This is a time of profound hardship for consumers and businesses, amidst soaring energy costs and the threat of planned power cuts. In such a difficult environment, it was great to be part of an evening of temporary relief provided by the National Energy Efficiency Awards. Held on Friday 14th October at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, the Awards is an annual event which celebrates and encourages enterprises and partnerships that pursue two vital aims: providing energy saving resources to those who live in fuel poverty and developing innovative ways of cutting carbon emissions.

Scrutiny of the world’s energy industry has never been more intense. Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, every energy company has struggled with the unexpected speed of recovery from the pandemic. A global shortage was already pushing prices up and the events of 2022 have seen them go into overdrive. Fuel poverty has become a mainstream problem.

In addition, the imperative of halting climate change is increasing in importance daily. The urgency of the situation means that more and more private businesses and public bodies are getting involved in programs to improve energy efficiency, reduce consumption and develop carbon-free renewables. The role of the National Energy Efficiency Awards is much more important than simply giving a stamp of approval to the most effective initiatives. It is helping to change the way we think about energy. Next Energy believes passionately that new thinking will transform behaviour on personal, corporate, governmental and global levels.

What We Achieved at This Years Awards

At this year’s awards, we were shortlisted in four of the 22 categories, taking a set of gold, silver and bronze, as well as a special commendation.

As the winner of the Insulation and Fabric Installer/Contractor of the Year in a field of 20 nominees, we were recognised not only for the effectiveness of our ideas and the quality of our workmanship but also for outstanding customer service. Ultimately it’s the customer experience by which we’re happy to be judged, because an important part of our mission is to make a difference, both to the environment and to the individual.

We bagged second place out of 18 in the Renewable Heat Installer/Contractor category, an award we’re very grateful to receive because it recognises that while insulation is essential, without strenuous efforts to develop and deploy renewable solutions, only half the problem can be addressed.

One of our key priorities is to make energy consumption cheaper for those people, families and households who are most heavily affected by price rises. Our third placing in the Social Responsibility category is a very welcome endorsement of our efforts to help some of the UK’s most vulnerable communities.

Our fourth award was a special commendation for a Large Scale Project, with a value of more than £250,000. The scheme for which we were nominated was the Local Authority Delivery Phase 2 in partnership with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Local authorities all over the country are at the forefront of community schemes, administering local and national funds in areas of greatest need. The 17 shortlisted initiatives are all extremely impressive and the Liverpool councillor Rob Polhill expressed the objectives of our scheme very clearly:

“Making homes more energy efficient has a wide range of important benefits, including tackling fuel poverty, reducing carbon emissions and creating good quality jobs for local people”.

“The Liverpool City Region is proud to take the lead on this project, which will be delivered by local authorities across the North West and will make a difference to the lives of some of our most vulnerable and disadvantaged residents, as well as contributing to our progress to net zero carbon.”

How We Feel

Since the founding of Next Energy in 2016, we have dedicated our time and resources wherever we have identified the most pressing needs and the most feasible solutions. While we appreciate that awards have no direct effect on the realities of fuel poverty and carbon emissions, but to be recognised in this way encourages us to redouble our efforts to alleviate two of the biggest environmental and economic challenges of our time.

The Next Energy team enjoyed a splendid evening in the luxurious surroundings of the Hilton Birmingham Metropole and expertly hosted by Dan Walker the TV presenter and Strictly Come Dancing star. Providing his inimitable brand of sardonic humour as he presented the awards was the comedian and actor, Hugh Dennis, whose early career at Unilever no doubt gave him an insight into the challenges of product delivery and customer service. After the dinner and presentation ceremony, we took to the dancefloor to end the evening in the company of Toyah Wilcox and the RPJ Band.

The event was a celebration of the industry’s significant progress but did not distract any of us from the importance of our ongoing work.