The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) held its 2025 Decarbonisation of Heating and Cooling Conference at the Congress Centre in London, bringing together more than 170 delegates to discuss regulatory changes, technical developments, and cross-sector strategies for achieving net zero.
The event followed CIBSE’s participation at COP29, where the Global Cooling Pledge was a key focus, and reinforced the organisation’s commitment to sustainable solutions in the built environment. Speakers included government representatives, consultants, and industry stakeholders addressing a range of decarbonisation topics.
Roger Littlewood from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) opened the conference with a review of international strategies on sustainable cooling and the UK's role in meeting the Global Cooling Pledge. CIBSE Research Manager Zoe De Grussa introduced updates to TM59 guidance and weather data files. Olivia Shears from the Climate Change Committee presented findings from the Climate Change Risk Assessment 4 (CCRA4), emphasising the need for adaptation across the built environment.
The second session addressed non-domestic heating system retrofits. Roger Hitchin examined the challenges of integrating heat pumps, while Charlotte Lee of the Heat Pump Association and Laura Bishop of the Ground Source Heat Pump Association discussed current policy and market conditions in the UK.
A Continuing Professional Development (CPD) session, sponsored by Refra, featured Shane McKenzie presenting on the role of innovation in heating and cooling technologies. The session highlighted the importance of ongoing training and industry knowledge sharing.
Later sessions included case studies such as Bristol’s city-wide heat network strategy by Jon Sankey of Vattenfall and redevelopment insights from Brent Cross by Benoit Dufour of Argent LLP. Dan Rafferty from Stanhope PLC discussed aligning heat networks with the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard.
The final session explored the Heat Networks Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS), with input from Ellen Hassett (Fairheat), Ben Felstead (DESNZ), and Kevin Morrissey (Building Engineering Services Association), focusing on improving quality assurance and performance standards across public sector projects.
The event was sponsored by Swegon, Strebel, Mitsubishi Electric, Modutherm, and headline sponsor Refra. It also previewed the upcoming launch of CIBSE’s Sustainability Cooling Group in 2025, aimed at supporting continued collaboration and research across the sector.