The New Year has begun at a gallop for environmental initiatives regarding the built environment in the UK. We at whatgreenhome.com have written to the prime minister, leader of the opposition, minister for communities and local government, and the shadow minister, as well as our local MP, to inform them of the result of the poll conducted on whatgreenhome.com.

In the same correspondence we have reiterated our call for: the removal of VAT on the installation of energy-efficient home improvements; the reduction in council tax for properties with a high energy-efficiency rating; and the introduction of feed-in tariffs for micro-generation schemes, such as, electricity generated from photovoltaic cells that is sold back to the power companies.

It is heartening to read that we are not alone in our campaign. A cross party group of MPs is supporting the call from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) to cut VAT for all maintenance and home improvement work. An Early Day Motion tabled by Bob Russell MP (Liberal Democrat), Brian Binley MP (Conservative), Bill Olner MP (Labour), and Andrew George MP (Liberal Democrat) calls on the Government to reduce VAT from 17.5 per cent to five per cent on building repair and improvement work to existing buildings.

The politicians argue that cutting VAT would benefit millions of UK home owners by getting rid of rogue builders, help those who cannot afford vital repairs to their homes, bring empty homes back into use, and protect the countryside and UK heritage. They also state that reducing VAT in this area would make it easier for home owners to make energy efficient repairs and improvements to their properties, thus helping to make the UK’s existing building stock greener and more energy efficient.

The initiative comes as recent research by the Co-operative Bank reveals that the public is planning to make more conventional green improvements. Initiatives that used to be extremely rare are now starting to become much more mainstream, finds the survey. One in ten people are intending to install rainwater capture to their homes (11%), whilst adding solar panels is an idea that is being considered by seven per cent of those polled.

The bank estimates Britons are planning to spend £13bn on making their homes greener, based on the average amount spent per household (£551.75) x number of UK households (24.9 million - Office for National Statistics 2006) of those polled in a representative sample of 1555 adults in December 2007 by onepoll.com on the bank’s behalf. Imagine, how much higher that figure would be if VAT on the installation of renewable technologies was removed or reduced to five per cent as the FMB argues?

The Conservative Party leader, David Cameron, is a supporter of feed-in tariffs, having witnessed how successful the initiative has been in Germany, where a large percentage of the population generates its own electricity that is sold back to the country’s national grid. Greenpeace is a supporter of feed-in tariffs, which it says has generated over 250,000 ‘green collar jobs’ in Germany under the scheme since its introduction in 2001.

Regarding whatgreenhome.com’s third call for action – the reduction in council tax for properties with a high energy-efficiency rating – the British Gas council tax rebate scheme has now been taken up by 64 local councils. Under the initiative households that invest in home insulation from British Gas under this scheme will receive a rebate of up to £100 from their local authority. Some restrictions apply.

We would like to see council tax rebates broadened to include those homeowners who introduce energy saving measures and/or energy generation initiatives that have a net impact on the their CO2 emissions. The scheme could be monitored through Energy Performance Certificates, as part of the HIP packs that are now a requirement for all homes for sale in the UK. Of course, those not wishing to move or pay for a HIP in order to be assessed should not be penalised.

Instead, for those householders who would like to be assessed with a view to being able to save money through a rebate scheme, we suggest the government’s new Green Homes Service, which is being introduced from 1 April 2008 and will be administered by the Energy Saving Trust, could be a route to measuring energy performance in households. Those achieving high performance standards would be rewarded with a council tax rebate.

Let’s hope other organizations and individuals join in the clarion call. To return to where we began this opinion, 2008 has begun extremely positively with a number of bodies throwing their weight behind several initiatives pertaining to the built environment that if adopted will have a significant impact on reducing CO2 emissions in the UK. That, when all’s said and done, is the overriding intention.

As ever, we would be delighted to hear you thoughts on these and any other subjects of interest to you. CONTACT US. We will, of course, report back and publish what the politicians we have written to have to say in response to our letters.