Changeworks records biggest impact yet but more needs to be done to achieve net zero
In the context of the accelerating climate emergency and energy crisis, Changeworks’ goal to decarbonise Scotland’s homes has never been more important.
Changeworks, Scotland’s leading environmental charity, has achieved its biggest impact to date in reducing carbon emissions and helping people in need of energy advice. In the context of the accelerating climate emergency and energy crisis, Changeworks’ goal to decarbonise Scotland’s homes has never been more important.
In 2022-23, Changeworks worked in collaboration with 25 local authorities and registered social landlords across the country to improve their housing stock and provide energy advice to householders. The past year saw the charity install over 7,700 energy efficiency measures and support householders to save £4.06 million on their energy bills, or through income maximisation. This will make a vital difference at a time when more and more people are in fuel poverty in Scotland.
Changeworks also supports social housing providers to comply with energy efficiency legislation, such as Energy Efficient Standard for Social Housing (EESSH2). In 2022-23, Changeworks completed an EESSH2 analysis across almost 90,000 properties across the country and helped 8 local authorities to develop Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES), providing guidance and support on their net zero journey.
Scotland has some of the leakiest homes in Europe when it comes to retaining heat, with as much as a third of a home’s heat is lost through the walls. Reducing carbon emissions from our homes is therefore key to meet Scotland’s net zero targets. Focusing on energy efficiency, low carbon heating and renewable technologies allows for a reduction in carbon emissions, whilst making homes warmer and lowering energy bills. Over 1 million homes in Scotland need to convert to zero or low emissions heating systems by 2030 to meet our net zero targets.
Changeworks Chief Executive, Josiah Lockhart said:
“The past year has seen Changeworks record incredible achievements across Scotland, helping more organisations and supporting more householders to take decarbonisation actions than ever before.
But we all need to do more, faster to tackle the climate emergency and ensure a just transition to net zero – and we can only do that by working with more partners, organisations and householders across Scotland.
Together, we can make largescale decarbonisation more achievable as we work to meet Scotland’s ambitious net zero targets.”
Looking ahead, Changeworks is developing new services to support householders and will continue to work with even more local authority partners and registered social landlords to drive innovation and deliver largescale retrofit projects to accelerate the decarbonisation of Scotland’s homes.
Changeworks’ full impact report is available to read at: https://changeworksinfo.org/impactreport22-23
For more information, visit www.changeworks.org or email workwithus@changeworks.org.