Newsletter 38 - Autumn 2011

news
the member newsletter of Ecology Building Society – Autumn 2011 – issue 38
C-Change Retrofit is here!
Introducing our groundbreaking
new mortgage discounts...
Over the past 30 years we’ve been proud to support many outstanding
examples of sustainable building, from derelict renovations to brand new
eco homes. But the majority of the UK’s 26 million homes are wasting huge
amounts of energy and money every day, posing a significant challenge
to our efforts to reduce carbon emissions. With most homes capable of
achieving an improvement of two grades in their Energy Efficiency Rating, we
urgently need to begin making all of our homes fit for a sustainable future.
ret·ro·fit (verb)
to install, fit, or adapt (a device or
system) for use with something older
That’s why we’ve introduced our innovative
C-Change Retrofit discount, which rewards
energy efficiency and carbon saving measures
that improve a home’s Energy Performance
Certificate (EPC) rating. The scheme offers
a discount of 0.25% off Ecology’s Standard
Variable Rate for each grade improvement made
in either the energy efficiency or environmental
impact rating once works are completed – on
the whole mortgage, for the full duration of the
loan.
properties. With our homes using three times as
much energy as our cars – contributing over 27%
of our CO2 emissions in the process – we feel it’s
essential to help everyone make their home as
eco-friendly as possible. We hope that adding
a cheaper mortgage to the prospect of lower
energy bills and better air quality will provide
a tangible incentive for people to live more
sustainably.
Ecology Building Society recently helped
members Janet and Robert Barcis to
add a 3.6KV photovoltaic system to their
recently converted 1960s bungalow near
Inverness.
Using recycled materials wherever
possible, they have added a loft
conversion, multi-fuel stove, solar
powered hot water system, and
passive solar heating via a south facing
conservatory. The house is insulated to a
high standard throughout.
Robert and Janet’s house has achieved
an A rating for Energy Efficiency and
in the first week of operation of the
photovoltaic system, their electricity
usage from the grid halved.
continued on page 2
The energy efficiency rating is a measure
of the overall efficiency of a home.
The higher the rating, the more energy
efficient the home is and the lower the
fuel bills will be.
The environmental impact rating is a
measure of a home’s impact on the
environment in terms of carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions. The higher the rating, the
less impact it has on the environment.
This is a big step forward for Ecology: for the
first time, we’re extending our mortgage range
specifically to support people who own ordinary
The Ecology is.... a building society dedicated to improving the environment by
supporting and promoting ecological building practices and sustainable communities.
www.ecology.co.uk
> energy efficient housing > ecological renovation > derelict and dilapidated property > small scale and ecological enterprise > low impact lifestyles
Could your home be a
super home? We’ll help!
We hope that our new C-Change Retrofit
discount will give some of our saving members
the support they need to make their own
homes more energy efficient. To mark our 30th
anniversary and the launch of our scheme, we’re
offering EBS members applying for a C-Change
Retrofit mortgage discount a free final EPC
assessment once works to the property have
been completed.
There is a wide range of methods for making a
house more energy efficient, from traditional
materials to more hi-tech solutions. Retrofitting
measures on a house could include better
insulation, double or triple glazing, renewable or
energy efficient heating systems, water saving
and microgeneration. Often the most important
step is making sure you’re not wasting energy,
through letting in cold air or letting out warm
air. Insulating your loft can save around £110 per
year, and filling cavity walls can reduce heating
costs by 15% (as well as keeping you cosy over
winter!)
Commenting on the launch of the C-Change
Retrofit discount, Dr Neil Johnston, Director
of Delivery at The Institute for Sustainability,
said: “We need to significantly improve the energy
performance of homes across the UK in order to
reduce carbon emissions. The C-Change Retrofit
mortgages offered by The Ecology Building Society
are exactly the incentive which householders and
prospective purchasers need to make the necessary
investment.”
access to capital at competitive rates is critical to
reducing the emissions from our housing stock.
We welcome the launch of the C-Change Retrofit
mortgage discount, which is providing dedicated
investment in energy efficiency and renewable
systems.”
Award winning mortgages
We’re delighted to announce that the C-Change
Retrofit discount has already received an
industry award! In July we were awarded Best
Environmental Lender 2011 by What Mortgage
Magazine, with special recognition of the
C-Change Retrofit discount.
Ben Ross, Senior Sustainability Advisor at Forum
for the Future, also commented: “Forum for
the Future’s work on domestic energy efficiency
through our Refit West project has shown that
A lower energy terraced
house in Manchester
Ecology member Andrew Gill is exploring the
challenges of upgrading a solid wall terraced
house to significantly reduce energy costs and
carbon emissions. Many of these properties are
in poor condition, are hard to heat and keep
warm, and prone to occupation by those least
able to afford rising fuel prices. Private sector
property in deprived urban areas is often low
value, making for tight refurbishment budgets.
Andrew explains:
A
Need inspiration?
Often the best way to find ideas and advice
for your own retrofit project is to learn from
others. A number of organisations offer access to
retrofitted properties, online or in person:
PPrior to refurbishment this house was occupied
bbut had virtually no working electricity, no
working gas heating system or appliances,
w
very high damp levels and a collapsed ground
ve
flooor. The refurbishment plan was to create a
more attractive dwelling through increasing
m
insulation, improving air tightness and
ins
managing
ma
aging ventilation.
Superhomes (www.superhomes.org.uk) – A
network of older homes across the country
which have been updated to improve their
energy efficiency. Almost all of the homes are
open to the public and you can see video tours of
some of the homes online.
AECB CarbonLite Low Energy Building Database
(www.carbonlite.org.uk) – Technical information
on over 100 buildings, including retrofits, with
data on energy and fuel use.
Council for the Protection of Rural England –
The CPRE Cheshire and Norfolk branches offer
visits to green buildings in their areas, including
retrofits. Visit www.cprecheshire.org.uk and
www.cprenorfolk.org.uk for more information.
Retrofit for the Future Diaries
(www.retrofitdiaries.org) – Online diary entries
for retrofit projects in social housing units across
the UK.
The time is now
The launch of our C-Change Retrofit discount
comes as momentum builds for a widespread
drive to make our homes more energy efficient.
The Government is still finalising details of
its Green Deal scheme, which is likely to offer
loans towards energy saving measures, with
the debt attached to the property and repaid
via energy bills. The Renewable Heat Premium
Payment and Feed-in Tariff are already available
for homeowners who want to install renewable
technologies.
At the same time, the Great British Refurb
(www.greatbritishrefurb.co.uk) is gathering
pace, bringing together a wide range of
organisations to set in motion a UK-wide home
energy refurbishment campaign. We’re proud
to be an official supporter of the Great British
Refurb, as well as being recognised by a range of
sustainability organisations, including Forum for
the Future and The Institute for Sustainability.
2
The
features
are:
Th
he main low energy feat
res are
I
A highly insulated suspended timber ground floor
or
I
Internal solid wall insulation
I
New high quality timber double glazed windows
I
Unheated draught lobby to front door
I
New insulated back (kitchen) external door
I
Super insulated loft space and hatch
I
Insulation of all pipework and ducting
I
Air tightness membrane/taping throughout
building envelope
I
Glazed ground floor internal doors and first floor doorways to draw in light
I
Light pipe above landing/stairwell
I
High efficiency combi-condensing boiler with outdoor weather sensor
I
Demand control ventilation system.
The house will not feature any renewable energy generation or heat recovery systems, which are
inappropriate to the tight budget or the likely manner of occupation after completion.
Due to be completed in late summer, energy modelling has predicted annual cost savings circa
62% and carbon savings 63% compared to pre-refurbishment. An air tightness test is planned,
aiming to substantiate air permeability of 7.0 PA m3/h/m2 as a minimum. Other measures will be:
finance (resold, would there be a profit?), occupancy (does it work?) and embodied energy (what
were the material carbon costs?)
Andrew is sharing much more information on the house and its refurbishment at:
https://sites.google.com/site/lowerenergyterracedhouse
All back to ours!
Ecology Annual General Meeting 2011
This year’s AGM was held on
Saturday 30 April at our HQ in
Silsden, West Yorkshire. As part of
our 30th anniversary celebrations,
we decided to break with tradition
this year, and held our main
member conference as a separate
event in June (see pages 5 to 8).
Despite the shorter agenda, our AGM was once
again well attended by Ecology members, and we
were very pleased to see a continued high level
of interest in how the Society is run. Votes cast
overall were in line with 2010, at 19.2% of eligible
voting members. An Open Forum once again
proved popular, and a full recording of both the
AGM and Open Forum sessions can be accessed
on our website.
We also took the opportunity to thank retiring
Director, Pamela Parkinson, for her valued service
to the Society.
After the close of proceedings, some of our
members took the opportunity to tour our HQ
and find out more about this unique building, as
well as seeing the wildlife garden in full spring
bloom.
Ecology CEO Paul Ellis fields a question from the floor
2011 AGM voting results
Resolutions
For
Against
Abstentions
To receive the Auditors’ Report
1,236
16
21
To receive the Annual Report and Accounts
1,242
15
16
To re-appoint KPMG AUDIT PLC as auditors
1,115
105
51
To approve the Directors’ Remuneration Report
1,164
61
45
To re-elect Malcolm Lynch
1,213
37
24
To re-elect Janet Slade
1,214
42
21
To elect Steven Roundd
1,205
38
29
To re-elect/elect as Directors
EEcology members have
ttheir say
Fo the first time this year, we asked members
For
who voted online a few additional questions
w
aabout their views on the Society and the wider
financial sector, with some very interesting
results.
re
Paul Ellis presen
with a retirements Pamela Parkinson
t gift
40% of respondents said their main reason
4
for supporting Ecology was that it was a
fo
trustworthy and ethical investment, with 36%
tr
citing our support for projects that improve
ci
the sustainability of our built environment as
th
their priority. Our mutual principles and focus
th
oon projects that benefit the wider community
was most important to 22% of members, with
just 2% choosing our support for affordable
housing projects as their main motivation for
supporting us.
We are currently developing a new strategy
for communicating Ecology’s story to a
wider audience, and we want as many
members as possible to help shape our
approach. If you’d like to tell us more
about why you’re a member of Ecology,
or what you value about our work, please
contact Anna Laycock, our Marketing, PR
and Research Officer, on 01535 650 773 or
[email protected].
We also asked members for their thoughts on
reform of the banking sector, and found that
83% of respondents did not think the Green
Investment Bank or the Big Society Bank (now
Big Society Capital) would adequately address
the need for financial institutions to deliver a
‘social good’. Respondents thought that banks
that were effectively government owned should
be directed to pursue sustainable lending
practices, as opposed to re-entering the market
to maximise the return to tax payers.
We are continuing to call for more
significant reform in the financial sector
and have recently joined the Good Banking
Forum (www.goodbanking.org.uk)
a campaign aiming to challenge the limited
scope of the Independent Commission on
Banking and mobilise public pressure for
‘good banking’.
3
Mortgage Round-up
Tellisford Mill at
work again
In the 1950s, Anthony Battersby and his parents
moved from Bath to a cottage on the river Frome,
next door to Tellisford Mill. The Domesday book
shows this mill was active in Saxon times, but
when Anthony first saw it in 1954, it was an exciting
roofless ruin. When Rachel Feilden joined him in
1986, the mill’s walls were held up by ivy and the
site was bosky with 70 trees and saplings. The
couple bought the mill in 2002 and applied for
planning consent to bring the mill back into use.
Anthonyy and Rachel tell us about their pproject:
j
The plan included replacing the 1895 Frances
turbine, unused since 1912, with a modern water
turbine. Its operation would be kept close to
optimum by a round-the-clock automated
control gear, including a trash rack cleaner which
responded to any accumulation of debris. The
site is not listed but is in a conservation area, and
the District’s conservation officer supported the
application, which councillors overwhelmingly
approved in May 2003.
The floor level is calculated to be above the 1,000
year flood level, and is only 5mm higher than
the floor in the old mill building. Limited parking
space constrained the number of occupants in
the commercial office, so the reinstated building
is on one floor, rather than the three storeys
visible in photos taken in the 1860s. The new
roof’s ridge is a metre lower than the 19th Century
building, and now, as then, is of slate.
TThe turbine, named Watteau at the bottomingoout ceremony on 12th July 2006, was
ccommissioned on 17th January 2007. Its capacity
iis 55kW and to date, its load factor ~ actual
ooutput divided by maximum possible output ~
iis 56%. Two households use less than 6% of his
ooutput and the surplus is exported to the grid;
rrevenue from selling this electricity will cover the
iinitial investment within 20 years. With a useful
llife of at least 50 years, Watteau should run at a
pprofit for three decades.
RRun-of-river hydropower has the best energy
ppayback factor of any source of renewable energy,
bbut at present there are many bureaucratic
bbarriers hindering reinstatement of old mill sites
aand harnessing of high head streams. Making it
eeasier for others to undertake the sound longtterm investment of converting the energy in our
water courses into electricity was the reason for
w
forming River Energy Networks.
Work on the mill building – a workshop next to
the turbine room, offices for ourselves, and a
commercial tenant – was completed with the
help of a mortgage from EBS in January 2011.
The footprint is the existing walls, which have
a distinct curve, accentuated by the perfectly
flat plane of the new frameless windows. The
undercroft, which floods, has been left empty.
What is new is the insulation in the roof and
walls and windows, the external access deck,
a cantilevered area with a glass wall to the
south, and a closed loop heatpump. Its 600
metres of slinky coils are buried in gravel in the
return channel, which is constantly refreshed
by river water; 2kW of electricity produces 8kW
of underfloor warmth, giving it a coefficient of
performance of 4.0.
The new offices are a pleasure to work in, with
a constant quiet hum from the turbine and
gurgling from its watercourses, and rent from the
tenant in the commercial office helps to pay off
the mortgage.
Key information
Design of hydroplant and supply of all
equipment and trashrack cleaner by
Ossberger, Weissenberg, Germany, including
vertical double regulated syphonic Kaplan
turbine manufactured by HSI
Installed capacity = 55kW
Actual average annual output to date =
270,300kWh
Floor area of turbine house: 25 m²
Floor area of domestic offices: 80 m²
Floor area of commercial office: 48 m²
Architects for Tellisford Mill: Klaentschi and
Klaentschi
Structural engineering: MLDE of Devizes
Building works, including turbine
installation: Randall of Beckington Limited
Electrical works: Leozamp & Co, Rode,
Somerset
River Energy Networks
The Mill looking East 2002
The Mill looking East 2010
4
River Energy Networks was formed in 2009 to
pursue the following three main goals:
1. To facilitate harnessing the energy in
Britain’s rivers: making it easier to generate
electricity from microhydro
2. To encourage optimum use of the free,
reusable resource of water power:
making it easier to remove constraints
caused by planners, regulators, objectors,
property owners, or providers of advice,
equipment, or finance
3. To improve the quality of technical
services and installed equipment: making it
easier to find out what to do to achieve (1)
and (2)
Through the Big Green Challenge Plus, in 2010
the Networks received a NESTA grant, which
is funding development of a free informative
website. Contact [email protected] for
more information.
What a weekend!
Ecology members help us celebrate our
Even the sun decided to join the
celebrations for our 30th anniversary on
4 and 5 June! As the light streamed into
the rammed earth lecture theatre at
WISE, over 160 people enjoyed two days
of workshops, speeches and debates
around building a greener society.
30th anniversary in style
We were delighted to welcome Jean
Lambert, Green Party MEP and former
Chair of Ecology, as well as Directors,
Board members and Chief Executives
past and present, to the wonderful new
facilities at the Centre for Alternative
Technology. While the children escaped
to explore the woodland and hills
around Machynlleth, the adults were no
less entertained by a range of engaging
speakers.
Paul Allen, External Relations Director at CAT,
began proceedings with a history of CAT and
a powerful vision for zerocarbonbritain2030
– an ‘energy progressive’ society, free from
fossil fuels. In the afternoon, Chris Herring,
Chair of UK Passivhaus and Director of Green
Build Store, made the case for Passivhaus
low energy building, including a screening
of Future Passiv, a short documentary
featuring the Denby Dale Passivhaus project.
Our keynote speech was delivered by Charlie
Luxton, sustainable architectural designer
and broadcaster, who outlined the urgent
need to improve the energy efficiency of the
nation’s housing stock, and took us on a
tour of projects showing the practical ways
to achieve this.
Members also took part in a lively Open
Forum – you can find a full recording of the
session on our website.
e
Mike Berners-Le
After a choice of member presentations
and tours around the WISE and CAT sites,
delegates enjoyed a celebration dinner,
music and dancing with local celtic band
Hi Jinx.
On Sunday morning members returned to
the majestic Sheppard Theatre to hear Pat
Borer, WISE architect, explain the design
principles behind this very special (and
award-winning) venue. The final session
took us back to the bigger picture, with a
talk from carbon footprinting expert Mike
Berners-Lee, asking How Bad Are Bananas?
(The answer: not too bad, but air-freighted
Peruvian asparagus is a carbon nightmare.)
In between sessions, delegates browsed our
Green Market, with thirteen stalls ranging
from renewables to woodwork and local
crafts! We’d like to say a particular thank you
to all members who gave a presentation or
exhibited at the Conference – it was great to
hear about your projects.
ere
“ The sdpiveaidkeursallwy very
Couldn’t make it?
Find out more here…
www.cat.org.uk
www.zerocarbonbritain.com
www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk
www.charlieluxton.com
www.patborer.co.uk
howbadarebananas.posterous.com
all in
in total
d
n
a
g
in
t
s
re
e
t
in
rmative.
were really info
miss any
I’m glad I didn’t
of them.”
eeting the staff
m
d
e
v
o
L
“
a part of
re
o
m
g
n
li
e
fe
d
an
ciety that
this mutual so
for 23 or
I’ve been with
more years.”
5
30 Anniversary Conference
th
embers
tes and Board m
ga
le
de
h
it
w
s
EP chat
Jean Lambert M
. . . in pictures
Our younger
delegates are
f
ready to debrie
the adults
“
to be partt
g
in
rd
a
w
re
is
i
It
hat offerss
t
g
in
h
t
e
m
o
s
f
o
ore ‘value’
its members m as thiss,
ch
with events su
racting
e
t
in
f
o
s
y
a
w
d
an
y and
with the Societ
, to
other members d
n an
gain inspiratio
in trying
t
n
e
m
e
g
ra
u
o
c
en
stainably.
to live more su
”
chats with
Charlie Luxton
Exploring the w
ildlife around CA
T
6
CAT renewable
energy tour
plains
Chris Herring ex of
ts
fi
ne
be
e
th
Passivhaus
ary reception
at our annivers
e
gl
in
m
rs
be
Mem
“ Woodland activities for the children were
great…my 5 year old bonded immediately
and really enjoyed himself.”
One of our
younger
speakers!
Delegates cont
to the lively de ributed
bate
h delegattes
Our venue for the weekend
7
30 years of building a
greener society
A highlight of our anniversary weekend was the Ecology timeline, tracking our history from
1981 to the present day. Members contributed their own memories and stories, and as the
conference proceedings closed, Paul Ellis challenged delegates to make an anniversary pledgee
to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. We’ve collected all of the pledges tied to the
timeline and will be sharing these on our new website, due to launch later this year. If you’d
like to add a pledge, please email us at [email protected].
“ My interest in the environment began in 1992 when working
for the International Centre for Environmental Education
– I began to think about building an eco home. Thanks
to Ecology Building Society this ambition was realised
this year, when we built an eco bungalow – green roof,
hempcrete, water harvesting, underfloor heating.
”
Some highlights from our timeline
1998
1981
Ecology Building Society commences trading
from a tiny upstairs office in Cross Hills, West
Yorkshire.
Ecology Grove planted in Lancashire as
an expression of thanks to Foundation
Shareholders.
Ecology Building Society has more than 1,000
investors and assets of £1.25m.
Ecology moves to our new offices in Silsden.
1985
1989
2003
2006
First C-Change mortgage discounts launched.
Ecology Building Society now has 3 full time
and 4 part time staff, necessitating a move to
offices on Station Road, Crosshills.
2010
Reflections
Refl
ections and plans
for 2012
Thank you to everyone who gave feedback on
the Conference – you can see a summary of your
views on our website. We’ll be taking all of these
points into account as we plan future events.
For those of you who like to plan ahead, we’re
pleased to announce that next year we will hold
a joint AGM and Conference on 28 April 2012.
We’ll be giving more information about our plans
in the next newsletter, and we hope you’ll be
able to join us for an inspiring and informative
day – as well as the opportunity to have a say in
how the Society is run.
Ecology Building Society has over 10,000
savers, 800 loans, and total assets of £95.7m.
“ I remember
David Pedley
speaking. It
seemed like
a good idea.
Look how it’s
grown!
”
“ Thanks Ecology –
you were the only
organisation who
could make our nonconventional building
renovation possible.
”
8
Mortgage Round-up
Loft living...
Underground!
Deep in the Cotswolds and invisible from the
surrounding countryside, you’d be forgiven for
missing Underhill House, England’s first certified
PassivHaus. Ecology members Helen and Chris
Seymour-Smith built the four bedroom property
beneath a centuries-old barn on a hill, in order
to meet strict planning rules, and have created
a groundbreaking house which featured on
Channel Four’s Grand Designs.
PassivHaus: a German standard
for super-insulated, airtight
homes that do not require active
heating or cooling systems
Underhill’s unique earth-sheltered design,
combined with an almost entirely glazed
ssouthern elevation, means the house maintains
rremarkably steady temperatures of around 20oC
yyear round. The house is completely wrapped in
ffoam insulation, all windows are triple glazed,
aand air is circulated through a Mechanical
Ventilation and Heat Recovery system (MVHR)
V
which heats air coming into the house with air
w
ffrom warmer rooms.
TThe walls and roof consist of concrete panels
made from a waste product from blast furnaces,
m
which absorb and store heat, and the floor is
w
ccovered with recycled glass screed. Electricity
iis generated through solar photovoltaic panels,
aand solar thermal tiles on one side of the barn
pprovide hot water.
Opening gambit at Bishop’s
p Castle
Bishop’s Castle and District Community
Land Trust (www.bcclt.co.uk) was created by
the hard work of local volunteers to provide
affordable homes for local people, allotments
and premises for small businesses. The first
scheme of two rental homes was completed
in June 2011 and has been financed by a
creative funding cocktail which has included
significant sums from the shareholders of the
Trust and the support of Ecology.
Bishop’s Castle is a picturesque market town
in Shropshire close to the Welsh border. Over
the centuries the town has become a vibrant
mixed community, including tradespersons,
agricultural workers, artists, musicians,
writers and craftspeople. This tradition has
been continued with the formation of a
project steering group and then in 2007 the
Trust itself, to provide the local community
Helen and Chris believe that the house will earn
£1,000 a year from the Feed-in Tariff and see the
cost of the energy-saving measures as effectively
front-loading all their utility bills onto the cost of
the house. Perhaps most importantly, Chris says,
“Part of the reason for doing this house was to put
our money where our mouths are, and show people
it can be done…. I’d like to say to our son, ‘We did
our bit. We tried to help.’”
The Trust is registered as an industrial and
provident society. To be inclusive and attract
as many local shareholders as possible, the
minimum shareholding was set low, at £5.
There are currently 204 shareholders, each of
whom has one vote at the AGM. Several people
have made multiple purchases of shares,
and the Town Council is one of the largest
shareholders.
Impact
with affordable land for a variety of purposes,
but with the aim of owning the property assets
and letting them out rather than sell them.
Community Assets Developed
The initial ‘Kings Head’ project of two small semi
detached houses for rent has been developed in
the centre of the town on land purchased from a
local architect at a sum of £16,000. The scheme
was completed on 30 June 2011.
A housing needs survey was carried out by
surveying all 1,400 households in Bishop’s Castle
and the 10 surrounding hamlets. A 21% response
was obtained, of which 45% had indicated
affordable housing needs. The houses have been
let to local residents at affordable rents.
The completion of the first project is a
significant milestone, as it has proven to local
people it can happen here and thus be part
of a wider movement. The Trust has created
a strong sense of local ownership – ‘this is
ours’. The Landfest, a two-day music festival
featuring young local rock bands, has been
held for the past two summers. As well as
raising useful amounts of money (£7,000 in
2010), it promotes the concept of community
ownership of local assets to a wider audience.
We asked members of the Trust what they had
learnt from the project so far:
“In hindsight we were a bit too cautious at
first, and then when we did get going on our
first project, we underestimated the time that
legal matters take to get resolved, Also do not
underestimate the nitty-gritty problems and
paperwork incurred when dealing with your
providers of water and electricity!”
9
Supporting affordable new homes
Ecology Building Society is providing mortgages
on one of the most innovative low carbon
housing developments in the country. Long
Meadow, at Diss in Norfolk, will eventually
comprise 114 dwellings. All the homes are being
built to level 4 of the Code for Sustainable
Homes, which means the purchasers benefit
from a 0.75% reduction in Ecology’s standard
variable mortgage rate thanks to our C-Change
for Sustainable Homes scheme.
The developer is C-Zero, a Birmingham-based
company that is pioneering sustainable housing
development and which selected Ecology to
provide mortgages on the scheme because of
our ethical stance, and also the support given
for low energy building. Simon Linford, Director
of C-Zero, has highlighted mortgages as a key
issue in sustainable development: “The traditional
mortgage market seems to be scared of innovation,
but innovation is needed to provide sustainable
homes at affordable prices. Ecology understand
that.”
The first 29 homes at Long Meadow were
completed and handed over to their customers in
Spring 2011. They have been built from Hemcrete®
- a carbon negative building material comprising a
mixture of hemp and lime, which has tremendous
insulation properties. The homes hardly need any
heating, although underfloor heating is provided,
heated by an air source heat pump. C-Zero think
it is particularly important that heating bills stay
affordable in the face of rising oil prices.
A key feature of the development is that 87 of
the properties are for sale to local people at a
permanent discount to open market values,
which makes them highly affordable for
purchasers. This arrangement is addressing the
increasing problem of people on average incomes
not being able to afford to buy their own homes
in rural areas. Three bedroom homes at Long
Meadow are selling for an average of £111,000,
when the open market values are over £150,000.
Sue Pitt is just one of our new Ecology borrowers
now living on the site and enjoying the benefits
of the sustainable design. She explains:
My new home is very comfortable, the
temperature is stable and its very well
soundproofed too. With wide access,
options for a downstairs wet room and lift
access designed into the property, it is a
home for life.
I’ve got used now to getting involved with
managing the energy system to work it to
best advantage and my early fears about
fixing objects to the hemcrete walls have
been dispelled.
It’s been lovely dealing with Ecology to
arrange my mortgage. I was treated as an
individual rather than a “ticklist”.
I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the
site developed and being part of a really nice
community.
Introducing Insure Green the world’s first carbon neutral insurance broker
Many of the Society’s borrowers already have
their buildings insurance policy arranged via
the Society’s broker, Bluefin Insurance Group.
However, we have for some time been looking
to move the insurance arrangements to an
organisation whose ethos and values are more
in line with our own.
After much searching, we are now delighted
to announce that our new insurance partner is
Insure Green, the world’s first carbon neutral
insurance broker. Insure Green is a trading
arm of Independent Insurance Services, a
small independent general insurance broker,
which is the only insurance broker globally
to be registered to the International British
Standard 14001 Environmental and 9001 Quality
registrations.
The Insure Green initiative was created by
Independent Insurance Services to help
customers both save money and help the
environment. Unlike a lot of traditional brokers,
in addition to standard home insurance, Insure
Green is also able to provide cover for nonstandard construction and unconventional
properties, self-build projects, and properties
10
being converted or requiring restoration. They
are also keen to support environmental projects
and will therefore be donating £7.50 to the
Ecology Building Society Charitable Foundation
for every new insurance policy that is taken out
by a member of the Society.
Insure Green will offer a discount of up to 10%
on policy premiums depending on the energy
efficiency standards of your home – the higher
the standard, the higher the discount.
Independent Insurance Services was
established in 1991 and has since won
various environmental awards, including:
• National Green Apple Award
• Tidy Britain Gold Award
• SEEDA (South East England Development
Agency) Award
• Environment Awards for Kent Business Ambassador for the Environment
We are excited to be working with Insure
Green and hope that as many members
as possible will want to have their home
insurance arrangements dealt with by a
brokerage that shares many of our values. All
borrowing members who are currently insured
through Bluefin Insurance Group will already
have received a letter explaining how they
can choose to transfer their arrangements to
Insure Green.
If you are a borrower with other buildings
insurance arrangements, or are a saver, you
will receive a letter by the end of the year
inviting you to get involved with Insure Green.
In the meantime, you can find out more about
Insure Green at www.insuregreen.co.uk or
by calling 01303 221 188. Please mention that
you are a member of Ecology Building Society
when making an insurance enquiry.
A View from the Chief Executive - Paul Ellis
As you’re reading this newsletter, we hear hourly
reports of increasing dislocation in the world
economy, fuelled by and feeding uncertainty
about our banking systems and their exposure
to mountains of corporate and sovereign debt.
There’s no room for schadenfreude here – all this
translates to real impacts on ordinary people’s
lives across the globe, especially in already
impoverished regions. Here, as we face the
possibility of a double-dip recession, we have
the inevitable calls for a return to untrammelled
growth fuelled by cheap credit - which was a
major factor in creating our present difficulties
– as if having more to drink the morning after
might blot out the hangover.
The real danger is not recession itself, but the
prospect of wider systemic failures, as already
weakened banks succumb to losses. And yet
– despite the dangers of contagion – so far we
have seen only limited moves to reform an overconcentrated, under-capitalised, interdependent
and socially misdirected banking system. Even
these limited moves are contested by those
banks who have received the lion’s share of
taxpayer support, as losses in the private sector
have been socialised, thus falling on those least
able to pay. Despite this, alternative forms of
New faces at Ecology
We’re very pleased to
we
welcome Richard
S
Saville
to the
S
Society
as our new
T
Technology
Manager.
R
Richard
has extensive
ex
experience
of IT
ma
management and
softw development,
software
much of it in the logistics
industry. He has 13 years’ experience in the
IT industry, alongside a degree and formal
Microsoft qualifications.
Richard is a keen hill walker and has completedd
the Pennine Way, Dales Way and Coast to
Coast routes. Plans are also afoot for the
West Highland Way! Richard is impressed by
the Society’s ecological values and is looking
forward to bringing his experience of a range of
technologies to support our work.
Ecology Building Society staff and Directors in our 30th anniversary year
governance based on common ownership in
the public good, such as financial mutuals, are
almost completely overlooked in the proposals
before us as present.
In fact, it’s 30 years since the last successful
mutual building society was created – one
led by visionaries including David Pedley and
Jean Lambert – one which you support and
sustain. So this summer we took a step back
Richard succeeds George Wambold, who held
the role for 15 years and has guided Ecology
through a time of unprecedented technological
development. We’d like to thank George for his
contribution to the Society and wish him a very
happy retirement.
Also joining us is Anna Laycock, our new
Marketing, PR and Research Officer. Anna has a
backgrou in charity
background
comm
communications and
res
research, including
fo
four years in Oxfam’s
ccampaigning and
eeducation teams. She
h
holds an MSc in Global
EEthics and a Chartered
In
Institute of Marketing
Prof
Professional Diploma, is a
Directo
Director of HALE, a local
health charity, and is a member of the grants
committee at Leeds Community Foundation.
The Society first worked with Croissant
Neuf in 1994, when we exhibited at several
So what do the next 30 years hold in store?
We may well see a succession of the Greenest
Governments Ever™, with the vitality of the
green business sector doing its best to battle
institutional obstacles while mitigating the effects
of an economic system inimical to sustainability.
Or we might just see the transformation to a
green economy more in tune with real needs and
mindful of ecological limits and positive feedback
loops, based on local production of real value,
focussed on meeting the challenges of climate
change, backed up by a banking system with a
deep rooted mindset of service to society. Some
of the elements of that future are present in this
newsletter: positive action by members, clean
energy, our support for retrofit. Whichever course
we take, Ecology and its members will be a big
part of the solution.
Follow Paul on twitter @EcologyPaul
minimum
i i
iimpact,
maximum fun!
This summer we were delighted to support
the Croissant Neuf Summer Party, the UK’s
leading green festival. All of the power
used at the festival, which takes place in a
secluded valley near Usk is generated using
solar energy. This year over 2,000 party-goers
enjoyed a weekend of music, comedy, theatre,
organic food, ethical trading and family
activities.
from the gloom and enjoyed our 30th anniversary
members’ conference at the Centre for Alternative
Technology in Machynlleth, Wales. There’s a full
report in this newsletter which captures the spirit
of a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. We’ve had
a lot to celebrate in the first 30 years, and to cap
it all, at the end of July the Society topped £100
million in assets for the first time. It’s been an
achievement in itself over the last few years not
just to survive, but to prosper. We’re mindful
that really this is only the beginning, and there
is no shortage of ecological and environmental
challenges that we must find the ways and means
to help address.
dh
h country, andd we
Green Roadshows
across the
subsequently supported the business with a loan:
“In 1995 we bought an old builders yard in
Somerset from which to base our operations and
discovered that the Ecology were the only building
society with the vision and faith in our work to
offer us a mortgage.”
The Croissant Neuf Summer Party is held over
three days in August and attracts people from
throughout the UK. It boasts “the cleanest
loos you will ever find at a festival”, as well
as a huge children’s area, circus workshop
space, sports arena, pottery workshops,
and storytelling tent. The site pub, the
Stagger Inn, is housed in an old barn, while
music is hosted in four venues and acts
play from midday to midnight, with genres
including cajun, rock, folk, skiffle and swing.
The highlight of the festival is the lantern
procession on Sunday evening, winding its
way through the trees to the ancient wooded
hillfort adjacent to the site.
To find out more about the festival (or book
your tickets for next year!) visit
www.partyneuf.co.uk.
11
Notice Board
Unique Yorkshire organic
ic
vegetable business
aims for fertile growth
Based in 2 acres of glasshouses
near Clapham, North Yorkshire,
Growing with Grace has been
running for 10 years and offers
far more than just vegetables.
As well as running a box scheme
between Lancaster and Skipton,
it also provides inspiration for
different ways of doing things.
Dear Ecology
D
On behalf of Practical Action, I am delighted
O
to receive a most welcome cheque for £983
towards our Southern Africa micro-hydro
tow
project. This generous donation from the
pro
Society, based on 2010 deposits in your recent
Soci
Bond,
EEarthsaver
th
B d is
i greatly appreciated, as is the prospect of a
further donation based on 2011 deposits.
The delivery van runs on
biodiesel produced on site and
there is also a shop, beehive,
wormery, forest garden and
educational visits. Compost is
produced on site from waste
collected by the District Council.
Run by a team of committed
individuals supported by the
local community, Growing with
Grace has become a Community
Owned Co-operative and is now
selling shares for £100 minimum
to anyone who would like to
I know that our project team in Harare share this delight.
With best wishes and thank you again.
Warwick Franklin
Fundraising Manager
Practical Action
Dear Editor
tance
Re: Members Seeking assis ‘wilderness’
of land, the more of a
I am looking to buy a plot
d). Please
n on (anywhere considere
the better, to place a carava
088.
017
29
079
or
)
682 (evenings
contact David on 01933 226
Thanks
David Smailes
Ethical Investment Conference 2011
During this year’s National
Ethical Investment Week
(16-22 October) we’ll be taking
part in an Ethical Investment
Conference, organised by
Investing Ethically and open
to the general public. The
conference, which takes place on
17 October 2011 at Friends House
in Euston, is billed as “the place
you can learn all you wanted to
learn about ethical investment
and didn’t know where to ask”.
The conference will be using an
open workshop format to allow
participants to ask the questions
they want, and also includes
presentations from the Fairtrade
Foundation and the Ethical Property
Company. To register for a place at
the conference, which runs from
10.00 am to 5.00 pm and costs
£10 per person, contact Investing
Ethically on 01603 309020 or email
[email protected].
National Ethical Investment Week
is a campaign to ensure that
everyone knows that they have
green and ethical options when
it comes to their finance and
investment decisions. For more
information visit www.niew.org.
Non-Executive Director vacancy
We are actively recruiting for a Non-Executive Director with a
background in financial services. If you believe you can make a real
contribution to the running of your Society and would like more
information about what’s involved, please write to our Company
Secretary, Pam Waring or email [email protected] marking your
correspondence “Director’s vacancy”.
Printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper
If you would like more information
please visit
www.growingwithgrace.org.uk
or contact Geoff on 07870 908159
or Tom or Ann on 01729 822809.
Share application forms can be
downloaded from the website.
Ecology BS would wish to make
clear to readers that we fully
support the principles of Growing
with Grace. However, this feature
is not to be interpreted as an
endorsement by the Society of
the share issue as a financial
investment.
The Ecology Building Society
Charitable Foundation
The Society’s Charitable Foundation
made its first grants at the end of
last year, and we gave details of the
projects we supported in the previous
newsletter.
We are now inviting new applications
and looking again for organisations
for projects which:
Promote sustainable development
by the preservation, conservation and
the protection of the environment
and the prudent use of the resources.
I
We are also looking for people who
would be interested in becoming
members of the charitable
foundation. In the future we
hope that will be able to recruit
trustees for the charity from its
own membership rather than from
board members of the building
society.
I
Application forms for grants
can be requested by emailing
[email protected] or you
can simply email or write to us
with details of your project.
Grants will be for a maximum of
£1,500, and we need to receive
applications by 21 October 2011.
If you are interested in
becoming a member of the
charitable foundation please
also get in touch and mark your
correspondence “Foundation
membership”.
Promote regeneration and
sustainable development with a
focus on environment conscious
building practices.
Coming soon… our new website!
Over the next few months we’ll be giving our website a makeover and
we’d like to invite Ecology members to help us in the process. In these
early stages we’d love to hear your views on what you like – or don’t
like – about the website, and how you think we can make it better.
Towards the end of the year we’ll also be seeking a group of members
to preview the new website and give us their feedback.
If you would like to share your views on the site or register your
interest in testing the new site, please email Anna Laycock, our
Marketing, PR and Research Officer, on [email protected].
Ecology Building Society is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
(Registration Number 162090)
The Society does not necessarily endorse any third party service or product mentioned herein.
Printed by Kay Jay Print Ltd, Brigg Mount, Park Road, Cross Hills, Keighley
help develop this business and
contribute towards the creation
of a “Centre for Gardening”
demonstrating permaculture
principles where nothing is wasted.
The share issue has already raised
£50,000 and is open until the end of
November 2011.
Published by: Ecology Building Society
7 Belton Road, Silsden
Keighley, West Yorkshire BD20 0EE
T 0845 674 5566 F 01535 650780
W www.ecology.co.uk E [email protected]