The coalition’s flagship initiative to improve the thermal performance of the UK’s existing housing and non-residential properties was officially launched on 1 October, but it needs to pick up considerable momentum if it is to kickstart the retrofitting revolution and energy saving benefits that government is hoping for.
A soft launch
A partial explanation for the lack of fanfare over the Green Deal launch is that consumers won’t actually be able to sign up to a Green Deal finance plan until 28th January 2013. The government insists that such a gradual launch is necessary to ensure that the technical requirements of the scheme are in place before it goes to the market – with the legal framework for the Green Deal now set, the launch gives Green Deal providers, assessors and installers time to become authorised, display the Green Deal Quality Mark (see logo below) and put in place the systems for delivering assessments to consumers. Despite the early rush to get Green Deal policy agreed and out in the open, policy makers have continually suggested that their flagship initiative will be a long term project with long term aims. Ed Davey, the secretary of state for energy and climate change, confirmed that, "It will be a gradual roll out because it is a new market: we should be looking ahead two, three, four, five years."
Incentives for the Green Deal are likely offered from January, to coincide with when the Green Deal Providers will be able to offer Green Deal plans to consumers and start to deliver the energy efficiency and heating measures.
In order to help those thinking of getting involved with the Green Deal, and dispel the notion that the Green Deal is too complicated for the market to take to, the government have created a series of quick guides to coincide with the launch. The guides are aimed at householders, owners, tenants and landlords. You can also read our introductory ‘easy guide to the Green Deal’ here.
Low take-up so far
As well as improved guidance, there has been some further Green Deal activity around the launch, although British Gas and home insulation specialists Mark Group were the only companies to offer Green Deal initiatives when the actual launch date came around. The presence of British Gas, who are already offering Green Deal assessments from £99, will have done little to alleviate concerns that a lack of customer confidence in the big six energy companies as a result of high prices and instances of poor service or mis-selling, could become a barrier for Green Deal take-up. There has been more interest in the initiative since the launch date, details of companies that are already registered as Green Deal Assessors, Providers and Installers are now listed on the website of the Green Deal Oversight and registration.
Potential Green Deal providers that the BWF has been speaking to have suggested that it would be well into 2013 before they were able to offer the Green Deal packages. BWF members could be forgiven for thinking that the Green Deal will turn out to be something of a damp squib, but if it is to take off, then supply chain relationships being formed at the moment will be crucial in determining who will benefit.
There has been some action on this. Carillion have recently been selected for a massive £600 million ‘Birmingham Energy Savers’ Contract, which is aimed at giving households affordable ways of improving their property by fitting energy efficiency measures such as insulation and new boilers under the Green Deal.
They will be working with Birmingham City Council to improve the energy and carbon efficiency of up to
60,000 households across the City, together with schools and other non-domestic Council properties. The scheme has the potential to the wider West Midlands area under a framework agreement worth up to £1.5 billion over eight years.
Birmingham is one of seven cities – Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield are the others – that the government had earlier this year confirmed would receive a share of £12m in funding to help them kick-start the Green Deal in their regions. The funding is to support proposals such as the retrofitting of properties across whole communities. Initial indications have suggested that the cities expect to deliver to around 2,500 retrofits to households and non-domestic properties.
What are the opportunities?
With the government endorsing a more holistic approach to retrofitting, there will probably be opportunities for joinery businesses to provide products both inside and outside of the scope of the Green Deal for use on Green Deal-driven projects. This is why BWF members need to pay close attention to developments and look at approaching Green Deal providers and installers, as well as getting the relevant accreditations where necessary. CITB-ConstructionSkills is among the organisations encouraging SMEs to register as a Green Deal installer with an appropriate accreditation body.
CITB-ConstructionSkills Chief Executive Mark Farrar commented: "If the Green Deal is to be successful, we as an industry must deliver a high and consistent quality of work to instil consumer confidence. That means, if necessary, upskilling and gaining the qualifications that are recognised under the Green Deal scheme."
Only installers possessing the appropriate qualifications and meeting the competency criteria will receive the Green Deal Quality Mark and will be authorised to deliver services through the scheme. Product manufacturers should note that the requirements relating to the products and systems that can be included in and installed under Green Deal Plans can be found in the Green Deal Code of Practice (latest version 27th September) under Annex D: Green Deal Products and Systems.
It remains to be seen whether the Green Deal work will for SMEs, or whether recent pronouncements are just a case of the government and large providers paying lip service to their stated aims. Earlier this year Carillion announced that it planned to break with its normal supply chain processes and work almost exclusively with small, local companies to deliver its Green Deal obligations. Grafton Group has made similarly encouraging noises.
Addressing delegates at a Green Deal conference in London earlier this year, John Swinney, group director for corporate services and strategy at Carillion, said the company be adopting a "very local" model of delivery when the Green Deal was to launch.
Mr Swinney said, "We want to work with very small, not just 'tier one' SMEs and we want to keep the wealth that is generated by the Green Deal and the jobs generated by the Green Deal in the places where the work is carried out.”
So, if the Green Deal providers keep their pledges and the market takes to the initiative, the project could indeed represent a huge opportunity for the construction sector. There are a number of question that still need answering, but here at BWF we will continue to provide advice and guidance through our news alerts, over the helpline and in documents such as our frequently updated Green Deal Guide.
