Grafton Group gains authorisation to act as a Green Deal provider

The Grafton Group has announced it has become the first building and plumbing company to be authorised to operate as a Green Deal provider.

Having pledged its commitment to the Green Deal in April 2012, the company will now be able to supply the full range of Green Deal approved products through its nationwide network of more than 500 branches. Furthermore, it will be able to assist its installer customers by providing training and accreditation.

All of its businesses — Buildbase, Plumbase, Selco and Jackson Building Centres — have specialists to advise on suitable products for the repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) markets. Such products include boilers, heating controls and insulation.

Paul Roche, Director of Sustainability and Renewables at The Grafton Group commented: “We are delighted to be the first builders and plumbers merchant to become an authorised Green Deal provider. There are exciting opportunities within the Green Deal and ECO and we are working hard to identify these and develop systems that will enable these to be realised. There are many market opportunities and we are developing solutions that will work for all our partners - SME installers, larger Social Housing installers and product manufactures. The key to any successful strategy is implementation and the critical element of that is the installer.”

The Green Deal initiative was launched by the coalition government in order to help households and business properties to become more energy efficient. It is also designed to stimulate the market and provide commercial opportunities for installers, helping them to grow their business.

In a bid to encourage homeowners to take advantage of the initiative, the government introduced the Green Deal cash back scheme which enables homeowners to receive up to £1,000 in cash for any energy saving home improvements made under the Green Deal.

Despite such incentives, uptake of the initiative appears to be sluggish. In November the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, Greg Barker, admitted that the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is still waiting for the first Green Deal assessment to be lodged on the official register.

Source : Julia Chan – Solar Panel Portal
www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/the_grafton_group_obtains_green_deal_authorisation