Society’s help to have greener homes earns ‘pioneer’ status
A finance company has awarded a Leicestershire building society with “Pioneer” status for its green mortgages.
Staff at Hinckley & Rugby Building Society are delighted after achieving the status with the Green Finance Institute’s (GFI’s) Green Home Finance Principles (GHFPs).
Their products align with the four core components of the principles and provide an affordable option to existing borrowers to retrofit their properties to make their homes more energy efficient.
The GHFPs have been developed to support the marketing around the financing of energy efficiency improvements, climate resilience measures, or the reduction of carbon emissions in domestic properties.
Colin Fyfe, pictured, chief executive at Hinckley & Rugby Building Society, said: “We wanted to provide an affordable option for borrowers looking to reduce their carbon footprint by retrofitting their homes.
“It is our responsibility to make this easier for them and to actively show our commitment to becoming a more environmentally-friendly organisation, which is why we launched our suite of green mortgage products.”
Hinckley & Rugby said that its green mortgage products allow existing members to access additional borrowing at competitive rates, with at least 50 per cent of the funding required to go towards green retrofitting improvements.
These adaptations can include the installation of heat pumps, cavity wall insulation and renewable energy generation measures such as rainfall capture.
Research by the Environmental Agency found that homes account for 30 per cent of the UK’s total energy use. Hinckley & Rugby said they wanted to play a part in reducing this figure.
The Government has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and how consumers use energy in their homes plays an important role in reaching this target.
As a result, the government is already starting to consider introducing legislation that will require all rented properties to have a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least C from April 2025.