Mark Jenkinson

The Welsh Local Authority municipal waste statistics for 2023-24 were published this morning. Key results: * The recycling rate (percentage of local authority municipal waste that was prepared for reuse/recycled/composted) increased by 0.9 percentage points from 65.7% in 2022-23 to 66.6% in 2023-24 * Residual household waste per person decreased by 2.1%, falling from 172kg in 2022-23 to 168kg in 2023-24. * There has been a significant decrease in the proportion of waste disposed of via landfill (falling from 42.0% in 2012-13 to 0.9% in 2023-24) https://lnkd.in/eTaPEFZg

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A short note on the #CPI for July 2024, focusing on #electricity and #water tariffs and #property rates. https://lnkd.in/ecF-Wf2Y

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In Scottish Housing News "A retrofit summit in Glasgow a month from now will look at the work taking place to retrofit homes at individual, community and at-scale levels, with an emphasis on the needs, perspectives and objectives of local projects in Glasgow and the city-region and current themes, policies and practices in the sector. The online summit - taking place in the mornings of 11, 12 & 13 February - is part of the Glasgow City Region Retrofit Action Week, hosted by Glasgow City Council between 8-16 February, with the latter providing an annual spotlight on retrofit activities taking place across Glasgow and the city-region." Barbara Lantschner nice photo ! #Glasgow #housing #retrofit https://lnkd.in/e9KGihqU

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The Landfill Disposals Tax for Wales statistics for January to March 2024 were published at 9.30am today. Key findings for waste disposed to landfill in the period April 2023 to March 2024: * The 272 thousand tonnes of waste disposed at the standard rate in April 2023 to March 2024 was 34% lower than in April 2022 to March 2023. * There were 1,054 thousand tonnes of authorised disposals overall. This is a decrease of 14% when compared with April 2022 to March 2023. Decreases in standard rate disposals and relieved and discounted disposals were partially offset by a smaller rise in lower rate disposals. * Fines material accounted for 41% of the weight of waste disposed at the lower rate of tax https://lnkd.in/ePq-anB7

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Project funding in the water space is a hot topic at the moment given the mix of ambition and constraints. Interesting to see fully financed solutions springing up for infrastructure projects, in the case metering. More options and competition can only be a good thing and improve outcomes for customers. This model won't be right for everyone but partnering our supply chain experts with our utility team led by Alex Atkins we can help customers find a model that works for them.

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In Inside Housing The UK Government has said that changes to Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) will be introduced in the second half of 2026. In a consultation published on the 4th of December, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government proposed that EPCs should be based on four metrics rather than one, to provide a “more complete representation” of building performance. #Government #epc #Housing https://lnkd.in/ekd-QsR2

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There has been quite a lot of discussion about National Parks recently in Scotland with the nominations process and then Galloway being proposed as the third in Scotland. Sometimes you see things said in articles and on-line that don’t seem to tie in with the reality. Anyway in the Cairngorms National Park we have just announced the 18 recipients of our £370,000 Climate Adaptation Fund including estates, farmers, businesses and communities. The projects cover wildfire preparedness, flood management, energy etc. I think this is a good example of having a long term plan for an area (National Park Partnership Plan) and then having the resource to help deliver it on the ground. Lots of examples of this and more to come with Cairngorms2030. #climate #environment #business #adaptation #Cairngorms #NationalPark Cairngorms National Park Authority https://lnkd.in/ePjh5U5H

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Did you know, the Net Zero Go knowledge library includes more than 950 guides, articles and tools to help you deliver Net Zero energy projects in your area? Find key case studies, build your business plan, improve your funding applications, and gain a better understanding of everything from solar PV and battery storage to fleet decarbonisation and climate adaptation - all in one helpful, easy-to-use place!

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Dundee City Council looking at the type of delivery model that could be developed to deliver heat networks at scale through funding from The Scottish Government Heat Network Support Unit. In my opinion this is the biggest question we face in developing Heat Networks to serve up to 40% of Scotland’s homes - not the technical challenge. We know how to build energy centres and put pipes in the ground. Who we partner with, how we fund them and how we guarantee a fair energy price for households, well that's the challenge. #heatnetworks https://lnkd.in/eckjRsix

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#PublicSector organisations: a reminder that Phase 4 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is OPEN! You have until 25th November to apply for funding for heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures. To read more, see link in comments. #PSDS #PublicSector #Decarbonisation #BuildingDecarbonisation #CleanHeat

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Speaking time today. Join me and a host of other speakers discussing all things heat and heat decarbonisation for Wales. #decarbonisation #heatdecarbonisation #heatnetworks

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New article from me on taking a retrofit first approach. My focus here is on the commercial sector. My argument is that while there is a lot of very positive activity in terms of retrofit across the commercial sector, there is still some way to go. I then go on to discuss costs and financing, and the data challenge/gap/opportunity... Note that the article is behind a paywall but you can sign up for a 3 month trial for free. And if you sign up, you can read my other articles. Comments are welcome. And as always, if you're interested in discussing your approach to ESG, do get in touch for an initial chat. The Property Chronicle Stephen Yorke Ian Carter #esg #esginrealestate #propertychronicle #retrofit #retrofitfirst #commercial https://lnkd.in/e2wnPhNF

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The Salix funding window has opened – get ready to apply. After much anticipation, Phase 4 of the Salix Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme finally launched on 23rd September. This scheme provides capital funding between 2025 and 2028 to support public sector organisations in decarbonising heat sources in their existing buildings. The scheme has shifted from a ‘first come, first served’ basis to a targeted allocation based on the best value carbon savings, so focus on cost and the proposed technology, as applications with a lower carbon cost are more likely to receive funding. Guidance has now been published and Salix is running a series of webinars alongside their support and guidance notes – you can find out more here 👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/eeDDFi5S The portal will open mid-October and close on 25th November - this may be the only application window so we're advising our clients to act quickly. For more on how Ridge can guide you through the process, contact Chris Rogers MRICS at [email protected]. You can read our Insights article for more information 👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/eSdmHacR #Decarbonisation #NetZero #Salix #Funding #PublicSector

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My thoughts on the latest government figures on fuel poverty

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#GeneralElection24 #GeneralElection2024 We'll be responding to some of the #Planning policies in the manifestos from the major political parties. Today it was the Liberal Democrats 👇

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🔊"Planning reform is not just necessary, but essential, if Labour is to deliver on its commitment to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years as well the clean power system the country needs to reach #netzero." 📄 BRE's CEO Gillian Charlesworth responds to King Charles' State Opening of Parliament following the general election earlier this month, which confirmed the introduction of a new Energy Independence Act which will set in motion the creation of a new, publicly-owned investment body called Great British Energy. "Urging caution is also necessary: planning reform alone will not act as a magic remedy for all Britain’s building problems. We need better buildings as well as more buildings."   Key figures from organisations have also responded, including those from: Corporate Leaders Groups, Climate Group, Aldersgate Group, Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), Environmental Industries Commission (EIC), Green Finance Institute, UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), E3G, Wavin, Oxfordshire Greentech, RenewableUK, Octopus Energy, OVO, Ashfords LLP, SWEEP, City to Sea, A Plastic Planet, PlasticFree.com, Biffa, Friends of the Earth, The Wildlife Trusts. Read full roundup from edie here: https://lnkd.in/e-ikyaij #climatechange #netzero #ESG #zerocarbon #builtenvironment #kingsspeech

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Investment in sewerage infrastructure - One of the clearest breakdowns I have seen so far of the Ofwat investment proposal.

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A timely news story just published. Yesterday, as part of keeping current, I attended the Women on Boards UK Greenwashing webinar. Today's news, the EU is getting tougher on greenwashing. Data points to 53% of green claims being vague, misleading or unfounded, with 40% having no substantiating evidence. The aim here is to ensure that ecological claims are systematically substantiated and verified. "The central idea is that before using a green label, a retailer must gather all the evidence to support the veracity of its claims. In addition, an independent verifier will have to ensure that the evidence is correct and sufficient to meet all the requirements of the directive", explains Miriam Thiemann, Policy Officer for Sustainable Consumption at the European Environmental Bureau. Having worked in advertising in my early years, everything had to be supported and evidenced before we would even consider making a claim. Running things through with advertising standards was part of the course. Today, the ASA uses AI to proactively trawl the internet to find unsupported greenwashing claims, accounting for c. 30% of all reported breaches of the Green Claims Code 2021. The regulations in this space are coming thick and fast, and it's the role of the board to keep on top of this evolving landscape of green and social claims, and ESG reporting obligations. Also, consumers are savvy. They are getting wise to brands that fall short of their expectations - and they don't stay silent about it. #greenwashing #regulations #carbonneutral #social #ESG https://lnkd.in/eAtxtz5E

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