Last week saw over 200 delegates meet in Hinckley at the National Insulation Association’s (NIA) Annual Conference to hear about and discuss the industry’s latest news and Government policies.
The conference was opened by the NIA’s chair Tony Hardiman MBE, who welcomed members to the conference, saying that 2016 had been a very challenging year for the industry.
Neil Marshall, chief executive of the NIA, then gave a review of 2016, with key achievements and an overview of the work carried out by the association to support its members.
Setting out the NIA’s plans for 2017, it pledged to support its members in maximising insulation volumes, business opportunities and positioning them as the preferred choice amongst consumers and specifiers.
Priority work streams for the association included influencing key policy developments, helping its members’ access business opportunities, improving quality & standards and confidence in the industry.
The next session, Future Policy Landscape, started with a presentation from Philippa Hulme of Ofgem e-serve about ECO2 delivery to date, and the challenges for the new ECO2t and spoke about the importance of Quality and Standards moving forward.
A representative from BEIS then gave an update with details on the changes to ECO with a greater focus on helping the fuel poor, confirming the imminent release of the Bonfield Review ‘Every home counts’.
Other presentations were given by Energy UK, which highlighted the difficulty in finding those eligible in the fuel poor criteria, with Paul Massara, of the Committee on Fuel Poverty, stating that insulation was the priority in eradicating fuel poverty and that energy efficiency should become a funded national infrastructure priority.
The final speaker, Ed Matthew, of the Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Group, commented that the UK currently has one of the worst fuel poverty records in Europe and stressed that in order to hit the UK’s fuel poverty and carbon reduction targets energy efficiency was key. He concluded by setting out the compelling business case for Government to make energy efficiency an infrastructure priority.
Derek Horrocks, chairman of headline sponsor PermaRock Products, commented: “The conference is always an enjoyable and informative event and put together seamlessly by the team at the NIA. There are still millions of homes that are in need of insulation and as an industry we must ensure we provide consumers with the highest quality and customer service.”
The afternoon session focussed on Leveraging Market Opportunities with speakers from the National Landlords Association, Energy Saving Trust and Fusion 21, whom spoke about a range of business opportunities available to NIA members as well as the challenges involved in engaging different audiences.
Rounding up the day, Tony Hardiman, chairman of the NIA, commented: “Over the last 4 years the impact of the 80% reduction in energy efficiency installation due to changes in Government policies has been catastrophic and one of the biggest challenges facing us is how we ensure those that need our help the most receive it. Making energy efficiency a funded national Infrastructure priority is key and is the best way to hit fuel poverty and carbon reduction targets. The conference has also provided delegates with important information to help them diversify and take advantage of wider business opportunities.”
