Energy
efficiency specialists, Green Heat, has reached a major milestone - the
award-winning company has saved 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2).
As global carbon
emissions reach an all-time high, this is a significant achievement for a small
family business.
Since it was
established 30 years ago by founder and managing director, Peter Thom, this
dedicated team has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the impact of
climate change and lobby for robust regulations that will reduce carbon
emissions and help more consumers live in warmer, energy efficient homes.
“While activists have
helped to bring climate change back on the agenda, we have been working hard
for the last three decades to bring about positive changes,” said Peter Thom.
“And we have made a difference.”
In the last twelve
months, Green Heat has worked on over £706 million worth of construction
projects and seen the number of homes they have helped to become zero-carbon
double. “We are definitely seeing a positive shift in people’s attitude to
reducing carbon emissions,” said Peter. “Where cost was once the number one
consideration, greater awareness and better understanding of energy efficiency
and environmental concerns is leading more people to re-prioritise. This is
hugely encouraging, but there is still a long way to go.”
With another general
election around the corner, Peter Thom is urging politicians to stop using
climate change as a political football to win votes and instead focus on
listening to industry to help ensure the targets set are realistic and
achievable.
“Our planet is too
precious for climate change to be a political issue that is kicked around by
the different parties competing for headline-grabbing soundbites. Sadly, we are
hearing ill thought-through promises and pitches from politicians who won’t engage
with the very people who can help to make real progress. Politicians need to
demonstrate they are committed to reducing carbon emissions by making serious
moves to work with those who have been working to these ends for decades.
“We have consistently
called for government to work more closely with industry to establish an
integrated energy efficiency policy. We have worked hard to make previous
schemes work, but despite regularly raising our concerns with government so
improvements could be made, misleading information and unpoliced regulations
have continued to leave consumers and businesses frustrated, confused and let
down.
“We
know that gas is by far the cleanest fossil fuel and is connected to a very
high percentage of homes and businesses in the UK, but our homes are still
among the least energy efficient in Europe. Older housing stock and private
rented properties account for a large number of fuel poor households.
Significant carbon and cost reductions can be made by replacing older boilers
and heating controls with high efficiency ‘A’ rated boilers and smart controls
that achieve system efficiencies close to 100%. Householders need support to
achieve carbon emission targets. Consistent policy that provides financial help
to fuel-poor households and investment for training engineers will help
persuade people to make these improvements.
“Another concern is
the current production of electricity that is also producing high levels of
carbon emissions. The UK is burning gas to generate electricity from
gas-powered power stations that are only around 30% efficient. We need a
sensible pathway towards achieving zero-carbon emissions and a cross-party
approach to discussing solutions with industry and consumers is essential to
making headway.
“There are
important lessons to be learned from the failure of previous schemes,” added
Peter. “Being on the front line with consumers, heating installers are in the
best position to know what is needed and workable to protect, engage and
educate homeowners on all home heating and energy efficiency measures, so
engaging with them must be an absolute priority when considering the
implementation of any new initiatives.
“I have worked in the
industry for over 50 years and have seen numerous schemes come and go, with
increasing red tape and bureaucracy frustrating their progress and complicated,
changing qualification criteria leaving consumers confused and reluctant to engage.
It saddens me to see barriers put in the way of progress.
“It’s
essential that future initiatives can be trusted by consumers, take into
consideration the needs of small businesses and are robust and flexible enough
to work with new technologies and future changes to energy supply. The costs of the failure of previous energy efficiency schemes have
been more than financial, with many smaller companies forced out of business as
a result of their breakdown.”
Peter continues to
champion energy efficiency and the reduction of carbon emissions to slow
climate change in a bid to safeguard our planet. He and Green Heat have had
important successes throughout their campaigning, including the introduction of
Energy Ratings in the 1990s and the establishment of high efficiency condensing
boilers as a standard requirement in Building Regulations. His trusted and
widely respected expertise has been called upon to inform many advisory panels
and he has won numerous awards in recognition of his dedicated work in energy
efficiency. He also remains committed to ensuring that the valuable experience,
advice and knowledge of heating engineers and installers is properly heard and
considered in planning future initiatives.
“I welcome any
proposals that will improve the energy efficiency of homes in this country, but
regulations designed to do this must close up any loopholes and have to be
enforced if we are to reduce fuel poverty and meet our commitment to reducing
carbon emissions by at least 80% by 2050.
“Government needs to
demonstrate that they’re listening to and acting on the guidance and successful
measures introduced by the people and organisations in the industry who have
long been actively campaigning on these issues for many years. We must work
together for the good of our people, industry and our planet. There is no
Planet B!”
