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COMPLAINTS about water retailers have fallen for the first time since the majority of business customers in England were given the freedom to switch supplier. The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) has revealed in their newest report that most water retailers improved their performance during 2019-20 as written complaints from business customers fell by almost a fifth. It brings to an...

As different regions and sectors of the economy look to build back better from the COVID crisis, social value in government contracts is a powerful lever the public sector can pull to stimulate recovery. New CBI research shows that there is widespread agreement between business, charities and the public sector on the importance of embedding social value in central and local...

As part of their journey to become carbon neutral, Lambeth Borough Council in London has launched a new online Climate Action Hub, which allows residents, business and community groups to share projects, ideas and solutions to build a cleaner and greener local environment for themselves. The website is an opportunity to contribute to the evidence base and ideas that will...

OFGEM has unveiled plans to tackle unscrupulous energy brokers to protect microbusinesses. Two out of three microbusinesses use an energy broker when choosing their current energy contract and many of them benefit from the advice of a reputable broker. Ofgem found that a small number of microbusinesses were paying thousands more than they needed to in broker commission charges. According to the...

ENERGY demand has risen due to lockdown restrictions being eased, causing wholesale prices also to increase. In fact, research by Cornwall Analysis shows that the day-ahead power price (while typically remaining volatile) recently peaked at £33.10/MWh on 8 July. This is the highest price traded for the contract since pre-COVID lockdown. Sam Nicholls, analyst at Cornwall Insight, commented on the findings: “There...

Plans to decarbonise Scotland’s rail passenger services by 2035 have been launched today by Transport Secretary Michael Matheson. The Cabinet Secretary was speaking during a visit to ScotRail’s Shields Road electric fleet Depot where he unveiled Transport Scotland’s Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan Mr Matheson commented on the plan: “The current COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging and difficult time across...

Mayor of London has announced new projects that will improve Londoners’ access to nature. Two new woodlands spanning over 84 hectares will be created in Havering and Enfield with close to 140,000 trees planted in the newly acquired areas, which were previously inaccessible to the public. The woodlands will be located in London’s Green Belt, the majority of which is not public open space despite making up 22 per...

Iceland has announced that it has reduced its operational carbon footprint by nearly three quarters (74%) since 2011, aiming to be carbon neutral by 2042. The frozen retailer's footprint has fallen from almost 250,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2011 to just 46,000 tonnes in 2020. The significant reduction has been made despite Iceland increasing the number of stores it has nationally...

NatWest Group has become the first major UK bank to sign up to the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials. Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials is collaboration between financial institutions worldwide to enable harmonised assessments and disclosures of greenhouse gas emissions financed by loans and investments. Katie Murray, Chief Financial Officer of NatWest Group, commented on the announcement: “We are determined to...

Thousands of miles of new protected bike lanes, cycle training for everyone and bikes available on prescription will be rolled out under new plans to overhaul cycling and walking in England launched by Prime Minister today. The new plan aims to build on the significant increase in the number of people cycling during the pandemic, with a long-term vision to...