By Peter Makossah
Ambitious Nottingham City Council’s Greener HousiNG scheme has been honoured for its progressive energy efficiency programme for being shortlisted for a national innovation award Mojatu Online has established.
Through Greener HousiNG, thousands of homes have been retrofitted with energy efficiency improvements such as insulation, solar panels, and air source heat pumps.
Angie Lillistone, Head of Carbon Reduction Projects and Policy and Nottingham City Council said: “The challenge we have in Nottingham is that many of the homes were built before 1980 and have solid walls which makes them difficult to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
“We have found innovative ways to tackle this issue, for example by trialling a variety of approaches to whole-house retrofit measures which have explored the use of a range of new technologies to bring homes towards net-zero standards.
She added: “We are also supporting residents to reduce their bills and emissions further by installing low carbon technologies, like solar panels and air source heat pumps, and fabric measures, such as external wall insulation.”
A partnership project between Nottingham City Council and the Nottinghamshire borough councils has also been shortlisted for an MJ Award in the Innovation in Partnerships category.
The Green Rewards programme incentivises residents from across the county to take action to reduce their carbon emissions by offering monthly prizes for those who collect the most points.
In recognition of this work, the City Council has been shortlisted for the Innovation in Delivering Sustainability and Social Value category at The MJ Awards.
These awards celebrate the work of local authorities that are making a difference to the lives of residents across the UK.
Wayne Bexton, Director of Environment and Sustainability at Nottingham City Council, said: “I am delighted that we have been shortlisted for an MJ Award for our Greener HousiNG scheme.
“This vital scheme is improving homes in the city, making them more comfortable for residents while also reducing energy bills and carbon emissions.”
The Greener HousiNG team has been working to retrofit both privately owned and social homes, supporting the city’s ambitious target to be carbon neutral by 2028 and the City Council’s strategy to reduce instances of fuel poverty.
According to Government data, domestic buildings are the largest contributor to Nottingham’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
More than 350,000 tonnes of CO2 are produced by homes in the city per year and here are some of the highlights of the Greener HousiNG scheme, which include among others;
Installing retrofit measures on 1,036 homes between 2019 and 2022, reducing carbon emissions from domestic properties by 7% between 2017 and 2020,
>Having a pipeline of a further 829 homes to be improved in 2023 and improving the Energy Performance Certificates in homes in the city from 40% to 45% in one year.
As of January 2023, more than 140,000 actions had been recorded in Green Rewards by nearly 6,000 members.
Find out more information about Green Rewards and sign up to start collecting your green points here: https://notts.greenrewards.co.uk/
“This vital scheme is improving homes in the city, making them more comfortable for residents while also reducing energy bills and carbon emissions.”
Wayne Bexton,
Director of Environment and Sustainability, Nottingham City Council
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