PRESS RELEASE
EMBARGOED UNTIL 20.30 HOURS BST, WEDNESDAY 30 MAY 2012
Ashden Awards 2012: UK winners announced
National Trust receives Gold Award
The winners of this year’s Ashden Awards, the world’s leading green energy awards, were announced
this evening at (30 May) at the Royal Geographical Society in London.
Five pioneering initiatives from across the UK received their awards from Grand Designs presenter Kevin
McCloud, each presented with £10,000 to be spent on expanding their sustainable energy work. The
winners are: Energy4All, Parity Projects, Student Switch Off (Neil Jennings Associates CIC), and
the University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust (UHSM).
This year’s overall UK Gold Award winner is the National Trust, which received £20,000 in recognition
of the outstanding progress it has made in reducing energy use and CO2 emissions at its Welsh
properties, with cuts of 41% achieved in just two years and a commitment to rolling out its work across
the rest of its properties.
Ashden Founder-Director Sarah Butler-Sloss said: “The National Trust’s work stood out for its strategic
vision, its thorough approach, its expertise, and for getting everyone on board, from cleaners through to
senior management. Most impressive of all, it has shown that if huge energy savings can be made in
historic listed buildings, they can be made in any building”.
Now in their 12th year, the Ashden Awards champion practical, local energy solutions that cut carbon,
protect the environment, boost economies and improve people’s lives in the UK and developing world.
Speaking about the Awards, Kevin McCloud said: “Among all the weapons in our armoury in the fight
against climate change, the Ashden Awards is a powerful one. By celebrating human change – in how
we live, how we travel, how we build and maintain our homes, how we invest – it shows us what’s
possible for us all to achieve.”
The 2012 UK winners are:
UK Gold Award winner: National Trust
The National Trust has cut energy use across its Welsh properties by a massive 41% over just two
years, demonstrating that even the most sensitive buildings can be made much more energy efficient.
Secrets of success include a combination of efficiency measures, sustainable heating technologies and
a culture change in how energy is managed. As well as cutting down on energy use it has installed
renewable sources of energy, including solar PV and hydro power.
Energy4All
Energy4All demonstrates how communities can be inspired to take ownership of sustainable energy.
This Cumbria-based company manages 8 co-operatives with 7,690 members, who collectively own the
equivalent of over 20 MW of capacity in UK wind farms. In 2011 the wind farms generated over 45 GWh
of electricity, saving 19,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Parity Projects
This dynamic company offers tailor-made advice to home owners and social housing providers on how
best to reduce their fuel bills through energy efficiency measures as well as micro renewable energy
generation .The team first visits properties to take measurements and find out how clients use their
buildings, then inputs the information into its own specialised software which projects costs and savings
for different retrofitting options. So far Parity has given advice to over 700 households as well as 17
social housing providers covering more than 240,000 homes, as well as training over 500 people to do
retrofitting.
Student Switch Off (Neil Jennings Associates CIC)
Student Switch Off is harnessing student silliness to take simple steps to save energy, including
wrapping up warm, switching off lights and using lids on saucepans, so helping participating UK
universities to keep a lid on their fuel costs. Through its inventive use of social media, peer-to-peer
engagement and student-focused incentives, this exciting initiative last year helped participating
universities cut their electricity consumption by over 7%. Some 43 universities and 18,000 students are
involved so far.
University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust (UHSM)
By investing money to save energy and winning the hearts and minds of staff, UHSM has achieved cuts
of 35% in gas and electricity use over the past five years, this year saving some £390,000 on fuel bills at
current energy prices. With new technologies such as biomass boilers, heating system upgrades, new
lighting, windows and insulation combined with staff behaviour change, the hospital’s logical approach to
retrofit is eminently replicable across the NHS.
The 2012 UK Runners Up are:
Ellergreen Hydro
This Lake District-based company is harnessing the natural resources of the Lake District and Yorkshire
Dales with a new approach to building micro-hydro installations. Over the past two years it has
constructed 5 hydro projects with a total capacity of 620 kW, with a further 17 due for completion over
the next three years.
Perdiswell Primary School
Since its inception in 2008, Worcester-based Perdiswell Primary School’s ‘Switch Off’ campaign has
achieved an impressive 18% cut in electricity use.
Selwood Academy
This Frome-based school is halfway through a ten-year plan to improve sustainability, with key steps
including boiler upgrades, new windows, better metering and changing behaviour to save energy.
ENDS
For further information on the 2012 Ashden Awards UK winners and to schedule interviews,
contact Julia Hawkins: T: 07967 498340; e: Julia.hawkins@ashden.org
Notes to editors
1. The Ashden Awards were set up in 2001 to champion practical, local energy solutions that cut
carbon, protect the environment, reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. Since then they
have rewarded and supported more than 140 winners across the UK and the developing world.
For further information, including photos, films, and case studies on past winners, go to
www.ashden.org
2. His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is Patron of the Ashden Awards. UK and international
Award winners met him at Clarence House this morning.
3.





The following awards were presented at the ceremony on 30 May 2012:
Five UK awards
UK Gold Award
Five international awards
Eurostar Ashden Sustainable Travel Award
International Gold Award
4. Case studies, films and photographs of each winner can be downloaded on the website via the
following links:





Energy4All – www.ashdenawards.org/winners/energy4all12
National Trust – www.ashdenawards.org/winners/nationaltrust12
Parity Projects – www.ashdenawards.org/winners/parityprojects12
Student Switch Off - www.ashdenawards.org/winners/studentswitchoff12
University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust (UHSM) www.ashdenawards.org/winners/uhsm12
5. Download photos of winners’ work: http://www.ashden.org/media/uk_photos/2012_finalists
From Thursday 1 June:
Download photos of the Award ceremony: www.ashdenawards.org/media/photos/2012_ceremony
Download photos of HRH The Prince of Wales meeting our winners:
www.ashdenawards.org/media/photos/2012_HRH
5. The keynote speech at the awards ceremony was given by Dr Kandeh Yumkella, Director-General of
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and Chair of UN Energy.
6. Call for entries for 2013 Ashden Awards: We are now seeking entries for the 2013 Ashden Awards.
Full details of the prize package, criteria and application forms are on the Ashden website:
www.ashden.org/apply