Companies join forces to offer staff insulation perks

News Article - 23 May 2012
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Many of the country's largest companies have come together to offer more than 250,000 staff discounted home energy efficiency improvements. Accenture, Aviva, HSBC and Sainsbury's are leading the initiative to increase investment in domestic insulation.

The improvements will be offered through Sainsbury's Energy, a partnership between the supermarket and EDF. The scheme forms part of the government's 'Act on C02' campaign, and additional incentives are to be offered to encourage uptake. If the initiative is successful, it is likely to be expanded to include other large firms operating in the country.

The initial scheme is offered through the government's new 'Warm Homes, Green Homes' strategy, which was launched earlier this month. The strategy helps to reduce energy bills through insulation and other eco-friendly improvements, and includes plans for a 'pay as you save' loan scheme.

Overall, it aims to provide eco-upgrades to up to seven million British households by 2020 as well as securing as many as 65,000 jobs in the green home refurbishment industry. The government wants all UK lofts and cavity walls to have insulation by 2015. Last year less than one in 10 homes had the recommended amount of insulation, leading UK homeowners to waste more than £500m on energy bills. It is estimated the average household can save £160m by insulating lofts and cavity walls efficiently.

The staff insulation initiative is the latest green announcement from Sainsbury's supermarket, who recently announced they were cutting energy requirements at the Durham store despite increasing the size by 50%. A combination of new technologies, including advanced refrigeration and onsite renewable generation, will cut energy use in the larger store by 10%. These measures will render the extension carbon-neutral within two years.

The scheme highlights the governmental pressure on companies to show improved green credentials. Over the next few years the number of businesses ramping investment in eco-friendly schemes is likely to increase. With the introduction of the Carbon Reduction Commitment, firms face mandatory compliance regulations that will scrutinise corporate green investments regularly and punish those that fall short of the mark.

As the Sainsbury's scheme and similar initiatives gain traction, mid-market companies in the supply chain will come under increasing pressure to be greener. Businesses should prepare early to invest in green initiatives - especially those that will help to reduce costs longer term - and start developing company infrastructure to increase resilience. Reporting carbon emissions is the first step: unless the company has access to key metrics on the carbon-intensity of operations, it will be difficult to drive the behavioural change required to economically increase investment in green-related projects.

For more information, please call Access on 0845 345 3300.

Article keywords: Reporting carbon emissions, Carbon Reduction Commitment, Sainsbury's Energy, Act on C02, Warm Homes Green Homes, mid-sized enterprises, carbon footprint reduction

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