Lloyd Cochrane, Head of Mortgages at NatWest, said:
“At NatWest, we seek to put the customer at the heart of energy efficiency interventions. Our Home Improvement Pilot has shown that not only are energy efficiency upgrades desirable, but with increased collaboration between Government and business – working hand in hand – they are achievable, as well as key to improving the country’s energy security and reduce the financial burden faced by consumers.”
Growth opportunities for UK business
There are also clear growth opportunities for UK business to develop a substantial supply chain for the sector, which policymakers and businesses must now consider carefully.
The results of the Pilot shed light on some of the main challenges facing a national rollout of energy efficiency measures, which encompass:
- The supply chain, which needs to be developed further
- The importance of improving social housing across the UK, not only to reduce energy costs, but also to stimulate scale in the market,
- The need to address the private rented sector, where tenants are often not in control of improving the energy efficiency of their properties.
About the Sustainable Homes and Buildings Coalition
Since the launch of the Sustainable Homes and Buildings Coalition by NatWest, British Gas, Worcester Bosch and Citizens Advice in 2021, our aim has been to raise awareness around the key blockers to upgrading the UK’s housing stock on a national level, taking a consumer-centric approach to the challenge.
Our work to date consists of launching our first report ‘Home is Where the Heat is’, with Lord Deben, former Chair of the Climate Change Committee, running two panel events at COP26 – one of which was the only blue zone event on energy efficiency, dinners with industry stakeholders and Parliamentarians, roundtables with Andy Burnham Mayor of Greater Manchester and Andy Street and the Mayor of the West Midlands.
Last year, in October 2022, we launched our second report in Parliament, which updated on our Home Improvement Pilot programme and set out key asks for the Government.
