- Conference
- 2015 Energy Service Group Conference
- Date
- 23 February 2015
- Decision
- Carried
This conference welcomes the recent focus on domestic energy efficiency and the well documented gains a national programme of energy efficiency measures would achieve.
Conference also welcomes the role that UNISON has played in raising awareness of the gains that could be achieved by producing its report ‘warm homes into the future – meeting the UK’s energy challenges’
The UNISON report calls for a programme of measures to ensure every UK home is able to meet the Energy Performance Certificate at level C by 2030. This would be carried out by ensuring every UK home has a free full independent assessment and that any remedial works required would be carried out free of charge to low income householders or via interest free loans for those able to pay.
The net result of this programme would be to deliver average savings of around £650 per annum in homes with low levels of energy efficiency.
Conference notes that a comprehensive programme of measures would create in excess of 130,000 sustainable jobs which we could recruit members into, end fuel poverty, reduce reliance on gas imports, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offset any greenhouse gas emissions to enable us to meet our climate change obligations.
Such a programme although requiring up front funding would however within seven years start to make net returns into the economy and represents the best form of infrastructure investment possible.
Conference therefore calls on the SGE to;
1)Continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders to push the issue of domestic energy efficiency as a key policy response to higher prices.
2)Recognise that such an approach could present organising opportunities which Energy branches and the SGE could benefit from.
3)Produce a simple organising leaflet for energy workplaces highlighting the key messages of the UNISON programme
4)Continue to brief Energy branches and members on the benefits of this programme, the fact that UNISON has led on it and to counter more negative reforms which would not achieve the same positive impact.