CIS are delighted to announce the renewal of their energy and sustainability planning and policy advice contract with LB Wandsworth. LB Wandsworth use CIS's consulting services to ensure the planning process effectively delivers sustainable development in line with their Local Plan and The London Plan. “CIS has provided useful support to the Planning Service for a number of years. Their advice in relation to Planning Policy issues and expertise in evaluating the sustainability and energy elem...

London Metropolitan University have recently installed LED lighting as part of a wider scheme that has seen carbon emission reduced by 47%. T8 lamps and panels were replaced with LED upgrades at Holloway Road campus to help reduce energy bills by £55,000 a year and cut carbon emissions by 225 tonnes. For more information on this story please click here. Following on from the success of this story, CIS would like to offer our services to business to ensure you reach you own targets. If your bu...

Last week the amount of electricity generated from coal in the UK fell to zero several times. This historical low included zero coal-fired electricity late Monday night to Tuesday morning and over 12 and a half hours on Thursday. It is thought that this was the first time since 1882 that the UK has generated electricity from sources other than coal. These figures are a positive step in achieving the Government’s target of phasing out coal by 2025. Another positive is the increases of renew...

At the EDIE live conference on the 17th May it was identified that the changes to green policies were detrimental to many businesses decarbonisation plans. Within the conference, it was suggested the Government adjust its approach towards green policy to reach the UK’s broader climate goals. With 2015 resulting in energy efficiency becoming a ‘back seat’ to other issues along with heavy reductions and cuts to subsidies we would have expected to see an insight into the future of UK's energy po...

Following the meeting of the CIBSE CHP and District Heating group in Edinburgh last month there is a growing awareness of the opportunity in utilising surface water source heat pumps (SWSHP’s),  for more information contact CIS today to find out if this is this a possible solution for your project and its potential commercial viability. We can outline how these systems work, the level of RHI funding that can be achieved and provide an outline feasibility report as a first step. 13th May 2016

A recent study by IEMA, considers what sustainability professionals think of Brexit. With many recent changes to environmental policy, the uncertainty of subsidies and where next in the environmental sector may be affected by the outcome of the referendum. The study by IEMA shows 72% of sustainability professional’s think that operating within the EU will create a more stable policy landscape along with 61% thinking that leaving the EU will have a negative impact on their business. The UK hav...

With the ultimate deadline for ESOS occurring on the 29th April thousands of businesses were unaccounted for. Approx. 3,000 companies are at risk of enforcement action, the Environmental agency are contacting these organisation currently to review each case. DECC has previously suggested that ESOS could save businesses £250m with only a 5% reduction in energy bills were achieved through the scheme – it is now thought these savings could be even greater. If your business is interested in revie...

The New Mayor for London, Sadiq Khan has the ambition of being the ‘Greenest Mayor ever’ with an ultimate aim of London running on 100% green energy by 2050 - this is a bold statement however is has the potential to make London at the Centre of the fight against Climate Change. Within his manifesto, Sadiq Khan includes: Banning Fracking within London Planting 2 million trees More Electric Buses Expanding the Ultra-Low Emission Zone Attempt to divest the London Pension Fund Authori...

The Berkeley Group has committed to becoming the first major housebuilder in Britain to become carbon positive, taking a stand against the lack of green policies. A 2 year plan to deliver a 10% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions per person has been unveiled which will involve an internal carbon tax and carbon offsetting scheme with the aim of offsetting more carbon than is produced. Announcing the ambitious new target as part of the next phase of their long-term business strategy, Our Visi...

Over the last four years there has been a growing trend in businesses generating their own power; recent Ofgem data highlights that the number of businesses has doubled in this time and studies have identified that independent generators have invested over £376M in 2015 installing over 1,000 commercial-scale renewable projects. Businesses have been shown to be the most active in renewable energy over the last year with retailers, wholesalers, supermarkets and warehouse roofs suited to Solar P...