The Federation of Small Businesses has launched a new service to help its members reduce gas and electricity bills by offering guidance on switching and efficiency measures.

The energy saving sector has expressed approval of the government’s plans to retain a 5% VAT rate on the majority of energy saving materials (ESMs) that currently benefit from a reduced tax.

Local communities in Ireland are set to benefit from €20 million under the 2016 Better Energy Communities scheme, which will fund energy efficiency improvements across a range of projects.

The government has released plans to ensure reduced VAT is maintained on energy saving materials (ESMs) following a judgement earlier this year by the European Court (CJEU) that called for a 20% rate to be applied to all products.

The Mayor’s Office has countered claims that London mayor Boris Johnson struck a secret deal with ‘Big Six’ utility Npower, allowing them to exclusively provide energy to intensive users inside the capital.

The Energy and Climate Change select committee has heard that future home energy efficiency policy needs to build demand from consumers and use the existing supply chain to meet it.

The Energy and Climate Change (ECC) select committee has heard from a number of witnesses that the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is not a fit policy for tackling fuel poverty as envisaged by the government.

A group of 114 companies including major multinationals such as Ikea, Walmart, Dell and Sony have signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) at the COP21 summit in Paris.

Around two thirds of the 10,000 companies eligible for the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) have complied within the deadline, leaving more than 3,000 yet to contact the scheme’s regulator.

Businesses that ignore the threats of climate change and do not improve their efficiency practices are putting the lives of many people at risk, Unilever chief executive Paul Polman has said.