Blog

Series of free online courses on home renovations launched

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If you’re thinking about renovating your home to make it warmer and reduce your energy bills, snap up a free place on our new series of online courses.

We’ll take you through all the main things to consider – from planning your retrofit through to insulation, airtightness and ventilation. There are even sessions all about windows and doors.

You can book onto one course or the whole series – whatever you need. We’re able to offer the courses free of charge thanks to funding from the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme.

Introduction
We kick off with unit 1 on 21 February, giving you a good introduction to doing a renovation and some general principles to think about. We’ll take you through the need to consider the building as a whole, how buildings lose and gain heat, and the basics of airtightness, insulation and managing moisture. It’s a great overview to get you off on the right track. (We’re also repeating this unit on 14 March.)

Airtightness
Unit 2 looks in more depth at airtightness, on 3 March. We all know that draughty homes are hard to heat, and this session looks at what airtightness is and what factors influence it. You’ll learn about steps to improve airtightness and the kinds of materials and techniques you might use.

Insulation
Unit 3 on 10 March delves into insulation. You’ll learn about insulating walls, roofs, floors, windows and doors, looking at different ways of going about it and the wide range of materials to choose from. We’ll also cover building regulations for insulation.

Ventilation
Unit 4 on 16 March covers the all-important topic of ventilation. You don’t want uncontrolled draughts in your house, but you do need to get the air flow right so you don’t end up with damp. Ventilation also plays a big part in having good air quality in your home.

Windows & doors
The series rounds off with two units dedicated to windows and doors. The first one, on 24 March, will help you to choose the right ones for your property, comparing different types and how well they keep your heat in. The final unit, on 28 March, looks at how to install windows and doors, considering airtightness, positioning and detailing around them.

Throughout the series, you’ll hear from experts with hands-on experience and technical knowledge, and we’re particularly pleased to be running them in partnership with URBED and the Carbon Coop. All the courses are online, via Zoom.

So, go ahead and get booked on, and please do also tell anyone you know who might be interested. We hugely appreciate your help to spread the word. Here are the direct links to each unit, where you can find out more about them and book on:

Unit 1 – Understanding Retrofit (21 Feb)

Repeat of unit 1 on 14 March

Unit 2 – Airtightness

Unit 3 – Insulation

Unit 4 – Ventilation

Choosing doors & windows

Installing doors & windows

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2 February 2022
New sustainability opportunities for young people created

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As we emerge into a new year, emerging alongside us are many opportunities for engagement with young people on sustainability. Through the brilliant work of our Youth projects Coordinator Ceri, CAfS is looking to place the needs of this generation at the heart of the transition to net zero. We thought we’d give a little update on what sort of things young people can expect in 2022 from us.

Work with schools and youth groups

The new Greener Schools project has appointed environmental auditors who will shortly begin working with students in 16 primary and secondary schools on Cumbria’s west coast to lower carbon footprints (more on this soon). Subsidised spaces are being offered to teachers, governors and support staff in schools on CAfS’ carbon literacy training courses, who are welcome to join general sessions or request specific training for staff within one or more schools. To build on the momentum created by last October’s Cumbria Green Jobs Summit, CAfS is working with Friends of the Earth, CDEC (Cumbrian Development Education Centre), schools and youth groups to hear from young people on their specific needs and perceptions on living and working in the county, especially regarding opportunities and obstacles to be overcome as we move to net zero.

New Youth Climate Café

The Youth Climate Café aims to create a positive, friendly space for like-minded people of secondary school age to meet, support one another and share their experiences, including the positive action that they are taking – or would like to take – within their schools or local areas. The group meetings will also aim to help overcome the isolation that young people mention that they can sometimes feel when acting individually or in a small group in their area. The Climate Café will take place online to give young people a chance to meet from across the county. Although the meetings will be facilitated by CAfS, the aim is for it to be led by young people themselves. The first meeting is on Wednesday 9^th February at 4.30pm. Please spread the word with young people you know that may be interested.

Following-up young people’s recommendations

We are following-up the recommendations made by young people at the Cumbria Youth Climate Summit. These extended from coverage of transport and building infrastructure, growing food, community involvement, improving public understanding of climate issues, climate action including lobbying of local MPs and impact on national government, through to improving the representation of young people in decisions made at local level. We are looking to actively involve young people across different sector groups represented across the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership, local authorities and community groups. Please get in touch if you know of opportunities that can support this involvement.

For more information or to share ideas that can support young people on sustainability, please contact Ceri Holman, Youth Projects Coordinator: [email protected]

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27 January 2022
Zero Carbon Cumbria celebrates first birthday

It’s been one whole year since the Zero Carbon Cumbria project first set sail, and we thought it would be worth taking a quick look back at what’s been achieved over the past 12 months.

Firstly, for those new to the project, the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership (ZCCP to their friends) is a partnership of 80 organisations from across Cumbria and different sectors of society. Their aim is to drive Cumbria to becoming the first county with net-zero carbon emissions in the UK by 2037. On behalf of ZCCP, CAfS helped to secure a generous grant of £2.5 million from the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund to help develop the partnership and deliver a range of community-led projects.

Development

The first order of business was to recruit the people who would run the project. This included community action officers for Penrith Action for Community Transition (PACT), Sustainable Carlisle and Art Gene, as well staff based at CAfS itself and some of the other partners. We welcomed Hazel, Helen, Nigel, Ceri, Angie and John to the ZCCP team alongside increased support from our growing marketing and admin teams as well as our chief executive Karen. The Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) host David and Cumbria County Council host Tim and Natalie.

This veritable army of folks has been developing the partnership since its kickoff. It is now co-chaired by Karen and Angela Jones and supported by Tim.

Next up, we had to start thinking about how to let people know about the partnership and the work being undertaken through the Lottery funded project. A communications strategy was drawn up and a number of sector groups were established to focus on specific issues such as housing and waste.

Delivery

Like many things, ZCCP was initially restrained by the COVID-19 pandemic limiting the activities the team could be involved in. Through the second half 2021 however, a lot of community led delivery was carried out by the group. A lot of this action was centred on Great Big Green Week in September and COP26 in November and was carried out by Sustainable Carlisle, PACT, Art Gene and a huge number of people and community groups across the county. The CAfS based staff met up with a team of film makers in Burneside in October as part of a COP26 tour, an event that featured on BBC Radio Cumbria and ITV Border news.

The Carbon Literacy arm of ZCCP has been an outstanding success. New courses designed to inform keen individuals of the latest science around climate change have been developed and delivered to hundreds of people around Cumbria. These people have ranged from private interested citizens to councillors in local government. Every course has received incredible feedback and we’re delighted to see the evidence of the impact in terms of improved knowledge and influence.

The Copeland People’s Panel was established of citizens of the region to learn about climate change and recommend policy to the district council and other key stakeholders. Recommendations so far have been very well received and include the prioritisation of green jobs and training, an overhaul of the public transport system and a net-zero carbon buildings policy.

The Youth Climate Summit was attended by around 500 pupils from 15 schools. Youth representatives of the summit subsequently took the conclusions reached by the pupils and presented them to Karen and Councillor Tibble, Cumbria County Council’s policy holder for Climate Change as well as to the wider partnership.

The Vista Veg project has been unstoppable as the grower’s cooperative becomes more and more popular. The team at Vista Veg grow seasonal food and deliver to their subscribers in a responsible and sustainable manner while also delivering healthy eating courses and growing clubs with local schools.

Elsewhere in the county, Simply Repair have been undertaking research into Repair Cafés and encouraging those with broken and damaged goods to bring them to be fixed free of charge.

Alongside all of this stuff going on in the real world, the team are also hard at work developing the framework needed to monitor and evaluate the project going forward, ensuring that we’re always keeping our eyes on the target of 2037.

In short, the ZCCP team has been busy over the past 12 months. And with these early successes under their belt, it’s extremely exciting for all of us at CAfS to watch as bigger and bigger plans are made for the next few years of striving for a better, greener Cumbria.

27 January 2022
Big Energy Saving Week celebrates our partnership

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This week (17 – 23 Jan) is Big Energy Saving Week and one of our key partnerships is being celebrated for all it does to help residents keep hold of their cash during Winter.

Cold to Cosy Homes is our large scale project that offers free independent energy advice and energy saving measures to vulnerable households.

It has now offered advice and measures like draughtproofing to hundreds of households throughout the region, saving locals huge amounts of energy and money.

Working in partnership with local authorities, this year the project has extended its reach to the entire county. Homelife Carlisle is one of these partners who similarly offer home improvement grants of up to £7,500 for households in need.

Representatives from CAfS and Homelife Carlisle, a Home Improvement Agency, provided by Carlisle City Council, met with MP John Stevenson in Carlisle this week to discuss the work.

January is usually the most difficult of months with homeowners experiencing a long wait until payday along with a higher demand on their home energy requirements due to the colder temperature.

This year, families are experiencing even tougher conditions with energy prices skyrocketing leading them to have to make tough choices when it comes to the affordability of heating their homes.

The best way to discover ways of how to reduce energy costs is to get independent, specialist advice and Cold to Cosy homes Cumbria offers that free to eligible households. They can also offer so much more in terms of support with switching suppliers or tariffs, installing smart meters or smaller measures like LED bulbs and radiator reflectors, draught proofing and sign posting on to larger measures which can lead to a reduction in bills of hundreds of pounds per year.

Of course, it’s not just about saving money but reducing our carbon emissions and reducing energy use can go a long way in supporting the Cumbria target of becoming carbon neutral by 2037.

Residents wishing to access energy saving support should contact Cold to Cosy Homes or Homelife Carlisle and they will be cross referred to receive the maximum support and guidance for their situation with just one phone call.

Carlisle MP John Stevenson said: “This partnership is one of a number across Cumbria made by Cold to Cosy Homes which enables every household to get free independent advice, an example of how they are committed to reaching as many vulnerable and low-income households as possible during these difficult times.”

CAfS representative Kieran Macfadzean said: “By working in close partnership with Homelife Carlisle we can offer a broad range of households sound, independent advice on all aspects of staying warm and reducing their energy bills. We often advise about support that may be available from Homelife Carlisle to achieve larger works such as insulation and installation of renewable heating systems.

“In a time of escalating energy bills, we can all benefit from finding out how we can change our energy use and save ourselves some money.”

In December 2021 a Cumbrian Sustainable Warmth consortium of district councils – that aims to address fuel poverty, improve energy efficiency and carbon savings – was told that they had received £19,955,000 funding from the UK Government.

The application for the Sustainable Warmth Competition, was submitted on the consortium’s behalf by Carlisle City Council.

The funding aims to boost the local economy to retrofit a target of 1,310, mainly private sector homes, with energy efficiency measures, including low-carbon heating across Cumbria.

Carlisle City Cllr Paul Nedved, Portfolio holder for Economy, Enterprise and Housing, added “We would encourage any residents who would like energy advice or find out what grants are available for energy saving measures to get in contact with CAFS or Homelife Carlisle to see how we can assist you save energy and keep warm.

“We will soon be launching a new grants scheme after we successful bid for government funding on behalf of the district councils in Cumbria. Keep an eye on www.carlisle.gov.uk/homelife for updates.”

Households can find out more and apply at www.cosyhomes.org.uk or call 01768 216500 to talk to one of the team.

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17 January 2022
Great uptake of carbon literacy courses

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This year CAfS launched a new programme of climate training which has been very successful. CAfS’ climate and carbon literacy training courses have huge levels of take up and very positive feedback in terms of improved knowledge and also attendees feeling more motivated and empowered to take action. As take up was so high, we had to recruit extra trainers and now have a team of 8 specialist climate trainers.

“The course sets out why action on climate change is needed now and what we can do as individuals and businesses to make a difference. In the past, when I have attended climate change training, I have felt that I have been talked at, judged or blamed (that action has been slow), this isn’t the case with CAfS, the approach is one that is reflective, balanced and pragmatic. It is based on an understanding that not all of us can take every action, inhibited by our ability to change for various reasons, but instead, raises your consciousness to make you want to do something, whatever is right for you or your organisation, and helps you think through the practical steps involved.” – Andrew Seekings, Chief Executive, Allerdale Borough Council.

CAfS has delivered 68 training sessions this year to a great range of organisations and individuals, including Cumbria County Council, Allerdale Borough Council, Copeland Borough Council, South Lakeland District Council and Eden District Council, open courses for mixed audiences and a specialist course for hospitality businesses, including Langdale Leisure.

Courses ranged from full-day, accredited climate and carbon literacy training, to shorter courses giving an overview of climate science and solutions for Cumbria.

Any organisation interested in the bespoke organisational training or open audience courses should contact [email protected]

For details of current open access courses available to book, please see Events – CAfS

CAfS also recruited and supported 20 volunteer climate trainers this year who went on to deliver free climate-related talks and events in their own communities, reaching over 500 extra people.

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21 December 2021
An update on Fellfoot Forward

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Fellfoot Forward Future fair – North Pennines AONB

The Fellfoot Forward Landscape Partnership Scheme is working with CAfS to deliver the Future Fair part of the scheme. We want to assist farmers, landowners and communities in the scheme area to implement long-term sustainability and carbon reduction and leave a legacy that is fair and sustainable for the next generation. Climate change and how we respond locally and globally will affect the security and impact of everything we invest in through the Fellfoot Forward Landscape Partnership Scheme.

Fellfoot Forward Community buildings – North Pennines AONB The Fellfoot Forward Landscape Partnership Scheme can support communities to change their community buildings to become low carbon and sustainable, and to focus on opportunities to retrofit and renovate, utilising renewable energy, choosing natural materials, and nurturing an ethos of reduce, reuse, repair and recycle.

Looking ahead! In 2022 CAfS will be working with the Fellfoot Forward LPS and the Farmer Network to deliver an innovative “whole farm carbon pilot” in the area, supporting farmers in calculating their baseline carbon emissions utilising the Farm Carbon Toolkit and aiding them with audits, training, on farm events and farmer to farmer networks.

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21 December 2021
Looking back on a year at CAfS

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Merry Christmas to all of our followers and supporters! After another turbulent year we’ve reached the final days of December in a nostalgic mood. We thought we’d take a look back at the previous 12 months and bring to your attention a few of the CAfS highlights and milestones from 2021.

But first…

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A message from our CEO

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As 2021 draws to a close, I’d like to say a huge thank you to all our supporters on behalf of the CAfS team. We have had many ‘highs’ over the last year – from great success in bringing funding into Cumbria for a whole range of projects which help reduce our carbon emissions, to meeting for the first-time face to face with our new colleagues recruited virtually during the pandemic. We have also had some ‘lows’ – by far the worst of those being the outcome of COP26 which was a major blow for the future of humanity although sadly not a surprise. However, we continue our fight against climate change undeterred – helped by the knowledge that public and organisational support in Cumbria for rapid action to reduce carbon emissions is growing day by day.

I hope that our monthly newsletters provide you with constructive hope, ideas, and a sense of connection to others who are also moved to act. As more and more people take steps to reduce their carbon footprint – insulate their homes, ditch the car for cycling, take the bus, repair rather than chuck stuff away, buy local food, eat less meat, fly less, avoid fossil fuel investments etc – we will all benefit. Lower energy bills, cleaner air, quiet roads, new green jobs, less waste are just some of the many advantages we can experience from a low carbon Cumbria.

My New Year’s Resolution will be to celebrate these benefits every day.

Stay well.

Karen Mitchell

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What we did this year:

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Our team continues to expand

Firstly, it’s been an absolute delight to welcome so many new members of staff to the CAfS family. Since January, 10 new faces have arrived to the team, increasing our forces by around 50%. Every one of the new people have slotted seamlessly into the day-to-day workings of the charity and we thank them for making fresh faces so easy to get used to.

We led the charge

In July, we completed our involvement with the partnership with Charge My Street which has hugely increased the number of electric vehicle chargepoints in Cumbria. Over thirty installations were made while we were in on the project and our very own Nigel authored a fantastic report on the future charging requirements of Cumbria. We’re very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the Charge My Street team and can’t wait to see more of their chargepoints sprouting across the region.

Cumbria got cosy

Cold to Cosy Homes has had its biggest year yet with 1500 households having received advice and 1000 energy saving measures being distributed to the people of Cumbria. The energy team were also recognised by the North West Energy Efficiency Awards, winning the prize for vulnerable customer support. Congratulations and thanks to the energy team for their tireless efforts.

A new grant was launched

Backed by the National Lottery Community Fund, we launched the Community Climate Grant fund in November. This allows groups in Cumbria to apply for up to £10,000 of funding for their climate-friendly projects. This total funding pot of £100,000 has the potential to make a huge difference in Cumbria’s race to net-zero and we can’t wait to find out what the residents of the county do with the cash.

Youth Climate Summit

The 2021 Youth Climate Summit took place in October with young people from a load of different schools meeting to discuss their thoughts on climate science and its solutions for Cumbria. These findings were then presented to Karen Mitchell and Cumbria County Council’s member for Environment. The recommendations included revised policies on transport, waste and youth representation. Thanks to all the young people for their dedication to get involved.

Great Big Green Week

In September, we had the Great Big Green Week which saw a parade of Cumbrian organisations absolutely knocking it out of the park with events taking place up and down the county. On our directory page, we found just under 40 events at which Cumbrians were engaging with climate issues and committing to solutions. Well done to everyone involved!

Ambleside began their journey to zero

Ambleside to Zero officially launched in September with businesses and residents being shown all the support that is available for low-carbon initiatives and all the plans for making Ambleside a stronghold of carbon neutrality in the Lake District. This was just the first step on a journey that will take the town down exciting new avenues in the race to net-zero.

We inspected our footprints

In March, we launched our very own carbon footprint calculators for households and businesses. These were used by a huge number of our followers to work out the impact their practises were having on the climate and helped to identify where they could make changes. We were greatly encouraged by the numbers we saw making use of the calculators along with the overwhelmingly positive response some users sent to us after they were finished.

Carbon literacy began to spread

Our carbon literacy training sessions have already resulted in over 500 individuals being trained up in climate science and solutions. The enthusiasm that we’ve seen for these courses, both from individuals and from larger bodies training their staff, has been heartening to behold. We’re planning to continue these courses into 2022 and we will hopefully continue to see them filled with keen folks willing to learn.

We revealed Cumbria’s potential

In one of our larger moments of exposure on a national scale, we released The potential for green jobs in Cumbria report in March. This revealed that up to 9000 jobs could be created in the region over 15 years if we committed to a transition to green technologies. The report received widespread coverage nationally and we’re desperately hoping to see it factored in to national public policy in the coming years.

The race to 2037 began

This year was the one in which the Zero Carbon Cumbria Project, funded by the national lottery, was initiated. Around 80 organisations came together to begin a 5-year partnership. During this time, the group will be pushing any initiative they can to help meet their target of getting Cumbria to zero-carbon by 2037. We’re early on in the partnership but it’s been great to see the progress already being made in the discussions.

Our energy was renewed

Thanks to some generous funding from the Energy Saving Trust, we were able to expand the scope of our energy services as a whole. Cold to Cosy Homes benefited from a significant boost in staffing and its reach was extended to new parts of Cumbria. We also began our Retrofit for Cumbria service which has been taking applications from residents eager to make changes to their home, futureproofing them for the coming years. We’re incredibly eager for more people in the county to discover how to marry together the traditional and beautifully built homes of Cumbria, with modern and sustainable energy conservation methods.

And in addition…

In the last 12 months, CAfS has brought in £1.1 Million in grant funding, over £8,000 in donations and £130,000 from our paid services. And this isn’t even mentioning our close partnership with Shed 1 Gin who chose us as one of their charities to support for the year and who hosted our first in-person event since early 2020!

All in all, it’s been a brilliant year for CAfS and we can’t reiterate enough how grateful we are to all of our supporters. None of our work gets done without the people of Cumbria and we hope you’ll continue to stick with us in our mission well in 2022 and beyond. Have a lovely holiday period and we look forward to getting stuck back in in the new year.

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20 December 2021
New report sets out Cumbrian energy projects in race to net zero

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This month, the Green Investment Plan Cumbria (known as the GIPC to their friends) launched its new green investment report. The report outlines a series of projects that are set to pump billions of pounds into the local economy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by millions of tonnes every year. The projects intend to make the most of Cumbria’s wealth of renewable and natural assets and take in a range of sectors and range across nature, transport, buildings and the energy sectors. They each involve various mechanisms to help with their financing. The report also identifies actions which should ensure that local interest is maintained in the investments so that the projects can be shaped to meet local environmental and community needs & priorities.

One of the major projects identified include a community owned offshore wind farm named “Collette”, which could power 1.7 million homes with clean energy and bring hundreds of jobs to the west coast of Cumbria. Not bad.

Another proposal is for a large-scale facility at Harker which could produce hydrogen gas from renewable energy, to be used for the hard to abate sectors such as steel, cement and heavy road transport.

An agri-innovation hub is also suggested to develop skills in innovations such as agri-forestry, agri-Voltaics, livestock management and nature-based solutions opportunities by combining public payments with private investments, to scale up to many of the catchments in Cumbria.

Also on the cards is a retrofit skills hub and a retrofit delivery organisation. this would train Cumbrians in retrofitting skills and encourage consumers to undertake projects by increasing their understanding of options available to them. It would also build confidence that works will actually be professionally carried out. The skills hub could be delivered by the Cumbrian network of further education colleges, the Ecological Building Systems, based in Carlisle, and others.

The report comes as a commitment to net zero is growing across the financial system. While there is no shortage of capital, how this is delivered needs to be urgently addressed. – in particular locally where there is a large demand for cash, alongside a struggle to attract investment.

Recent polling from YouGov has suggested that two-thirds of the UK public think it’s important that the UK invests in transitioning traditional industries such as steel to low-carbon production.

The report is the first step to attracting more funding to Cumbria and it seeks to illustrate what a green investment plan for Cumbria might look like. While Cumbria’s reorganisation into two new unitary authorities will take some time to fully bed down, strategies for investing in net zero projects need to start now to meet national 2030 deadlines and the 2037 net zero local target.

We hope that common net zero ambitions, green investment and jobs plans can be a bridge between the two unitary authorities, to build from all that has already been achieved, and with an accelerated pace of delivery.

Prof Nick Robins, LSE and chair of GIPC, commented:

“What is so inspiring about the proposals from Cumbria’s Green Investment Plan is the focus on how financial innovation can not only enable urgent climate action, but also create good quality jobs for local people and strengthen communities through a focus on delivering a truly just transition.”

Ciara Shannon, Project Lead of GIPC, said:

“With Cumbria’s wealth of green assets, there is a great opportunity for local and national investors and the government to come together and create something truly pioneering. If all of the ideas in the report are acted on, Cumbria can go beyond achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions to be one of the UK’s first climate positive counties (that is, to remove more GHG emissions than it puts into the atmosphere”.

Ingrid Holmes, Executive Director, Green Finance Institute, commented:

“Net zero investment must scale up as soon as possible. The UK Infrastructure Bank – which has a joint focus on delivering and supporting local and regional growth for a net zero economy – is likely to be an important partner for Cumbria in its efforts to unlock private capital to create future-fit, resilient infrastructure that meets local needs.”

Suzanne Caldwell, Managing Director, Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, said:

“I hope that this report will be read far and wide and that it will lead to a competitive investment strategy for Cumbria. An investment strategy will help Cumbria’s businesses make the right decisions to seek out social and environmental opportunities, alongside financial returns.”

Michael Osbourne, Arup, commented:

“Harnessing Cumbria’s natural forces of wind, tide, solar and water for renewable power will drive a green industrial revolution, decarbonising industry and transport, creating new raw materials of hydrogen and oxygen, for new industries, jobs and export opportunities in the future.”

Ian Callaghan, finance adviser to the project, noted:

“While the raw materials for sustainable prosperity are all present in Cumbria, we need to find ways of making sure that promising projects and business ideas consistently get access to the finance they need. This will mean creating an approach that brings all the parties together to get finance over the line, and this investment plan is a great start to that process.”

You can view the report here.

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2 December 2021
Job: Customer Administrator
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Closing date: 9am on Tuesday 4 January 2022.

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We are looking for an excellent customer service professional, to provide the first point of contact for our clients. As a key member of our core team, you will handle enquiries, process client referrals using our CRM system and support the delivery and coordination of home visits. This essential role also involves providing administrative support to our team in the delivery of events across the county, internal reporting and office management.

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Application & Interview Process

Please apply by completing the application form below. Please do not send a CV. Guidance for submitting your application is included in the form.

CAfS Application Form

Closing date for return of applications is 9am on 4 January 2022.

Candidates shortlisted for interview will be informed by 7 January 2022.

Interviews will be held via Zoom on 10 January 2022.

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Job description

If you prefer to download the job description and person specification, please use the link below:

Customer Administrator – Job Description

BENEFITS: CAfS offers an excellent working environment, with benefits ranging from flexible working to a pension contribution. Find out more about the benefits of working at CAfS >

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THE EMPLOYER: Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS).

LOCATION: Contractually based at our office, Eden Rural Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET, however, homeworking can be agreed.  Occasional meetings required at venues across Cumbria

REPORTS TO:  Project Manager – Cold to Cosy Homes.

HOURS: 22.5 to 30 hours per week, with flexibility to work across 3, 4 or 5 days

The working times are flexible but must include core office hours of 10am-3pm unless agreed otherwise. There may also be occasional need to work evenings/weekends for event or meeting support.

START/END DATE: Start as soon as possible. Fixed term contract to Dec 2022 (with potential for extension subject to funding).

SALARY RANGE: £18,796 to £22,352 FTE (£15,036 to £17,881 for a 30 hour week).

LEGAL RIGHT TO WORK: You must have a legal right to work in the UK as CAfS is not in a position to act as a sponsor.

APPLICATIONS BY: Apply using the CAfS application form. CVs will not be considered. Application forms must be received by 09:00 on 04 Jan 2022.

INTERVIEWS: Interviews will be held on 10 Jan 2022.

Interviews will be via Zoom. The interview process will involve one or more tasks relating to the role. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be contacted by 0900 on 07 Jan 2022.

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ABOUT CAfS

Our vision is a zero carbon Cumbria, and we strive to bring about a better way of life, in balance with our environment.  

Our mission is to empower and enable people, communities and businesses to live and work more sustainably by sharing our knowledge, practice, skills, networks and practical experience. We manage and deliver events, advice, training and practical projects across the county as well as providing specialist consultancy services to enable individuals, communities, businesses and local authorities to drive a shift towards a Zero Carbon Cumbria. 

We are expanding our Cold to Cosy Homes service in order to deliver more free home energy advice support across all districts of Cumbria. The service supports vulnerable people who may be living in cold, draughty or damp homes.

Our Cold to Cosy Homes service includes: 
- Advice about home energy efficiency over the telephone and in-home by trainedCAfSemployees and contractors. 
- Events and training about home energy efficiency for householders and volunteers. 
- The installation of energy measures such as draughtproofing, low energy light bulbs and insulation by professional installers. 
We also increasingly offer a range of commercial services to householders for energy audits and advice.  

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This job description is not exhaustive but is provided to assist the postholder to know what the main duties are. It may be amended from time to time without change to the levels of responsibility appropriate to the grade of the post and in discussion with the postholder.

MAIN PURPOSE OF ROLE:

The role is to:
- Assist the Cold to Cosy Homes team to deliver free home energy advice and paid services.
- Provide excellent customer service to our clients, including vulnerable customers.
- Deliver a range of administrative duties in support of the project team.
MAIN TASKS:
- To provide the first point of contact for clients by telephone, email and online application forms.
- Handling enquiries and requests, ensuring accurate input of client details onto the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system or passing on messages as necessary.
- Processing client referrals by inputting information onto the CRM system or other external databases.
- Booking and amending energy advice calls/visits via the CRM system and Outlook calendars of team member’s and contractors and providing confirmation to the client.
- Assisting in the coordination of draughtproofing installation visits, including telephoning clients to arrange, referring to contractors and updates of installation records.
- To provide support to events. To include administering bookings on our website and CRM, managing sign-ins, preparing and packing event kit, setting up rooms and attending where required.
- To provide support for the ongoing implementation and compliance of GDPR requirements and the CRM system.
- To undertake additional administration tasks as directed by the relevant staff member, including but not limited to: ordering equipment and stationary, meeting administration, providing client data for update reports
- Undertake relevant training to ensure continued personal development relevant to the area of work.
- Perform other duties that may be required from time to time.
Customer Administrator

Person Specification

Essential criteria

To be able to demonstrate:
- Excellent customer service, especially providing excellent service.
- Experience in providing administrative support in a dynamic and demanding environment.
- Excellent customer skills in telephone call handling as well as online enquiry handling.
- Experience of recording data in Customer Relationship Management systems.
- Ability to proactively handle a wide range of tasks and prioritise these effectively.
- Willingness to learn about issues affecting vulnerable clients in heating their home, reducing costs and becoming more sustainable.
- Ability to use initiative and make effective decisions.
- Ability to use a comprehensive range of IT systems (Microsoft Word, Excel and Customer Relationship Management) and the willingness to train in additional IT skills as and when required.
- Accuracy and attention to detail, and the ability to work to tight timeframes.
- A good level of numeracy.
- Good written and proofreading skills.
- Tact, patience and diplomacy.
- Ability to maintain a sensitive and professional approach towards colleagues and service users, mindful of confidentiality and anti-discriminatory practices.
- Empathy with CAfS aims values and objectives.
Desirable criteria

To be able to demonstrate:
- Experience of data gathering, analysis and reporting e.g. customer data.
- Experience of working in a dispersed team and using Microsoft Teams or similar.
- An understanding of energy efficiency in the home.
- An understanding of the work of CAfS and the impact of climate change on the environment and economy.
- Experience of Charitylog CRM system.
If you would like more information about the role, please email: [email protected]

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1 December 2021
Job: Home Energy Adviser
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Closing date: 9am on Tuesday 4 January 2022.

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We are looking for a friendly and knowledgeable adviser to help people improve their home energy efficiency, giving advice through in-home visits, by telephone and at events. You will be tasked with help guiding improvements to our service, with a keen focus on quality control and developments affecting our work. You’ll have excellent communication and accurate coordination skills, supporting our pool of contractors and advisers.

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Application & Interview Process

Please apply by completing the application form below. Please do not send a CV. Guidance for submitting your application is included in the form.

CAfS Application Form

Closing date for return of applications is 9am on 4 January 2022.

Candidates shortlisted for interview will be informed by 7 January 2022.

Interviews will be held via Zoom on 14 January 2022.

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Job description

If you prefer to download the job description and person specification, please use the link below:

Home Energy Adviser – Job Description

BENEFITS: CAfS offers an excellent working environment, with benefits ranging from flexible working to a pension contribution. Find out more about the benefits of working at CAfS >

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EMPLOYER: Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS)

LOCATION: Contractually based at our office, Eden Rural Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET, however, homeworking can be agreed.

REPORTS TO: Project Manager – Cold to Cosy Homes

HOURS: 22.5 to 30 hours a week, with flexibility to work across 3, 4 or 5 days. The working times are flexible but must include core office hours of 10am-3pm unless agreed otherwise. There may also be occasional need to work evenings/weekends for event or meeting support.

START/END DATE: Start as soon as possible. Fixed term contract to Dec 2022 (with potential for extension subject to funding)

SALARY RANGE: £21,336 to £25,400 per annum full-time equivalent, (£17,068, to £20,320 for a 30-hour week) depending on skills and experience.

LEGAL RIGHT TO WORK: You must have a legal right to work in the UK as CAfS is not in a position to act as a sponsor. 

APPLICATIONS BY: Apply using the CAfS application form. CVs will not be considered. Application forms must be received by 09:00 on 04 Jan 2022.

INTERVIEWS: Interviews will be held on 14 Jan 2022.

Interviews will be via Zoom. If you are selected for interview, you will be asked to prepare a short presentation, to be delivered during the interview. The interview process will also involve one or more tasks relating to the role. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be contacted by 0900 on 07 Jan 2022.

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ABOUT CAFS:

Our vision is a zero carbon Cumbria, and we strive to bring about a better way of life, in balance with our environment.

Our mission is to empower and enable people, communities, and businesses to live and work more sustainably by sharing our knowledge, practice, skills, networks, and practical experience. We manage and deliver events, advice, training, and practical projects across the county as well as providing specialist consultancy services to enable individuals, communities, businesses and local authorities to drive a shift towards a Zero Carbon Cumbria.

We are expanding our Cold to Cosy Homes service to deliver more free home energy advice support across all districts of Cumbria. The service supports vulnerable people who may be living in cold, draughty or damp homes.  

Our Cold to Cosy Homes service includes: 
- Advice about home energy efficiency by telephone and in-home by trainedCAfSemployees and contractors.  
- Events and training about home energy efficiency for householders and volunteers. 
- The installation of energy measures such as draughtproofing, low energy light bulbs and insulation by professional installers. 
We also increasingly offer a range of commercial services to householders for energy audits and advice.  

This job description is not exhaustive but is provided to assist the postholder to know what the main duties are. It may be amended from time to time without change to the levels of responsibility appropriate to the grade of the post and in discussion with the postholder.

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MAIN PURPOSE OF ROLE:

This role is to:
- Provide home energy advice in clients’ homes, by telephone and through events to clients across Cumbria.
- Ensure all the team are equipped with the most up to date knowledge of grant schemes and support for our clients across Cumbria.
- Help deliver a growth in the Cold to Cosy Homes service.
MAIN TASKS:
- Provide a programme of energy advice in clients’ homes, by telephone and through arranging and delivery of advice at events throughout Cumbria.
- Provide a high quality of customer service, building a friendly rapport with clients and a strong and credible reputation for the advice service and CAfS.
- Ensure a high level of quality control across the delivery of our service.
- Ensure the team are up to date with knowledge of grants, technology and energy-saving related measures.
- Develop and support our team of professional energy advisers to provide telephone-based advice and visits.
- Coordinate installation of energy measures in homes through our trusted contractors.
- Expand and implement the Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria project across districts in Cumbria.
- Developing new ways to support our clients to gain the information they need to save energy and afford to heat their homes.
- Contribute to the ongoing work of CAfS generally, including attending appropriate networking meetings, team meetings and training sessions.
Person Specification

Essential skills and attributes:
- Knowledge of domestic energy saving, the domestic energy market, tariff comparisons and switching, renewable energy and other schemes to help people save energy and afford their energy bills.
- Good knowledge of energy saving in homes, and the issues that vulnerable people can have in heating their homes.
- Demonstrable skills and experience of providing high-quality customer service.
- Strong team player and capability to work cooperatively as part of a small team as well as on own initiative without day-to-day supervision.
- Excellent communication skills, to network and reach out to communities and organisations supporting vulnerable customers and to provide clear energy-efficiency advice.
- Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of sustainability issues and an interest in the objectives that CAfS seeks to deliver.
- Ability to deliver workshops and speak confidently to small groups.
- Good written communication and Microsoft Office skills.
- Ability to work to tight deadlines and juggle multiple priorities.
- Ability to work flexibly including evening and weekend working by agreement.
- Ability to travel independently throughout rural Cumbria.
Desirable criteria

The following attributes are desirable but not essential:
- Experience providing energy saving advice.
- Experience of working in or with local authorities, housing association tenants or organisation supporting households.
- Experience providing services to vulnerable households.
- Qualification in providing energy advice – City & Guilds Level 3 Energy Awareness.
- Experience working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, including vulnerable individuals and community groups.
- Experience of working in a dispersed team and using Microsoft Teams or similar. 
- Practical experience of improving energy efficiency in domestic settings.
- An existing network of contacts in Cumbria or demonstrable ability to build networks rapidly.
- Additional experience / qualification in energy auditing/thermography.
- Budgeting and project management experience.
- Experience of securing grant funding and tenders.
If you would like more information about the role, please email: [email protected]

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1 December 2021