GREEN HOME FESTIVAL
GREEN Part of the world-famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Green Home Festival is growing at pace, writes FMB Scotland Director Gordon Nelson KEEN ON
T he Green Home Festival, which ran from 12-16 August, is the result of a joint effort from the FMB and other trade and professional associations that form Scotland’s Construction Industry Collective Voice (CICV). Created in March 2020, with the FMB as a founding member, the CICV lobbies the Scottish Government to influence policy and provides expertise on industry issues. This year, I was Chair of the Green Home Festival task force. We decided that while the boardroom of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) Scottish office was sufficient for festival attendees in 2022 and 2023, we needed more space in 2024. We erected a 12m x 9m marquee in the elegant Charlotte Square Gardens, right in the middle of the city. The garden marquee became the new home for the Green Home Festival, which was free to attend. How the FMB shapes the festival 1 I would not have been involved in the festival without support from FMB members. This was the case in 2022 and 2023, so this year we focused on adapting a successful model to a larger audience. 2 Homeowners looking to make improvements to their homes are the main audience at the festival. With most FMB members primarily delivering construction services such as renovations or extensions across the home improvements sector, the festival brings future clients and contractors together, linking them to the emerging domestic retrofit marketplace. 3 The festival helps raise the FMB’s profile in Scotland.
● Retrofit explained: The right way to deliver retrofit where Paul Dempsey from True Build Trade Services Ltd was joined by an architect and a surveyor ● Passivhaus made simple with Ross and Clare Booth from Coldwells Build ● Sustainable materials in construction with Alasdair Campbell from FMB Associate Member, the Isle of Skye Paint Company, speaking as a pioneer of producing sustainable materials. Plans for 2025 I am canvassing feedback from fellow organisers and delegates on how best to run the festival in 2025. Moving the festival from a large meeting room equipped with power, wi-fi and welfare facilities into a garden marquee, presented challenges. We could use Charlotte Square Gardens again as the venue in 2025, but I’d need support from RICS, the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation (SNIPEF) and SELECT (Scotland’s trade association for electrical contractors) to improve the experience. Most importantly, we need FMB members’ support. If you would like to shape the 2025 Green Home Festival, get in touch at gordonnelson@fmb.org.uk .
Sam Baumber from IndiNature presents at the garden marquee
What is retrofit? Not to be confused with renovations or refurbishments, retrofit focuses specifically on increasing an existing building’s energy efficiency by introducing new materials, products and technologies. Festival highlights Scottish Government Minister, Dr Alasdair Allan, opened the festival, where there were 10 well-attended shows during the week presented by builders, architects, plumbers and manufacturers. There was even a large van parked in the gardens all week. Inside the van was a mobile heat pump training centre. Undoubtedly, the three shows involving FMB members were the best. These were:
days presenters attendees 5 10 21 507 Green Home Festival in numbers shows
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