Resource Type: Case studies

Energy Performance Contracting (EPC – formerly Re:fit) case studies.
In the face of the climate emergency and tightening fiscal constraints, public bodies must find smarter, faster routes to decarbonisation and energy resilience. The EPC (formerly Re:fit) framework provides exactly that: a proven delivery mechanism for energy efficiency, low-carbon retrofit and renewable generation projects in the public sector. Below we bring together a curated set of case studies that illustrate how councils, universities, NHS trusts and other public institutions are using EPC / Re:fit to drive real savings, reduce carbon emissions and modernise infrastructure.

Each case study captures a journey — the baseline challenges, the technical interventions, the financing approach, and the measurable outcomes. Taken together, they tell a story of how the EPC / Re:fit route is enabling scalable, credible progress toward net zero across diverse geographies and building portfolios.

Read the latest Refit case studies 2024

Discover how UK institutions, including universities and local councils, are advancing toward carbon neutrality. These case studies showcase the practical steps taken through the Refit framework, from integrating renewable energy sources like solar panels to upgrading outdated infrastructure with efficient heating systems. Each example highlights the substantial cost savings and carbon reductions achieved, reflecting a shared commitment to a sustainable, greener future.

Waste Management Solutions: Case Studies from the Zero Waste team at Local Partnerships

Local Partnerships’ Zero Waste team has helped councils implement strategic waste management solutions that drive efficiency, reduce costs, and improve sustainability. From Cardiff City Council’s energy facility expansion to South Gloucestershire’s re-procurement for 2025 reforms, these case studies highlight how councils optimize services and adapt to new regulations. The team’s work includes supporting Welsh authorities under new recycling rules and facilitating the transition to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging, shifting costs to producers.

Housing and homelessness case studies written by our team of experts in ‘Place‘.

Local Partnerships continues to be at the forefront of enabling councils and local authorities to meet their housing and homelessness challenges. We are proud to present five new case studies that highlight our work in optimising housing repairs, unlocking funding, and driving innovation in affordable housing delivery.

From Milton Keynes, where we helped optimise a £165m housing repairs and maintenance programme, to Manchester, where our data-driven models are helping to reduce homelessness, our strategic support has been instrumental. We’ve also worked on housing delivery vehicles (HDVs) to help councils build faster and more efficiently, unblocked stalled social housing sites in Wales, and secured £6M funding to jumpstart the UK’s largest housing regeneration project in Wirral.

Our expert-led, collaborative approach ensures immediate improvements and sets programmes up for long-term success, directly benefiting thousands of households across the UK.

Business case related member decisions

It has always been important that significant investment and transformation decisions are subject to rigorous challenge and are evidence based. The increasing pressure on councils’ finances over recent years has only served to make it even more vital that well written and presented reports for members relating to complex business cases are developed by officers to ensure sound decision making by councils.

This business case related member decision document provides good practice guidance for officers regarding how best to develop and present a report for members to make a significant decision.

Local Partnerships has supported a variety of councils, and transformation projects through the LGA’s Sector Support Improvement programme funded by the UK Government.

These case studies explore the key activities and learnings from these projects and highlight both best practice and common challenges.

Our Sourcing Playbook Webinar was to share the learning from our DLUHC funded Hands-On Sourcing Support Programme, through which 16 councils were supported to put the sourcing playbook into practice.

We were joined by DLUHC and some of the participating councils to discuss how the Sourcing Playbook can best be used by local government and reflect on key lessons learned from the experience. There was plenty of opportunities for audience Q&A to ensure that practical advice could be taken away in the areas that matter to you.

In the years since its initial launch as the “Outsourcing Playbook”, the Sourcing Playbook has been iterated to ensure it reflects best practice and is as useful a guide as possible. While written primarily for a central government audience, the core best practice is relevant across the public sector. This webinar will help to bring to life the benefits of the Sourcing Playbook, and how best it can be relied on through hearing from peers about their experiences putting the playbook in to practice.

Business Process Mapping Project Profiles

The Business Process Mapping toolkit for procurement gives a step-by-step guide to work as a team to track and improve your procurement process. These profile profiles give an insight into how we worked with four councils to deliver the toolkit.

If you would like more information on taking part in the next stage of facilitated sessions email: bpm@localpartnerships.gov.uk

Are you a Local authority with a long list of identified surplus sites which may be suitable for housing development? Are you seeking to optimise new homes delivery?

Surplus Council owned land offers an important resource for the delivery of new homes to meet local housing needs.

Our ‘Prioritising housing pipelines’ tool will help you decipher, which sites out of a long list of sites, have the greatest potential to be brought forward – and  the appropriate mechanisms for securing their delivery.

It is increasingly important for councils seeking to target limited resources in the right areas,  deliver new housing and regenerate  their areas.

Adopting a tried and tested methodology to select and prioritise sites supports the preparation of a phase development programme to ensure resources are targeted in those areas with the greatest potential to yield results. Download the tool and information below, with compliments from Local Partnerships.

Together, the Energy Systems Catapult and Local Partnerships have produced a series of business case templates, specifically for use by local authorities planning local energy projects.

The templates, also available on Net Zero Go, aim to provide a framework for structured thinking with section headings, guidance notes, draft text, graphs and tables and suggested workshop sessions to assist in the development and sign off of local energy projects.

The templates are based upon the HM Treasury Green Book Five Case Model. They seek to follow and build upon the Better Business Case Guidance and Local Partnerships experience of support the development of these projects.

Templates available include:

• Heat Networks Strategic Outline Case
• Solar PV Strategic Outline Case
• Retrofit Strategic Outline Case
• Generic Strategic Outline Case
• Generic Outline Business Case

Local Partnerships has successfully supported Local Authorities to develop their business cases, if you would like to discuss your project with a member of the team, please contact Vicky Kingston.

Help us, help you deliver robust business cases for local energy projects!

To further support Local Authorities in the development and sign off of business cases for local energy projects, the Energy Systems Catapult and Local Partnerships have developed a short survey to understand more about some of the challenges that you might be experiencing and where more support could help progress the drafting and approvals process. give us insight into their experiences and thoughts on the templates then we can improve and develop these further’ – we can’t do it with out your help.

We would love to hear from you to help us identify what further support you require – fill in the survey.

Learn from the Local Partnerships “The Sourcing Playbook Case Studies“.

We’ve hand-picked case studies of local authorities that have integrated the principles of The Sourcing Playbook to level-up their procurement capabilities.

Now it’s your turn to gain valuable insights from their experiences and incorporate these lessons into your own local authorities. Click on the Case Studies link below to get started.

To support you to understand your markets and prepare for sourcing we have developed a template for market assessment and sourcing strategy development. This will enable you to take the approach set out in the case studies. These are linked below.

Jane Forshaw, presents the webinar: “Effective approaches for integrating fleet budgeton” behalf of the Welsh Government Energy Service, hosted a webinar to help attendees navigate the financial aspects of transition towards a zero emission fleet, with speakers from Nottingham City Council, Monmouthshire County Council and Powys County Council.

Local Partnerships recently provided support to Wiltshire Council as it was preparing to re-tender a large framework to provide support for young people and adults of working age with additional needs due to mental health, learning disabilities and/or on the autistic spectrum (MHLDA). Local Partnerships has produced the Wiltshire Council Case Study.

Read four of our RE:FIT: Case Studies about how Re:fit framework has helped local authorities, Cambridgeshire County Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, Sir Harry Smith Community College and Historic buildings City of Cardiff Council.

Energy efficiency and financial savings through Re:fit

RE:FIT is a procurement framework and support service available to all public sector organisations in the UK.

Since 2009 it has been helping organisations to deliver “spend-to-save” environmental retrofit projects that both improve their buildings and, importantly, make substantial guaranteed financial savings.

Supporting transport and infrastructure projects

We have recently supported local authorities and delivery partners to progress a range of high value transport projects and keep them on track for delivery. Our support has included help to resolve contract issues, support with procurement processes, programme and project management and capacity building.