Energy efficiency at the heart of our customer strategy

If we're to change energy in the UK, we need to take our customers with us on the journey and help them make best use of the energy we supply them with. We need to make sure that they all have every opportunity to reduce their energy consumption and equally, we have a responsibility to make our energy as affordable and our company as easy and straightforward to deal with as possible. We also want to reduce the environmental impact of everything that we and our customers do.

That's why we have launched a host of different initiatives to help everyone look at the changes they can make for the better.

Energy Efficiency Advice Given ( number of customers)

	2005	2006	2007
Resdential	20,316	27,450	27,593
Business	920	775	727
Total	21,236	28,225	28,320

Lifetime Carbon Saving from Energy Efficiency Products (%)

	2007
Insulation	42.5
Boilers	0.5
Lighting	52
New Tech	5

Total CO2 savings from EEC spend in 2007 were 6.4 mega tonnes over the lifetime of the products installed/supplied
New Tech = New Technology including Powerdowns, Ecokettles, Ground Source Heat Pumps and Intellegent Mains Panels
Insulation = Loft and cavity wall insulation installed in private homes, social housing and through the Heat Streets programme
Boilers = 'A' Rated boilers
Lighting = Compact Fluorescent Lamps and Luminaires

In 2007 we delivered a variety of products and services aimed at improving energy efficiency in customers' homes whilst delivering our Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) obligation. In total we spent over £50 million.

A total of 69,760 insulation measures were installed through a variety of channels, including Local Authorities, Housing Associations and directly in to private homes. These measures were a mixture of cavity wall insulations and loft insulations. In addition, millions of energy efficient light bulbs were distributed through these and other channels and through direct mailings and retail partnerships.

A number of other innovative and awareness-raising initiatives also took place:

Our online, interactive virtual house is a great way of showing customers how they can save energy in the home. Visitors to the site can click through every room in the house to see what energy saving measures they could apply to their own home. It gives information on how much money and how much carbon will be saved if each measure is applied, and gives a cumulative total if all the measures and products are taken up.

In October 2007 we also launched the Energy Challenge, with a charity incentive, designed to help customers see where they could reduce their energy usage. The Challenge is based around an online questionnaire, which asks users for details about their home, including heating systems, insulation, and other energy efficiency measures they may have installed. On completion of the Challenge, the customer is given details on the environmental-friendliness of their home and recommendations as to how they can reduce their energy use still further. About 15,000 people completed the Energy Challenge during the launch period and for every completed Challenge we donated £2 to the Woodland Trust, the UK's leading woodland conservation charity, raising £30,000.

In addition we opened an Energy Efficiency online shop with a range of energy-saving products such as energy saving light bulbs and kettles, as well as clever computer multi-plug units which automatically switch off any equipment linked to a computer when it's shut down ('Powerdowns'). 'Electrisave' devices - devices that help customers monitor their energy consumption - are also available, allowing people to see how much electricity they're using in real time, thus helping them cut back on the energy they use. Further products are also available and new products are being added all the time.

In addition, we also ran our Energy Efficient Lamps scheme in conjunction with the Lighting Association and we're currently supplying retailers with industry-leading brands of energy efficient lamps at very low subsidised prices.

Complementing this, we also used our existing sponsorship deals to increase awareness about energy efficiency. Our 'Carbon Footyprint' campaign was football's first nationwide environmental campaign, and was designed to encourage fans to make simple energy saving pledges which will help cut their own emissions and help reduce The FA Cup's carbon footprint. The total number of pledges made, as well as the total carbon saved will be communicated in next year's report.

Similarly, in 2006/7 we helped make Ipswich Town Football Club the UK's first ever carbon neutral football club, with over 3,000 fans making energy saving pledges through our 'Save your energy for the Blues' campaign. More details are available here.

To help those who were more vulnerable in our community, we spent over half of our total energy efficiency spend on priority groups. As part of this, we proactively contacted all of our customers who we thought were most likely to qualify for free energy efficiency measures, such as cavity wall or loft insulation.

We also rolled out our 'HeatStreets' initiative. HeatStreets is a major initiative to bring energy efficiency measures to whole communities. It supports the Government's aim to minimise fuel poverty through housing improvements across towns and cities. We, as well as a number of other organisations, work with selected local councils on joint funded projects to install a range of energy saving measures. To date, over 40,000 energy efficiency measures have been installed throughout the UK. This in turn has supported the delivery of affordable warmth strategies, as over 80% of measures have been provided free of charge to the most vulnerable home owners, or those who fail to qualify for Government sponsorships. Measures can include various forms of insulation, replacement gas boilers and full central heating systems.

Alongside HeatStreets, we also provided measures into Social Housing, through schemes in conjunction with Local Authorities and Housing Associations. A variety of measures, including loft and cavity wall insulation, Powerdowns, energy efficient light bulbs and ground source heat pumps, have been provided free of charge. In addition, our retail relationship with Morrisions has enabled us to be a market leader in transforming the energy efficient light bulb market. These products are now consistently and widely available at an affordable price.