a lot to talk about.Notes from the showRose Chard on LinkedInThe Inclusive Smart Solutions project that Rose mentionsWarm Home Prescription® Insights and Impact Report (July 2024) by Energy Systems CatapultWarm Home Prescription recommended by 93% of health professionals in latest trial (September 2023) by Energy Systems CatapultOne of the papers Jeff mentioned: Occupant Int...
2025-07-151h 13Zero Ambitions PodcastImpact, innovation, and investment: how VCs aren't a good fit for climatetech and the need for economic biodiversity, with Richard Muscat (Untangled)In a slight departure from our usual building performance themes joining us for this episode we have Richard Muscat, a man who has experienced the world of investment and tech from a fascinating range of angles and is seeking ways to do things differently.In essence, we’re looking at the way venture capital and climatetech are organised in ways that aren't conducive to delivering the impact that's promised. We're not just picking on VCs, we're using them as a means of highlighting a bunch of systemic economic issues—chief among them is how unrealistic goals for grow...
2025-07-011h 26Zero Ambitions PodcastZero Bills Homes: a new building standard for residential construction? With Nigel Banks and Emma Fletcher (Octopus Energy)In this episode we're talking about Zero Bills Homes, so we welcome back Nigel Banks, this time accompanied by his Octopus colleague Emma Fletcher*.We're not directly talking Fabric Fifth again but the concept is central to the Octopus zero bills strategy i.e. prioritising decarbonising energy use and reducing the cost of energy use rather than focusing on reducing energy demand through fabric measures. As before, basic fabric standards are required in order to make the proposition financially viable.As you might imagine, Jeff was keen to dig into the technical...
2025-06-171h 21Zero Ambitions PodcastRetrofit rescue: lessons learned from fixing a disastrous programme of works in Fishwick, with Filipe Amarante and Joanna Curtis (National Energy Action)This episode is all about a retrofit programme gone wrong in Preston and the effort required to fix it. It's a story that was covered in the pages of Passive House Plus back in 2018 under the headline "Disastrous Preston retrofit scheme remains unresolved" and until recently we thought it remained unresolved.We're joined by Filipe Amarante and Joanna Curtis to talk about the Preston Retrofit Catastrophe and all the work that National Energy Action has been doing to fix the grotesque damage that was wrought on a community in the 2010s. It's a project that's...
2025-06-031h 29Zero Ambitions PodcastMoisture: the bane of all buildings (also breathability, sweatability, and vapour), with Valentina Marincioni (UCL) and Toby Cambray (Greengauge)We are joined by Valentina Marincioni (UCL, UKCMB) and returning guest Toby Cambray (Greengauge) to talk about the bane of all buildings: moisture.Recently, they they’ve produced a simple explainer video about "breathability" in buildings for the UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings. Given Jeff's proclivity for referring to the 'sweatability' of buildings this seemed like a perfect opportunity to have Toby back and meet his colleague Valentina.We got into the subject of moisture in some depth, discussed the key terms (vapour diffusion, hygroscopicity, and capillary action), why this all matters, what’s impo...
2025-05-201h 24Zero Ambitions PodcastBattery storage, lancing boilers, and decentralised energy grids: a Decent way to manage your electricity, with Tom Cox and Sally Sattary (Decent Energy)Joining us for this episode are Tom Cox and Sally Sattary co-founders of Decent Energy. They have a software startup borne of a retrofit experience that did not meet its homeowner expectations, a proprietary software that works to maximise the value of battery storage to improve two key metrics: reducing cost of electricity and reducing the carbon intensity of the energy you do use.There's a bunch of chat about the potential of decentralised energy management to help people in all sorts of ways, from reducing one's individual impact to helping the g...
2025-05-061h 09Zero Ambitions PodcastTranslating retrofit for normal people, with retrofit influencer Judith Leary Joyce (Eco Home Retrofit)This episode is a window into the consumer side of domestic retrofit that’s full of lessons for everyone involved in the retrofit sector. We speak with retrofit influencer Judith Leary Joyce about the experience of undergoing a deep retrofit and learning how to communicate about the subject with normal people. She talks us through her journey from building an extension during the pandemic to getting deep into retrofit and eventually becoming an unlikely retrofit influencer.Whether you work in a domestic, commercial, or industrial setting the nature and needs of normal peo...
2025-04-231h 27Zero Ambitions PodcastEmbodied carbon and how sustainable is MMC? With Richard O'Hegarty (RKD, UCD) and Oliver Kinnane (UCD)Returning champions Richard O'Hegarty and Oliver Kinnane join us to discuss a recently co-authored paper: Understanding the embodied carbon credentials of modern methods of construction (MMC).Get ready for a long meandering discussion that gets into what they learned and what they think about accounting practices for embodied carbon, as well as plenty of chatter about MMC and why we hate the term (but not what it is).Notes from the showRichard O'Hegarty on LinkedInOliver Kinnane on LinkedInA link to Richard's post about the paper and a link to Jeff's comment The p...
2025-04-081h 26Zero Ambitions PodcastEmbodied carbon and how sustainable is MMC? With Richard O'Hegarty (RKD, UCD) and Oliver Kinnane (UCD)Returning champions Richard O'Hegarty and Oliver Kinnane join us to discuss a recently co-authored paper: Understanding the embodied carbon credentials of modern methods of construction (MMC).Get ready for a long meandering discussion that gets into what they learned and what they think about accounting practices for embodied carbon, as well as plenty of chatter about MMC and why we hate the term (but not what it is).Notes from the showRichard O'Hegarty on LinkedInOliver Kinnane on LinkedInA link to Richard's post about the paper and a link to Jeff's commentThe paper...
2025-04-081h 26Zero Ambitions PodcastCan we meet the skills gap the way we currently deliver training and what is the purpose of education? With Nathan Gambling (BetaTalk and BetaTeach)For this episode we were joined by Nathan Gambling. For those that are new to him, he's heating engineer of some repute, a renowned educator, and a fellow podcaster. The episode revolves around the nature of education and learning, the skills gap—specifically focusing on heat pump and retrofit education—and a post that Nathan put up a few weeks ago about an educational experiment he tried out that led to us thinking about the purpose of education.In essence, the episode is about how people learn and how this should shape our approach to meeti...
2025-03-251h 12Zero Ambitions PodcastThere is methodology for defining what ‘net zero carbon’ means for buildings in the UK and it looks great, with Jess Hrivnak (RIBA), Jane Anderson (ConstructionLCA), and Julie Godefroy (CIBSE)This time around we're talking about the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UKNZCBS) with three of its architects: Jess Hrivnak (RIBA), Jane Anderson (ConstructionLCA), and Julie Jodefroy (CIBSE).The UKNZCBS is the first cross-industry standard for net zero carbon-aligned buildings, albeit in a pilot form. The standard has been developed to enable stakeholders to prove whether a building aligns with the UK’s carbon and energy budgets by providing a single, agreed methodology for defining what ‘net zero carbon’ means for buildings in the UK.This probably won't be the only episode we'll produce on the...
2025-03-1143 min
Zero Ambitions PodcastA 'global' standard for residential retrofit? With Paul Bagust (RICS Head of Property Standards), Steven Lees (RICS Senior Specialist - Residential Survey), and Robert Toomey (RICS Senior Public Affairs Officer)Last year the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) released its residential retrofit standard. Given that they're one of the construction industry's oldest, largest, and most influential institutions this felt significant.Importantly, the RICS organisation has a global footprint, so it has the potential to influence good behaviour far and wide. We're also hopeful in light of the success of the RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment standard. That is in terms of its apparent impact, adoption, and reach.In order to get into the subject a bit more we invited Paul Bagust (Head of Property...
2025-02-181h 22Zero Ambitions PodcastSustainability, sufficiency, and sequestration – the language we use and what it means, with Lloyd AlterA long-overdue episode with friend of the show, Lloyd Alter, about a blog he wrote and his book "The Story of Upfront Carbon". We get into the language of sustainability, carbon, and lots of the words that are ubiquitous in this space (sustainability and the built environment, obviously).We get into the sustainability of travel, to some extent too,Lloyd's book: The Story of Upfront Carbon: How a Life of Just Enough Offers a Way Out of the Climate CrisisBuy it from the independent bookshop website (you can switch regions...
2024-09-241h 08Zero Ambitions Podcast“Use less stuff”: embodied carbon, value chains and the potential for change in the Declaration de Chaillot. With Lloyd Alter (Carbon Upfront), Kelly Alvarez Doran (Ha/f Climate Design), and Will Arnold (The Institution of Structural Engineers)Lloyd has been in Paris. He came back very enthused and excited by his experience there and wanted to communicate why to our listeners.“In the face of the climate emergency, a swift transition of the buildings sector is a direct requirement to achieve the goals set by the Paris Agreement”.Approximately, 1,400 people from 70 countries gathered in Paris for the Buildings and Climate Global Forum and the Declaration de Chaillot was the resultLloyd Alter, Will Arnold, and Kelly Alvarez Doran were there. The question is, what does this declaration mean? Will it actua...
2024-03-261h 16Zero Ambitions PodcastPH+ revisited: Seeing the wood for the trees (part two), with Andy Simmonds (AECB) and Lenny Antonelli (PH+)Happy post-Christmas day, hope you made it through OK. Today we have part two of the latest Passive House Plus revisited, looking at Lloyd Alter's favourite article of 2021: Seeing the wood for the trees - Placing ecology at the heart of construction.Again, we're joined by authors Lenny Antonelli and Andy Simmonds talking about mass timber, embodied carbon, why we should just use less and, unexpectedly, the place of AI.It turned out to be an extra long one but it felt deserving of the space, so rather than butcher the conversation we...
2023-12-2658 minZero Ambitions PodcastPH+ revisited: Seeing the wood for the trees (part one), with Andy Simmonds (AECB) and Lenny Antonelli (PH+)Merry Christmas!This week we have a Passive House Plus revisited two-parter for you, led by our occasional co-host Lloyd Alter, looking at his favourite article of 2021: Seeing the wood for the trees - Placing ecology at the heart of construction.We're joined by authors Lenny Antonelli and Andy Simmonds and the conversation wheels around, covering the place of mass timber as a solution to construction's problems, embodied carbon, why we should just use less, and why it's so hard to use less, amongst lots of other things.It turned out to be...
2023-12-251h 05
The Story of Rock and Roll Radio ShowThe Story of Rock and Roll: S6E49S6E49 went out live on Rebel Rock Radio on 7 Dec 2023 at 19h00. Fourth last show of 2023, this year has flown. We kicked off at the start of the alphabet and checked out Alter Bridge off the Fortress. It was a great way to start, a nice build-up to 3 hours of rock and metal. This week's Immortal slot went to the Mightly Judas Priest with ‘Blood Red Skies’ off Ram It DownThe Diabolical Challenge took in the year 1970. Back in those days there were only about 20 releases to choose from but man, the quality of those...
2023-12-073h 00Zero Ambitions PodcastA schism in building standards: promoting passive house and high performance building in the USA, with Zack Semke (Passive House Accelerator)Lloyd Alter introduced us to Passive House Accelerator earlier this year and it turns out that we're doing some quite similar work, promoting high-performance building, sharing innovation, and elevating thought leadership.Instead of starting a blood feud, we decided to invite Zack Semke onto the podcast to talk about what they're up to and see what we can learn from them. As it turns out, they're doing some really interesting stuff and Zack had already interviewed Jeff ages ago. Seems like we should look into collaborating.We had a chat about their stateside perspective on...
2023-10-031h 12Zero Ambitions PodcastPH+ revisited: 'Cold Truths' about heating and energy in Britain, with Kate de SelincourtToday, we have a new show on the feed. Long-time friend and contributor to the Zero Ambitions Universe, Lloyd Alter is taking the reins to look back at some of the fine work that Jeff has commissioned over the years, with a mind to making it more accessible to a wider audience.So, in parallel with the main show, Lloyd will be curating a tour through some of the best of Passive House Plus, interviewing the work's authors, and looking at the subject matter from a transatlantic perspective.This week we are joined by journalist...
2023-07-1854 minZero Ambitions PodcastAn outsider's view on green building in UK and Ireland, AKA 'Lloyd loves wood now', with Lloyd Alter (Upfront Carbon; Passive House Accelerator)This week we have a transatlantic expert's perspective on the state of sustainable building in Ireland and the UK. Friend of the show, Lloyd’s Alter joined us after a research trip and drinking holiday to the UK.We thought it would be interesting to ask him to tell us about what learned on his travels and he offered us hiss thoughts on wood, the inspiring projects he visited, the people he met, cycling in Dublin, ventilation, air quality, transport, and all sorts.Notes from the episodeThat Extinction Beckons art ex...
2023-06-061h 17
Svetlana! Svetlana!Come to Desert, Find PeaceA strange and mystical invitation lures Svetlana to Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture commune in the Arizona desert. And so, Svetlana embarks on a new journey that will alter the course of her life forever. Dan goes there too and gets in the wrong Honda.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2023-02-1335 minZero Ambitions PodcastReflections of a Treehugger: talking green building with Lloyd AlterFor almost two decades transatlantic commentator Lloyd Alter has been the rarest of creatures: a popular writer of insightful articles about green building, mainly via the pioneering green living website Treehugger.com. The day before our interview, Lloyd and the rest of the editorial team at Treehugger were told to clear their desks, due to a change in business model that focused more on search engine algorithms, and less on the kind of nuanced, considered pieces that have made Lloyd so renowned. We caught up with Lloyd to reflect on his time at Treehugger. We s...
2023-02-071h 23
Play to Potential Podcast88.00 Pradeep Chakravarthy on Lessons from Indian HistoryGUEST
Pradeep Chakravarthy is a behaviourist who uses Indian models of L&D to alter behaviour. He has recently published the book - Leadership Shastra which looks at some of the rulers of the past and culls out lessons in leadership and culture. He has written a book - Thanjavur - a Cultural History (2010) and A Road Less Travelled - A Historian’s Guide to lesser known temples in Tamil Nadu (2012).
In our conversation, we speak about how Kings and Queens were groomed for their roles, how they thought about expansion and consolidation at various times, Jah...
2022-04-0658 min
Christ Presbyterian Church | Music RowRescuing Our Souls from Digital Captivity - Stacey CroftApril 23, 2017
Matthew 6:16-18 ESV
PRIMARY SOURCES:
Don Carson, Editor, The New Bible Commentary
ESV Greek Tools
ESV Study Bible
IVP Bible Background Commentary
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
‘Russell Brand Talks Sex, Softcore & Hardcore Porn,’ YouTube.com
Dan Doriani, The Sermon on the Mount
Annie Downs, ‘When Lent Hurts’
Donna Freitas, The Happiness Effect
Jack Gregory, ‘A Teen Perspective on Social Media’
Timothy Keller, Logos Sermon Archive
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
The New York Times, Interview with Adam Alter
Brad Paisley, Online
Richard Rohr, Jesus’ Plan for a New World
Andrew Root, ‘Never Let Them See You Cry...
2017-04-2334 min
Christ Presbyterian Church | Old Hickory BlvdRescuing Our Souls from Digital Captivity | Scott Sauls | April 23, 2017April 23, 2017
Matthew 6:16-18 ESV
PRIMARY SOURCES:
Don Carson, Editor, The New Bible Commentary
ESV Greek Tools
ESV Study Bible
IVP Bible Background Commentary
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
‘Russell Brand Talks Sex, Softcore & Hardcore Porn,’ YouTube.com
Dan Doriani, The Sermon on the Mount
Annie Downs, ‘When Lent Hurts’
Donna Freitas, The Happiness Effect
Jack Gregory, ‘A Teen Perspective on Social Media’
Timothy Keller, Logos Sermon Archive
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
The New York Times, Interview with Adam Alter
Brad Paisley, Online
Richard Rohr, Jesus’ Plan for a New World
Andrew Root, ‘Never Let Them See You Cry...
2017-04-2032 min