The Ebico Trust for Sustainable Development
Since we launched EquiGas in 1999, Ebico has been helping householders who have to budget carefully with prepayment meters. With the Ebico Trust for Sustainable Development we aim to go one stage further. The Ebico Trust is a registered charity which enables us to support initiatives to improve the energy efficiency of the homes of low income householders and offer support and advice on saving energy – thereby reducing their fuel bills still further.
The Ebico Trust for Sustainable Development, amongst other things, financially supports local projects that carry out material improvements in the condition of properties – particularly those occupied by low incomes householders – so as to make them cheaper to heat.
Our first project was the ‘Green Doctor’ programmes in North London, Reading/Slough and Leeds with environmental charity, Groundwork UK. The Green Doctor programmes will be on-call to help householders by giving them advice and assistance that will improve the energy efficiency of their homes and save them money. The schemes will see fully trained experts make free house calls to conduct energy use audits. Using a combination of technical and non-technical measures, from fitting draught excluders to topping up loft insulation, the two-year programme will help 1,250 households save £100,000 per year while reducing CO2 emissions by up to 680 tonnes each year.
We are also supporting National Energy Action (NEA) in a research project looking at the effects of energy-reduction initiatives amongst fuel-poor homes in rural areas and in an anti-fuel poverty awareness campaign amongst Key Stage 1 and 2 school children.
We invite applications for funding from organisations who wish us to support projects that tackle fuel poverty in sustainable ways, whether by offering advice, guidance or education, or by making practical and sustainable improvements to the material conditions of properties occupied by those in, or likely to be in, fuel poverty. The Trustees also wish to support those undertaking research into fuel poverty, its incidence and the various methods by which it may be tackled.
The Trustees of the Ebico Trust for Sustainable Development meet to consider grant applications in late January, April, July and October. Applications for funding should be made to the following address: Ebico Ltd, Wittas House, Two Rivers, Station Lane, Witney, OX28 4BH, by the close of the first week in each of those months. As a guide for applicants, the Trust has made grants ranging in size between £20k and £60k, but this should not preclude applicants for smaller sums.