MP praises Eaga
Front-bench Liberal Democrat MP Steve Webb has praised green support services provider Eaga for its carbon saving work and creating sustainable jobs in environmental protection sectors.
The Lib Dem spokesman for Energy and Climate Change was here to meet Cllr Wendy Taylor from Newcastle City Council who is responsible for Environment, Sustainability and Transport in the city.
He took time out to view Eaga’s new Electric Smart cars, which have just been acquired with (£4,000 – optional) of funding assistance from Cllr Taylor’s department.
Mr Webb also wanted to see how the FTSE 250 company’s activities were helping to cut UK carbon emissions and tackle social fuel poverty.
Based in Newcastle, Eaga was set up with a handful of staff in 1990 and has grown to become the UK’s largest provider of household energy efficiency solutions. Today it has more than 4,500 staff based across the UK and from operations in Ireland, India and Canada.
Working with national and devolved governments, all six major energy suppliers, local authorities and housing associations Eaga is currently visiting up to 3,000 households every day.
By installing a range of insulation, draught proofing, modern heating and renewable energy such as solar panels, Eaga is helping to make homes warmer, healthier and more affordable to heat. Its energy efficiency work will typically remove a tonne of carbon from an average home’s annual emissions.
Mr Webb said: “Building a low or zero carbon economy is gathering pace and bringing with it numerous opportunities for those businesses and organisations who can offer genuine solutions to help combat climate change. It is extremely encouraging therefore to see the work being done by Eaga and the environment sector jobs they are creating.
“I was also delighted to see just one example of how Newcastle City Council is supporting local businesses like Eaga by helping to fund their fleet of electric Smart Cars. As part of a city-wide sustainable travel policy, initiatives like this from Newcastle City Council are raising the profile of greener living.”
Ross Armstrong, Eaga’s Director of Communications, added:” “Whether as individuals or part of larger organisations we all have a responsibility to protect our environment for future generations. This is why we are building what we refer to as a green collar workforce at Eaga, who are committed to delivering energy and carbon-saving measures that make a real difference. Having a fleet of Electric Smart cars is just one way of how we are living up to our environmental responsibilities and I’d like to thank Newcastle City Council for their financial support.”
Notes to Editors
- Eaga plc is a green support services and outsourcing company. It is also the UK’s largest residential energy efficiency provider.
- Eaga was established in Newcastle in 1990 and operates across the UK and in the Republic of Ireland, India and Canada. It employs over 4,500 people.
- Eaga works in partnership with central and local Government, all six major energy suppliers, local authorities, social housing providers and is increasing its share of the able-to-pay private market.
- Since its inception, Eaga has made a positive difference to over 5 million disadvantaged households across the UK, by installing energy efficiency insulation and central heating.
- Eaga holds the contract to deliver the £1.5 billion Warm Front programme in England, the cornerstone of government's target to eliminate fuel poverty.
- Eaga was recently appointed by the BBC to deliver the Switchover Help Scheme to ensure eligible households can receive help making the switch from analogue to digital.
- Eaga is committed to co-ownership and 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.
- Since 2000, Eaga has invested over £3 million in the independent Eaga Partnership Charitable Trust which funds research into solutions to fuel poverty.