The Mortgage Climate Action Group is to hold later this month a green-focused webinar covering energy efficiency.

Hosted by Alex Beavis and Stephanie Charman from one of the group’s founding partners, Sesame Bankhall Group, ‘The Challenges of Greening Housing Stock: Valuations, Lending & Retrofitting’ will take place on Monday 20 March from 1pm to 2pm.

The online event will bring together a range of leading industry specialists to discuss what is needed to make existing properties more energy efficient, with a focus on energy performance certifications (EPC) and retrofit.

The Mortgage Climate Action Group was founded in April 2022 and helps intermediaries to understand and address green issues involved in mortgage applications. It is made up of Legal & General, Sesame Bankhall Group, SimplyBiz Mortgages, HL Partnership, Mortgage Intelligence, Primis, The Openwork Partnership, and Paradigm Mortgage Services.

The Group has also been working closely with both the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) and the Green Finance Institute (GFI) to help collectively address this hugely important issue.

This is the Group’s third webinar; speakers and topics to be covered on 20 March include:

• Simon Jackson, managing director at Sesame Bankhall Valuation Services: the impact of EPC ratings and retrofitting on property valuations.
• Jennifer Lloyd, head of mortgage products at Skipton Building Society: EPCs in relation to mortgage lending and why Skipton offers EPC+ evaluations to all building society members.
• Neil Sampson, chief product and innovation officer and Joe Webb, chief growth officer, retrofit explorer solution Kamma: retrofitting options and tools for advisers.

Advisers can register for the event by visiting: https://eur.cvent.me/LBWqG?RefId=PR

Stephanie Charman, strategic relationships director, Sesame Bankhall Group, said: “Housing energy efficiency has come into sharp focus over the past year and is becoming a key area property buyers look at when evaluating the worth of a building. At the same time, governments are watching closely to see how the UK housing market is progressing with its net-zero commitments.

“EPC ratings are one of the key metrics to measure a property’s efficiency and it’s important we as an industry have a discussion around how this is going to impact valuations going forward and what options are available to retrofit existing buildings to meet these standards. Consumers’ interest in this issue is growing and as a result they are increasingly looking for guidance. We look forward to engaging with advisers on these important topics, so they are well-equipped to have those discussions.”