The Carbon Trust should encourage the expansion of the energy advice market and use the public funding it receives to reach a wider audience, says the National Audit Office.

In a report on the government’s energy saving body, the NAO said the trust should “explore the potential for developing a franchise model which will maintain or increase existing demand for energy advice but will enable accredited third parties to offer organisations advice”.

The NAO also criticised the Carbon Trust for failing to achieve a higher implementation rate for its recommendations.

The criticisms are contained in an NAO report published on 22 November, but there were positive comments too.

According to the report, the Carbon Trust used £100 million of government funding to deliver CO2 savings of between 1.2 million and 2 million tonnes, which the report claims is “equivalent to a projected financial saving of between £222 million and £359 million in future reduced energy costs”.

The NAO says that on this basis the trust’s advice to businesses has proved value for money.

Source

Building Sustainable Design