BE-ST and Carbon Futures have announced a new strategic partnership designed to combine their respective strengths and deliver greater impact on their shared mission to accelerate the decarbonisation of the built environment.
BE-ST will enter into this initial two-year partnership via its subsidiary company, BE-ST Innovation Enterprise Solutions Ltd (BESTIES for short), which was launched at BE-ST Fest 2024 as a dedicated collaboration vehicle to enable deeper joint venture and partnership activity with businesses, universities, colleges and other organisations.
BE-ST, Scotland's national innovation centre for construction and the built environment, and Carbon Futures, an independent energy and sustainability consultancy, will work closely to develop a joint offer through shared communication, events, thought leadership, and business development activity, with the goal of more effectively creating value for clients and partners involved in the planning and delivery of high performing, low carbon, new and existing domestic and non-domestic buildings.
Together, the partners will focus on expanding the breadth of public and private sector partners they support, engaging early in the development of projects and programmes, and enabling more ambitious, portfolio-scale approaches to low-carbon delivery.
This week BE-ST hosted a networking reception at Scotland House in London, where industry representatives, policymakers and delivery partners came together to discuss current challenges in the built environment, including housing delivery, retrofit and low carbon construction. The session included discussions on some of the solutions Scotland can offer to these challenges.
During this, Carbon Futures were invited to announce the opening of a London office. Creating a new London base will enable Carbon Futures to work and collaborate more closely with organisations across the capital and beyond, expanding its reach and impact throughout the country and marking the beginning of a new phase of growth.
The collaboration between BE-ST and Carbon Futures represents the kind of value-add partnership BESTIES was established to unlock, driving forward transformative innovations and impact at scale and pace by bringing BE-ST's deep expertise in innovation, strategic engagement and sector transformation together with Carbon Futures’ deep technical capability in energy, carbon and building performance.
The collaboration will also strengthen the organisations’ shared commitment to accelerating decarbonisation across the built environment. By combining strategic insight, technical verification and real-world demonstration, the partnership will help clients adopt innovations such as circular construction, bio-based materials, MMC and offsite systems, and scalable retrofit solutions with greater confidence.
Alongside project delivery, the two organisations will support workforce capability across the sector. Through training, knowledge exchange, and practical learning opportunities, BE-ST and Carbon Futures aim to enable colleges, universities, and supply chains to upskill and embrace cutting-edge approaches to low carbon construction.
By aligning their capabilities and networks through BESTIES, BE-ST and Carbon Futures will create a stronger, more integrated offer for the sector, helping clients move from ambition to delivery and accelerating the transition to a high performing, low carbon built environment.
Stephen Good, CEO at BE-ST said: “BESTIES was established to drive radical collaborations that deliver transformative innovation at scale and pace. This strategic partnership with Carbon Futures is a strong example of that in action. By delivering BE-ST’s innovation and strategic capability through BESTIES, together with Carbon Futures’ technical depth, we can better support clients to turn low carbon ambition into practical, deliverable projects. At the same time, the partnership will help strengthen the sector’s ability to upskill and adopt new approaches and technologies, while advancing BESTIES’ social purpose to drive forward our decarbonisation mission.”
Andrew Money, Director at Carbon Futures said: “As we continue to progress our ambitious growth plans across the UK, this partnership represents a significant milestone for Carbon Futures. By combining our technical expertise in sustainability and building performance with BE‑ST’s innovation leadership we can accelerate the delivery of low‑carbon buildings nationwide. This collaboration strengthens our shared commitment to support organisations in creating transformative, sustainable communities throughout the UK.”
