North Lanarkshire Council and Vital Energi among BE-ST Accelerate to Zero Award winners

North Lanarkshire Council, Vital Energi and the Transform-ER retrofit partnership were among the winners at BE-ST's Accelerate to Zero Awards in Glasgow on 5 November, the innovation centre said.

BE-ST (Built Environment – Smarter Transformation) said more than 200 people from the built environment and construction sectors attended the ceremony at voco Grand Central. The evening followed BE-ST Fest West, a day-long summit on housing delivery, modern methods of construction and decarbonisation, held on 4 November at the Sir Jim McDonald Technology & Innovation Centre in Glasgow.

North Lanarkshire Council took the Retrofit Accelerator Award, sponsored by KORE Retrofit, for its Embedded Retrofit Delivery Model. BE-ST's finalists list shows the council beat Architype's Estate Retrofit Tool and GreenFlip to the prize.

Separately, the council announced in February 2026 a £531.5m housing investment programme covering 2026/27 to 2030/31, including more than £254m for energy efficiency measures such as triple-glazed windows, solar PV and external wall insulation. Stephen Llewellyn, Chief Housing Officer at North Lanarkshire Council, said at the time: "We know people are concerned about rising energy costs and reliability".

Mine water heat and the Hero award

Vital Energi won the Gamechanger Award, sponsored by Ryden, with its Seaham Garden Village entry. It was shortlisted alongside Cundall's Material Health and Kenoteq's K-Briq.

According to Vital Energi, it started construction of a mine water heat network at Seaham Garden Village in County Durham in March 2025. The development comprises 1,500 homes, a primary school, village centre and innovation hubs, and Karbon Homes is to provide 750 affordable homes on the site. Vital Energi said it has been appointed to design, build and operate the system, which it will run for 40 years, with the energy centre sited next to the Mining Remediation Authority's Dawdon Mine Water Treatment Scheme.

Emily Braham of Energiesprong won the Accelerate to Zero Hero Award, sponsored by BE-ST, a category BE-ST said is decided by both the judging panel and a public vote. The other finalists were Trust Housing Association and Kier Construction's Prospecthill Court.

Collaborative partnership

Transform-ER won the Collaborative Partnership Award, sponsored by Women in Property, ahead of the University of Dundee and Rock Solid Processing KTP and The City of Edinburgh Council High-Rise Retrofit Programme.

Energiesprong UK said it led the Innovate UK-funded Transform-ER (Transform. Engage. Retrofit) project from 2023 to 2026, drawing on 13 industry partners. The project has since been launched as a Community Interest Company offering a retrofit delivery model to social landlords and councils. Its first demonstrator took a house from EPC D to A in four weeks, according to Energiesprong UK.

The other winners

BE-ST listed the remaining winners as follows:

• Diversity & Inclusion Award, sponsored by Balfour Beatty: AtkinsRéalis, with Anitha Karthik of Edinburgh Napier University highly commended
• BE Changemaker Award, sponsored by AC Whyte: Molly Armstrong, BakerHicks, with Stephen Smith of Glasgow School of Art highly commended
• Circular Economy Award, sponsored by Zero Waste Scotland: Good Green Futures, with Rock Solid Processing highly commended
• Technology Impact Award, sponsored by Edinburgh Napier University: TRACE
• Skills Impact Award, sponsored by City of Glasgow College: Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
• Community Champion Award, sponsored by Vital Energi: Neil Pearce, named in the winners announcement as of Barking & Dagenham Council
• BE-ST Beacon Award: David Lowe of Borders College and Charlie Forshaw of Rainmaking

Background

This was the fourth year of the Accelerate to Zero Awards, according to BE-ST. Entry was free and closed on 28 August 2026, and 2026 was the first year entrants could submit video entries. Judges named by BE-ST included Simon McWhirter, CEO of UKGBC.

BE-ST describes itself as Scotland's national innovation centre for construction and the built environment. It was founded in 2014, is administered by Edinburgh Napier University and receives core funding from the Scottish Funding Council.

The awards were hosted by comedian and environmental economist Dr Matt Winning.