What We Do

The National Energy Foundation is an independent educational charity, based at Milton Keynes in the UK, that works to help people and businesses combat climate change by reducing their carbon emissions through implementing energy efficiency measures and renewable energy sources. We undertake this through the following activities:

• Offering Information, Advice and more Technical Support
• Providing Infrastructure support, especially in the areas of Energy Certification and Standards
• Working in Education
• Undertaking Projects in collaboration with other organisations

Information, Advice, Consultancy and Training

As a charity dedicated to combating climate change, we are keen to offer as much information as we can freely to the public and organisations. We try and do this through web-based services, including information pages and interactive calculators, as well as through paid-for advice, including consultancy and training courses. Our main focus is on:

• Provision of free information and advice for UK residents through this website, including the Carbon Workout which will help reduce your personal carbon footprint;
• Web-based support and advice for organisations including a simple carbon calculator that can be used for monitoring, targetting and reporting CO2 emissions;
• Sustainable Energy Consultancy services for the public and private sectors;
• Undertaking Research into the more sustainable use and production of energy, and into public attitudes towards climate change;
• A programme of training and renewable energy seminars, that can be delivered at either the National Energy Centre in Milton Keynes or in your office.

Infrastructure Support: Certification and Standards

The Foundation's very first programme, in 1990, was to take a locally developed way of assessing the energy efficiency of new homes (the Milton Keynes Energy Cost Index) and extend to it provide national coverage for all types of home, new or existing - the National Home Energy Rating. Since them we have continued to provide support for energy labelling and certification schemes, as well as helping the fledgling renewable energy sector develop high standards through providing support for Trade Associations. Our current involvement in these activities includes:

• Managing the Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme, which provides independent recognition for achievements in energy efficiency in industry, commerce and the public sector, on behalf of the Carbon Trust;
• Energy Labelling for UK Homes through the National Home Energy Rating Scheme run by our subsidiary company National Energy Services Ltd;
• Helping develop international energy management standards, for example through our work in the UK Sector Forum for Energy Management (BSi), the CEN Task Force on Energy Efficiency Calculations and Savings, and the ASEAN Energy Managers Accreditation Scheme (AEMAS - PDF summary of the Phase I project);
• Supporting the Solar Trade Association and the Ground Source Heat Pump Association through provision of secretariat services;
• Working with the network of UK Energy Agencies and the EC's Managenergy Reflection Group.

Education

We are an educational charity based in Milton Keynes and have been working with children, school groups and local authorities for over 15 years, particularly in the South East Midlands and the East of England. We offer visits with the Green Energy Machine (GEM), presentations and teacher workshops, providing activities that are hands-on and fun. Our main projects in the area of Schools Energy Education include:

• GEM - the Green Energy Machine, an Energy Display Vehicle that can attend schools and events within a 100 mile radius of Milton Keynes;
• Dedicated web pages for schools
• A Renewable Energy Education service giving talks to local schools and community groups;
• Promotion of Renewable Energy Kits for use in schools;
• Development of an interactive web-based computer game called LogiCity that allows players to explore a 3D virtual city, and discover how their choices at home, in the workplace and their mode of transport may affect England's Climate in 2066.

Collaborative Projects

Many of the best solutions to reducing carbon emissions can be achieved by working with other bodies to provide integrated solutions, using energy efficiency and renewables, supported by education and information campaigns. Among the activities that the Foundation is carrying out in this field are:

• Pellets@las which aims to develop and promote transparency in the European sustainable wood pellets fuel market through removing market barriers, such as information gaps and local supply bottlenecks, production surpluses and uncertainties in quality assurance;
• The Green Concierge Scheme providing an innovative, personal service to homeowners from the London Development Agency, in partnership with Ten UK and the National Energy Foundation. Householders are able to reduce the part of their carbon footprint through implementing recommended measures through carefully trustworthy contractors, often gaining significant discounts on energy-saving equipment;
• Running the Shoppers Challenge with funding from Defra's Climate Challenge Fund to help shoppers understand some of the implications of everyday shopping choices through a dedicated website, a major exhibition in the centre:mk and an instore radio campaign in selected Co-op stores;
• Preparation of Sustainable Energy Strategies and Action Plans for UK local authorities, such as a study providing planning guidance and a guide for action in North Yorkshire, which can be downloaded from the Government Office for Yorkshire & Humberside website;
• Participation in T-Zero, a DTI-supported collaborative research project that is looking at ways of moving Towards Zero Energy Refurbishment Options in the domestic sector;
• The Green500, which is targeting carbon emissions reductions in London's largest companies;
• Participation in the cRRescendo project, which will lead to several hundred ultra-low energy homes in Milton Keynes;
• EurActive Roofer, an EU-funded project enabling the exchange of information between energy experts and roofing contractors, with a special focus on photovoltaics (PV) and SMEs in the two sectors. A summary of the outcomes of the project, as they relate to the UK, is maintained on our EurActive Roofer micro-site;
• Working with communities, for example in setting up locally based Climate Change Pledge Schemes;
• Old Home SuperHome, in partnership with the Sustainable Energy Academy, designed to demonstrate how to transform the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock by 60%, including working in solid-walled homes.

We are always interested in working in new partnerships at a local, national or European level, providing that they meet our primary aim of combating climate change through reducing carbon dioxide emissions by way of better energy management, energy efficiency or using appropriate renewable energy resources. Our expertise is centred around energy efficiency in buildings, small-scale integrated renewable energy, development of robust certification and standards and encouraging behavioural change. We do not receive core funding, so expect projects to be financially self-sustaining, as well as cost-effective in terms of carbon reductions.

If you have a proposal that you would like to talk to us about, please ring Dr Tim Lunel or Ian Byrne on +44(0)1908 665555, or send an e-mail to us.