and how doing things right gets rewarded...

and

• Established in Feb 2010, and have done over 130 installs• Mainly domestic but with a good number of farms and

community centers and public buildings• Buisness is growing fast, with turn over increasing by 30%

each month• Bristol based, with smaller offices in leeds and Linconshire• But what makes us different?

But Ethical and Solar?

• Big problem that people believe all solar panels are good and sustainable, far from the truth…

• We believe the true ethos of the solar industry should be cutting CO2 and leading by example in the way companies are run from high environmental stewardship to treating people well…

• A new industry showing old industries how they should run, we as an industry can’t be hypocritical

Not all solar panels are created equal..

• Some modules made using renewable energies can pay for the energy used in their creation in under a year

• Some modules can take over 12 years to pay for the energy used in their creation!

• Some modules are made in polluting factories with poor worker welfare

• Others have brilliant welfare and strong environmental stewardship

• Some modules are even ‘up-cycled’…

Some systems are more equal then others

Customers have a choice that they are not necessarily made aware of:•They can install low carbon environmentally friendly panels that come from only as far as Europe and are produced using renewable energy so their energy payback time is as short as 2 years• Or they can install panels with high levels of embedded carbon having to travel from one side of the planet to the other, being manufactured in polluting factories, by companies that may or may not look after their workers welfare

Added sustainability• Transport

– Vans running on waste Bio-diesel – Minimising transport, 3 people fit in a van = 3 people on a

domestic install– Commutes: 80% cycle to work, cycle purchase scheme

• New opportunities– Employing the long term unemployed within each team, giving

hope back to people– Offering charities etc the chance to get involved

• Low impact methods throughout the business

Beyond (or before) PV

• We don’t do pressure sales• Whilst/before offering PV we also give advice on saving

energy use though the home• Give people advice on setting things like washing machines

to run in the day time

It doesn’t cost more to do the right thing

• Why should people buy a less sustainable system when they can buy the most sustainable and high performing system for the same price?

• A win-win situation: we are an Ethical company and yet we are highly price competitive at the same time

• The rewards: we are attracting the sort of people who not only we want to work with but who want to work with us.

• Projects: past, present and future

Giving back

• Running courses and demos • Talks to schools• Supporting the Transition Town movement• Installing off-grid projects in developing countries

Solar so good, but what next?

• Getting our message across• Reliable funding schemes for those who can’t afford solar• Identifying funding avenues for community projects• Local and sustainable manufacturing of recycled

components for PV systems• Ethical Wholesale (Wholesolar) – providing sustainably

sourced and high quality products to enable other installers

Thank you