Gerard Duggan

Archive for October, 2009

Employers urged to set up ‘green initiatives’ for workers.

Employees should be given more encouragement to work to reduce energy wastage in the workplace, the UK’s biggest union has argued.

Claiming that workplaces currently account for around 50 per cent of total UK carbon emissions, Unison has called for the government to do more to encourage employers to offer green initiatives and make ‘green champions’ out of their workers.

General secretary Dave Prentis explained that businesses can help in the fight against climate change by setting up initiatives such as cycle to work schemes or fair trade coffee breaks. He also pointed out that encouraging employees to switch off electrical appliances when they are not in use or switching to energy-saving light bulbs will help firms reduce their overheads.

“Unison already has a similar project running at Great Ormond Street Hospital for children and three other projects planned for launch later this year. These projects will help us to develop best practise green guidance that can be rolled out to workplaces nationwide,” he added.

Thanks to Mark Stephens

Green builders call for £10,000 home makeover loans

Local authorities should do more to encourage Britain’s homeowners to take out loans to give their properties a ‘green makeover’, it has been suggested.

Under the latest proposals put forward by the UK Green Building Council, households would be able to take out loans of up to £10,000 to allow them to make their homes more energy efficient.

This money would then be paid back gradually through their council tax bills rather than just through lower energy bills, as had previously been suggested by the government’s recently-unveiled ‘pay-as-you-save’ scheme.

Not only would such an initiative help improve the energy efficiency of around seven million UK homes by 2020, it could also create as many as 40,000 new jobs in the green sector, supporters argue.

Welcoming the suggestions, a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: “The government will soon be trialling pay-as-you-save schemes in several hundred homes across the country and we will also use what we learn from these pilots in our final decision on what form the scheme will take.”

Last month, Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud joined forces with the UK Green Building Council in arguing that, by investing in making homes more energy efficient, the government will help cut the utilities bills of millions.

Thanks to Emily Thomas