Emtac runner up for business Care4Air award

Care4Air is run by the four local authorities of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield together with Travel South Yorkshire.The event was hosted at the Mercure St Paul’s Hotel  Sheffield. The awards were presented by Jon Mitchell,  Meteorologist, ITV Yorkshire . The categories people had been nominated under were Individual Award, Community Award, Education Award, Business Award and outstanding contribution to improving Air Quality.

Emtac were nominated within the business category along with Anita Brough, Aviva Sheffield, Bag it don’t bin it, B&B Press, Chesterfield Bio Gas, Gilder Van Centre Sheffield, Lois Clothing , Northside Truck and Van ltd, Old Moor Wetland Centre, PJ Taste, Stagecoach Yorkshire and Voluntary action Barnsley

Our award of runner up in the catogory of Business was for  working with Doncaster PCT to help them achieve their Carbon reduction target of at least 26% by 2020. They have already achieved the 15% reduction on Gas by implementing several initiatives including staff awareness training, heat control management, draft proofing and boiler inspections. The Electric target has also nearly been achieved and even some of the smaller things make the biggest difference such as implementing lighting sensors and by putting IT equipment procedures in place. In total to date they have achieved 166 tones of Carbon saving which to Doncaster PCT is £33,500 of savings.

Emtac also supported the awards by offering the 4 winners of the education category with a free energy Audit to help them identify potential savings and reduce their carbon footprint.

More information about Care4Air can be found at their website http://www.care4air.org/c4a_awards.html

Article by CIBSE Journal

Changes to part L of the building regulations have finally been announced by the government with the new amendments set to come into effect in October this year.

The new Part L 2010 will tighten up emission standards for new homes and non domestic buildings  The changes form part of the governments drive for every new home built from 2016 to be net zero carbon with all new buildings reaching the zero carbon standard from 2019.

The amendments to Part L will increase the minimum levels of energy efficiency for building fabric and services, so that the CO2 reduction targets cant be met through the use of renewable s alone.

Similar measures will apply to new work on existing buildings and will cover extensions and conversions, fabric renovations, replacement windows and boilers.

Article by Business Green.com

The Carbon Trust’s interest-free loan scheme for small and medium-sized firms aiming to improve their energy efficiency broke the £60m barrier this week, as the organisation again reiterated calls for businesses to take advantage of the scheme.

The government-backed company said it has now issued £60m of unsecured interest-free loans through its Big Business Refit initiative, helping 1,847 businesses to invest in new, energy efficient equipment in the past year.

The Carbon Trust said that collectively the small and medium-sized businesses accessing loans had cut their annual fuel bills by £20m and reduced carbon emissions by 130,000 tonnes a year.

The scheme, which provides loans worth between £3,000 and £500,000 to a wide range of energy-saving projects such as LED lighting installations and insulation rollouts, was hailed as a success by entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis.

“I’ve been saying it for a year now: helping firms buy the latest kit, so they can save on energy, while making themselves more competitive for future recovery, and cutting carbon emissions – it’s a no-brainer,” he said. “The fantastic thing about the Big Business Refit is that during some really tough times, it has provided SMEs with access to interest-free capital, giving thousands of businesses the confidence to keep going.”

The update came as the Carbon Trust released the results of a survey of about 400 senior finance executives, which found support for energy efficiency investment is rising. The poll revealed that four out of five finance directors believe investments in energy efficient equipment helps give their company a competitive advantage, while only six per cent said they are avoiding investment at all costs until the economic climate improves.

The picture contrasts sharply with similar research undertaken last autumn, which found that more than half of procurement decision-makers at smaller businesses planned to “make do and mend” with old equipment rather than replacing it.

“The significant increase in the uptake of our interest-free loans over the past financial year represents a win, win, win situation for SMEs,” said Hugh Jones, director of solutions at the Carbon Trust. “More than 1,800 firms have slashed their energy bills using interest-free cash to fund investments; plus more than 750 equipment suppliers have benefitted from increased sales generated by the support. And finally, it has provided a boost to cutting the UK’s carbon emissions.”

Time is ticking for manufacturers who need to reduce their carbon emissions before the government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) scheme kicks off in April 2010.

The CRC scheme will put a price on carbon emissions from energy use, enforcing organisations to buy allowances equal to their annual emissions. However, a ‘cap’ will be placed on the total allowances available to each group of CRC participants, in order to achieve the overall emissions reduction target.

Rising energy prices is one of the biggest worries facing British manufacturers in 2010 according to research released by The Carbon Trust on February 9.

More than half of manufacturers surveyed said they are worried about energy price hikes, yet more than one in 10 said no one in their organisation was responsible for managing energy consumption and controlling costs.

The research forms part of the Trust’s new ‘Best Advice’ campaign, launched by Kingfisher’s group ceo, Ian Cheshire.

The campaign aims to persuade British companies to stop wasting over £3bn of energy each year.

All businesses spending between £50,000 and £3m on energy each year can apply for a carbon survey which typically identifies potential energy cost savings of between 20% and 30%.

The survey provides the services of an on-site energy expert and a tailored energy-saving action plan.
The survey provides the services of an on-site energy expert and a tailored energy-saving action plan.

Gardening products manufacturer Marshall’s has significantly cut its energy costs and saved 2,000 tonnes of CO2 since receiving a Carbon Trust survey in 2008.

It is now urging other manufacturers to take advantage of what Mr Cheshire called “the best free advice any business will get this year.”

Marshall’s group marketing director Chris Harrop said: “Manufacturers, as energy intensive businesses, have a lot to lose from energy wastage. Smart energy management not only cuts costs but also makes manufacturers more productive and improves their reputation with customers.”

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Online PR News reports -Firms planning to invest in energy-efficient plant and machinery could be eligible for an interest-free loan of up to £500,000. The Carbon Trust has increased today the maximum value of the energy-saving loans it can make available to small and medium-sized businesses, in response to increased interest in high-value loans over the past three months

The Interest-free loans, made available as part of the Carbon Trust’s £100m ‘Big Business Refit’ campaign, are designed to ensure that repayments are covered through lower energy bills. Therefore, costs savings delivered after the loan is repaid go straight on the bottom line.

Any business that does not qualify for the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) or EU carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) is eligible to apply for the interest-free loans.

Around 800 interest-free loans had been awarded since the scheme was launched last year, and it remains on track to lend more than £100m over the next 18 months.

North East steel components manufacturer Astrum was awarded £400,000, and has used the money to replace its ageing air compressors as part of a project that is expected to cut energy costs by £80,000 a year.

Interest-free loans pay for themselves within years through energy savings

The loans scheme is part of the Carbon Trust’s Big Business Refit – a nationwide campaign encouraging British businesses to replace old, energy intensive equipment which wastes £3.3 billion a year. The money has been made available from the Carbon Trust’s loans fund. Loans will be available on a first come, first served basis.

UK retailers may soon be required to show how much energy they are using in order to boost knowledge of carbon emissions.

The British Property Federation (BPF), which represents commercial landlords in the UK, has been calling on the government to introduce display energy certificates (DEC) in shops and offices – and now the pressure may have paid off.

Politicians have agreed to consult on the matter in response to the recently-published Committee on Climate Change’s First Progress Report. 

At present, DECs only have to appear in buildings that are occupied by institutions providing a public service to a large number of people and have a total useful floor area of more than 1,000 square metres.

Patrick Brown, Assistant Director for Sustainability at BPF, said the organisation welcomes the government’s announcement.

“Building up energy performance data on buildings would allow us to easily benchmark and compare properties and would also give the public a greater insight into how well their own offices or chosen retailers are performing,” he explained.