Hinckley & Rugby Building Society has partnered with green retrofit specialist Retrogreen to create a service designed to help residential and investment property owners to improve their property’s energy efficiency.

It has also been created to overcome the barrier of affordability by covering the full cost of green retrofitting through a lower-rate green mortgage.

The mutual said the new service directly supports one of the key elements of the COP28 Agreement, where the resolution includes calling on countries to double the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.

Green retrofitting is designed to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, enhance comfort, improve the property’s EPC rating, and increase its value and desirability.

Colin Fyfe, CEO of Hinckley & Rugby, said: “We have forged this partnership to support and help drive the UK’s Green Agenda. Many people are aware of green retrofitting, and know that it could benefit them hugely, but don’t fully understand it. We aim to be with them all the way on the journey to a greener, more energy efficient home.”

The society claims that integral to the new service is the ease with which people can gain an understanding of their property’s current energy efficiency, and create a plan for improving it. Supported financially by Hinckley & Rugby, projects can be managed end to end by Retrogreen.

Hinckley & Rugby holds Pioneer status with the Green Finance Institute, its green mortgages being aligned to the four core components of the Institute’s Green Home Finance Principles. Retrogreen is a wholly owned subsidiary of Digital Buildings Limited, a licensed TrustMark Scheme Provider. Retrogreen follows the PAS 2035 framework to ensure that all work carried out is right for the property, and to the standards set by the government endorsed TrustMark quality scheme.

Green retrofitting has been in the public domain for several years, yet only a small number of properties have so far benefitted. In December 2022, Dr Salvador Acha of Imperial College London, said: “Studies show that the UK’s 28.6 million homes are among the least energy efficient in Europe, and lose heat up to three times faster than on the continent, making people poorer and colder.”

Christopher Holmes, senior products manager at Hinckley & Rugby, added: “Green retrofitting is key to the energy efficiency of our homes, and is an essential element of the UK’s commitments on climate change. We are both keen and primed to be at the forefront of driving this forward for the benefit of UK homeowners, and our planet.”