Carbon Co-op has won the Ashden Award for Green Skills for our work on People Powered Retrofit service with the prize was announced at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, UK, at a ceremony attended by the President of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado. The Ashden Awards honour pioneering organisations lowering carbon emissions and building a fairer world. Winners receive grants, publicity and support to grow and replicate their innovation.
The award is public recognition for our ground breaking work on domestic energy efficiency and retrofit, rolling out a new end to end service for householders and training over 1,000 people in construction green skills.
Speaking from COP26, Jonathan Atkinson, Director and co-founder of Carbon Co-op said:
The UK faces huge challenges in insulating its 29 million homes, we have shown initiatives like People Powered Retrofit can drive householder interest and train up the workforce we need to improve their homes. We’re delighted to receive this recognition from Ashden for the work we’ve put into People Powered Retrofit.”
Boris Afinogenov a joiner from Liverpool, working insulating floors for People Powered Retrofit said:
“The training I got through People Powered Retrofit convinced me to turn my hobby into work. They helped me to realise my ambitions, so I didn’t have to go back to sales.”
Climate solutions charity Ashden spotlights and supports climate and energy innovators in the UK and low-income countries delivering proven, ready-to-scale climate solutions. It works with businesses, non-profits and public sector organisations.
Carbon Co-op was among nine winners announced at the 2021 Ashden Awards ceremony on 4 November 2021. This year’s award ceremony, attended by Costa Rican President, Carlos Alvarado who gave the key note speech, took place at the COP26 international climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
Winners were chosen from over 800 applicants for their work creating resilience, green economies – including jobs and training – and fairer societies. The Ashden Awards were launched in 2001, and this year’s ceremony took place in the Green Zone at COP26. World leaders and international organisations are gathering in Glasgow from November 1 to 13 to agree a global plan for tackling the climate crisis.
Harriet Lamb, CEO of UK-based Ashden, said:
“These climate pioneers are unlocking new training and job opportunities, particularly for women and marginalised communities in the UK and low income countries. The message to leaders at COP26 is clear – if they get behind such practical and proven climate solutions a zero carbon world is within our reach.”
H.E. President of the Republic of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado said:
“All the nominees to the 2021 Ashden Awards have chosen to lead by example. In Costa Rica we share the conviction that sustainable development goes hand in hand with economic growth, as well as a deep commitment to decarbonisation and to promote nature-based solutions to the climate crisis and biodiversity loss challenges we face. For that, I do believe the great endeavour of our generation is to abolish fossil fuels.
With growing demand for People Powered Retrofit we are raising funds to expand our service and people can invest via the Ethex platform: https://www.ethex.org.uk/invest/people-powered-retrofit
