The global construction and management consultancy, Turner & Townsend, has been appointed to drive the Mayor's RE:FIT programme to give a green makeover to hundreds of public buildings in London.

To help fulfil its lead role, Turner & Townsend have selected PA Consulting Group to support them during delivery.

The RE:FIT programme is part of the Mayor's overall plan to retrofit London's buildings which are responsible for 80 per cent of carbon emissions. Retrofitting is a win-win for Londoners as it delivers value for money through the more efficient use of energy resulting in reduced energy costs and it significantly contributes to the Mayor's ambitious carbon reduction targets. RE:FiT provides a commercial model for public bodies to implement energy efficiency and local energy generation measures to their buildings, reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. The reduction in energy bills and the carbon footprint of buildings is achieved by appointing an Energy Service Company (ESCo) to undertake energy efficiency measures in buildings. The ESCo guarantees a set level of energy savings, thus offering a secure financial saving over the period of the arrangement. The risk associated with the delivery of energy savings is carried by the ESCo rather than the public sector.

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The goal of the multi-million programme is an ambitious one – to substantially reduce energy usage and fuel bills and save over 100,000 tonnes of CO2 across the capital within 3 years.

Turner & Townsend, together with PA, will run RE:FIT's Programme Delivery Unit (PDU) and will be the public face of the programme. Turner & Townsend will provide a single point of expertise for public sector organisations who wish to use the programme, recruiting new organisations to participate in the programme, helping them to understand how the programme can be applied to their building stock, helping in the preparation of tenders and the procurement of suppliers to deliver the energy savings and overseeing the projects being run through the Framework, including reporting on the impact and overall carbon reduction achieved and evaluating the performance of participating organisations. Turner & Townsend will also manage the London RE:FIT Framework of approved energy services companies, including strategic supplier management of Framework suppliers to manage their performance.

With its extensive experience in delivering complex programmes, Turner & Townsend is ideally placed to help public sector organisations to maximise the savings they can achieve, helping them to understand the benefits that can be achieved from the programme, to identify the best strategy for savings, to develop the business case and to procure and implement the necessary work. The RE:FIT programme operates by appointing an Energy Service Company (ESCo) to undertake energy efficiency measures in buildings and to guarantee a set level of energy savings that deliver a significant financial saving over the period of the arrangement. The risk associated with the delivery of energy savings is carried by the ESCo rather than by the public sector user of the building.

(CD/GK)