We are pleased to announced that we have been awarded the Social Enterprise Mark in recognition of our role as a leading social enterprise in our work reducing CO₂ emissions in the region and beyond.

Social Enterprises are organisations or businesses who are driven by social and

environmental objectives.  MEA has combined our charitable driving force (to help reduce CO₂ emissions) with an entrepreneurial ingenuity to deliver new products and services which help reduce the region's CO₂ emissions. 

What is the Social Enterprise Mark?

Social enterprises are leading the revolution for a better way of doing business and the Social Enterprise Mark is the brand for social enterprises. It identifies those organisations which meet defined criteria for social enterprise, for example allocating 50% or more of profits towards social and/or environmental benefit.

Who developed the Mark?

The Mark has been developed by the social enterprise movement for the social enterprise movement and it is administered by the Social Enterprise Mark Company, a joint venture between the Social Enterprise Coalition, the national body for social enterprise, and RISE, the social enterprise regional network for the South West. It's been researched and tested by the Central Office of Information, and sponsored by the Office of the Third Sector and Big Lottery Fund.  It's independently verified, with a great design and a great pedigree

Summer may or may not be over but now is definitely a good time to prepare your home for winter.  Leaving your loft and cavity wall insulation till later will mean joining the queue and possibly spending lots of money on heating when you do not need to.  You can be saving literally hundreds of pounds every year on your fuel bills for little outlay and you may even be eligible for free insulation measures! 

Now is the time to be contacting Keep Shropshire Warm (KSW) if you want to be warm and save on your fuel bills this winter. 

Jo Meakin, Keep Shropshire Warm manager, says:

" Householders can beat the rush by contacting us now for advice on loft and cavity wall insulation.  Prices are really affordable for most people and some households may even qualify for free insulation.  Whether you are a home owner or private tenant, now is the time to call us on 01743 277123."

KSW is located in Shropshire, provides independent energy efficiency advice and has assisted over 6,000 households since January 2008, saving householders some £830,000 annually and 4,500 tonnes carbon dioxide.

CAVITY WALL & LOFT INSULATION FOR ALL HOMEOWNERS AND PRIVATE TENANTS from JUST £99 ACROSS SHROPSHIRE.

If you are over 70 or in receipt of benefits you may be entitled to FREE insulation, subject to conditions and qualifying criteria.

For more information, Call the Keep Shropshire Warm Team

01743 277123 or visit the KSW website

MEA visited Lichfield to help the public do more about climate change and to help them reduce their energy consumption.

Many members of the public were drawn in by the Energy Bike which got many young people thinking about how energy is produced and how much energy is needed just to turn one light on (as well as how much less peddling the energy saving bulbs needed to light up!).  For some this is the first time that they've really thought about where energy comes from and how at present we are so reliant on the burning of coal and gas in power stations. 

The accompanying MEA stall had lots of information about renewable energy sources, many people were particularly interested in finding out more about Feed in Tariffs, the new initiative that means that for each unit of electricity that a new Solar PV Panel creates you would receive 41p, that's over twice as much as the price it costs to buy each unit, whether you use it or sell it!

The lowest carbon footprint of the day was 6,504 kg - he had a well insulated house, used electricity sparingly, didn't own a car and often cycled.

The public were interested in the large range of energy saving bulbs on display as well as the various sample insulation materials.  The Renewable Technologies stand, detailing recent renewable insulations in the area draw particular attention from those wishing to install their own renewable technologies, including wind turbines, solar hot water and solar PV.

Many people also took advantage of the energy saving devices which were available free of charge, 9 people took TV powerdowns and 32 took energy saving lights.

Another display showed people how they could continually monitor their energy consumption on WeSave, the online energy monitoring website and many left keen to investigate this further.

We have recently been working in partnership with Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and Leek Chamber of Trade helping to deliver a money saving and carbon busting project across Leek specifically aimed at small- and medium-size businesses.

Using funding provided by the Staffordshire Aggregate Levy Grant Scheme - a scheme intended to support environmental and community projects in areas affected by quarrying activity - six Leek businesses have now received free lighting surveys and generously subsidised low energy lighting makeovers.

The businesses involved (Colloco Homeware and Gifts, Monty's Fish and Chips, Photoprint, Avenue Interiors, CTD architects, and AH Brooks and Co Solicitors) have also been supplied with WeSave on-line energy monitoring accounts which use regular meter readings to build up an accurate picture of energy usage. Energy savings are made possible by installing low energy lighting, changing behaviour, by using low energy electronic goods, or by switching to more efficient and/or renewable heating sources. Changing light bulbs is probably the simplest way to begin saving energy, money, and reducing any businesses' carbon footprint, and it is this simple first step that has been taken in the last few months by small businesses in Leek.

The lighting makeovers took place in late June so data will emerge over the coming months which can be captured via WeSave and analysed to assess exactly how much money and electricity has been saved, and also to estimate reductions in carbon emissions. In total £2300 pounds has been spent on replacing existing lighting with low energy replacements across the six businesses, with each of the businesses involved providing 25% of the lighting costs. MEA estimate this will save the six business in the region of £2300 overall (i.e. the lighting should pay for itself in about a year) and will cut CO2 emissions by about 10 tonnes in total.

Keith Montgomery from Monty's Fish and Chips displays a low energy T5 fluorescent tube with electronic high frequency control gear. These replace older electromagnetic controls and use around 40% less electricity than a traditional strip light.

Keith Montgomery of Monty's Fish and Chips opted for the highest number of light fittings with a total of 68 bulbs and tubes being replaced. MEA estimate this £800 pound investment in low energy lighting should save in the region of 5,140 units or kWh (Kilowatt hours) of electricity per annum. This equates to an estimated cash saving of £500-£600 per annum (based on Keith paying on average 11 - 12 p per unit) or, in terms of carbon footprint, an amazing 2.7 tonne reduction in CO2 emissions! WeSave will enable Keith and other participating businesses to monitor their energy usage before and after the lighting was installed, giving them the opportunity to work out whether these estimated savings add up in real terms.

MEA in partnership with Leek Chamber of Trade are hoping to expand the lighting makeover work in Leek if further funding can be secured. It is envisage a similar package to the one described in this article will be offered to Leek businesses if more funding can be found. If any local businesses are interested in finding out more please get in touch with the Low Carbon Communities team at Marches Energy Agency via simon@mea.org.uk

We have already contacted a number of community building managers in the East Midlands regarding a free energy assessment and feasibility study which is being partially funded by Local Authority under the ‘Banish the Inefficient Community Building' project. The remainder of the funding for these potential studies is available through the BIG Lottery's ‘Community Sustainable Energy Programme' (CSEP), which can provide grants towards 75% of the cost of undertaking this work.

Yesterday (4^th August) MEA received notification form BRE, the managing agents of the CSEP grant fund, that the scheme will be closed to new applications at 1700 on Wednesday 1^st September.

If you have received a quote from MEA but have not yet submitted an application to BRE for the CSEP grant and still wish to participate in the project, we strongly recommend that you prepare and submit your application at the earliest possible opportunity. It is highly likely that this announcement by BRE will trigger a surge of application submissions, and if your organisation is to be able to secure a grant from the remaining unallocated funding, then time is very much ‘of the essence'.

As ever, we will be pleased to offer advice and guidance to any organisation with the final completion and submission of the application form. We continue to seek to enable as many community organisations across the East Midlands Region to benefit from this funding stream and from the Local Authority funding, which offers community groups an opportunity for a fully-funded, impartial study which will identify opportunities to reduce energy costs and secure CO₂ savings.

We are seeking to contact all prospective participants in this project individually to determine whether organisations still wish to be involved and to offer such assistance as may be required; please accept our apologies if you have already been contacted in this respect.

Should you require guidance with preparing your application, or if you have any other questions about the project, the please contact:

Mr Robert Saunders  01743 277116, or

Mr Joe Bentley  01743 277108.