Inbuilt founders quit as consultancy heads in new direction

David Strong and Neil Cutland have resigned from their posts as chief executive and executive director of sustainability consultancy Inbuilt.

Strong formerly headed the environment division of BRE and established the UK Green Building Council. He launched Inbuilt three years ago to offer advice on sustainable design, and is an occasional columnist for Building.

Cutland was a founding director of the firm and led its work on low and zero-carbon buildings.

Strong said he and Cutland had left to set up a new venture but declined to give any details of what it will be. He said: “I left Inbuilt to give myself the freedom to develop a couple of things that I can’t talk about at the moment.” Strong added that the departure had been “entirely amicable”. He said: “There was no blood on the carpet.”

It is understood that he and Cutland will continue to be involved with sustainability. The move coincides with a new direction for Inbuilt, which is part of renewable energy developer RES Group, which is owned by Sir Robert McAlpine.

The firm was known for its expertise on the Passivhaus standard and took on a variety of new build projects. Its best known scheme was an ultra-low energy home for dogs in Shropshire, which was covered in the national press.

Built for the Dog’s Trust charity, it included photovoltaic panels and a wood-pellet-fuelled boiler. Inbuilt will now concentrate on advising companies on energy management and renewable technologies including how to take advantage of feed-in tariffs.

Stefan Foster has been appointed interim managing director.