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Eaga growth a dead CERT

Leading green support services company Eaga has today announced it has agreed terms to work with all six major energy suppliers on the delivery of their obligations under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Targets (CERT).

The Newcastle-based company has also just signed a partnership with EDF Energy to distribute 8 million low energy light bulbs to social housing tenants across the country.

These framework agreements will generate considerable growth for Eaga, as demand for domestic energy efficiency grows. Indeed, CERT spending over the next three years is expected to exceed £2.8 billion – double the expenditure on the previous three years from the scheme’s predecessor the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC).

The Government-set CERT require energy suppliers to cut household carbon emissions by helping their customers make their homes more energy efficient – and in the process more affordable to heat.

Loft and cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation and encouraging households to replace traditional light bulbs with the more efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, are all included within CERT. Renewable energy technologies such as solar heating are also expected to become CERT-approved installations and Eaga is ideally placed to offer these solutions.

The European Commission has set the target of cutting carbon emissions across the region by 20 per cent before 2020. In the UK, the House of Commons is currently discussing the Climate Change Bill, which includes targets to reduce emissions by between 26 per cent and 32 per cent by 2020, and by at least 60 per cent by 2050. CERT will be a key instrument in reaching these targets.

John Clough MBE, Eaga Chief Executive, said: “Improving energy efficiency is widely regarded as the most practical and cost effective way of cutting both domestic carbon emissions and fuel bills. Simply installing the recommended level of insulation can save a typical household around £300 on annual energy costs and remove a tonne of carbon.

“CERT clearly forms an important part of Government efforts to raise residential energy efficiency across the UK. Its expansion is contributing significantly to our continuing growth and I am delighted we are now working with all the energy suppliers.

In another innovative partnership arrangement under CERT, Eaga has been chosen by EDF Energy and the Housing Corporation to distribute low energy light bulbs to two million vulnerable households across the UK.

Each household will receive four light bulbs with a lifespan ten times longer than regular light bulbs and an energy usage 80% less than a standard one. In total the scheme aims to save 1.14 million tonnes of CO2 over ten years – equivalent to taking more than 100,000 cars off the road every year.

For further information contact:
Rik Kendall
Media Relations Manager
0191 345 8342
rik.kendall@Eaga.com

 Note to editors:

  • Eaga is the UK’s largest residential energy efficiency provider. The company is a leader in the provision of innovative and sustainable services, products and solutions that address the environmental, social and energy efficiency objectives of Government and the private sector both nationally and internationally;
  • Working in partnership with central and local government Eaga is positioned at the heart of policy-making and front-end delivery of social and environmental improvement programmes. Eaga operates across the UK and in the Republic of Ireland, India and Canada employing over 4,000 people;
  • Eaga was established in Newcastle in 1990 to lead government funded efforts to improve the living conditions of vulnerable people living in cold, damp and energy inefficient homes across England. Since its inception, Eaga has made a positive difference to over 5 million disadvantaged households across the UK, by installing energy efficiency measures;
  • More recently the company has built a national footprint of 30 key locations and has diversified to become a leading provider of residential energy efficiency measures for utility companies under the Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT), and a large and rapidly growing supplier into the social housing sector;
  • Eaga plc completed its admission to the Official List on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange on 7th June 2007;
  • Prior to listing Eaga was employee owned, and at flotation the company’s employees continued to hold in aggregate 51% of the issued share capital;
  • Over £104 million was distributed to employee Partners following Eaga’s flotation, with some level of financial reward being made to every Eaga employee, further motivating employee shareholders of the company by providing them with visibility on the value they have brought to the business;
  • As a partnership business, Eaga is one of only a handful of UK organisations where every employee with over a year’s service is entitled to a share in the success of the business. Eaga’s commitment to Partnership is an integral part of the values that define the ethos of the business and what it means to be an Eaga employee (Partner);
  • Since 2000, Eaga has invested over £3 million in the independent Eaga Partnership Charitable Trust which funds research into solutions to fuel poverty

For further information contact:
Rik Kendall
Media Relations Manager
0191 345 8342
rik.kendall@Eaga.com