The UK Government and independent advisor the Green Finance Institute (GFI) have launched the Green Home Finance Strategic Partnership.
This partnership between the two institutions aims to accelerate the growth of the green home finance market in Britain, allowing consumers to upgrade their homes as and when they want.
The launch of this new partnership comes just weeks after the Government published its Warm Homes Plan The aim is to generate £15 billion in public investment mainly to support the installation of solar energy, battery energy storage systems (BESS) and heat pumps.
The new partnership will be co-chaired by Martin McCluskey, Minister for Energy Consumers at the Department for Energy & Net Zero (DESNZ) and Dr. Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, CEO at the GFI, and supported by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.
The launch of this new partnership comes in anticipation of the launch of the Future Home Standards by the government legislation, which would be published in January 2026. This mandate would include measures aimed at improving carbon emissions from household properties. This would be achieved, among other things, through solar energy on the roof, insulation and heat pumps.
Four steering groups with experts from the sector
Within a year, the partnership aims to create a shared roadmap to scale up green housing financing, develop practical solutions for lenders and government, and expand access to affordable home improvement financing for households.
This new partnership will work through a cross-sector steering group made up of financial institutions, energy suppliers, consumer groups and government and will build on previous programs and initiatives to scale up green home financing solutions.
Members of the steering group include Barclays, Citizens Advice, Energy Saving Trust, Energy UK, the Finance and Leasing Association, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, NatWest, Nesta, UK Finance and the UK Green Building Council.
“Together, these stakeholders share one goal: to scale up green home financing to make upgrades accessible to 5 million homes, creating warmer, healthier and more affordable lives across the UK,” said Thomas.
The secretariat of this new partnership will be co-led by DESNZ and GFI with four thematic working groups led by industry leaders to jointly develop policy recommendations and deliver practical solutions to drive scalable product development and drive market growth.
The focus of each of the four groups is as follows: innovations and incentives for group 1, which will be chaired by UK Finance; providing insight into the sector to shape the government-backed lending initiatives for the group, chaired by GFI; stimulating demand and standardizing consumer pathways for group 3, chaired by Nesta and the Finance & Leasing Association; and focus on improved consumer financial protection and standards for Group 4, chaired by Energy UK.
McCluskey said: “Our Warm Homes Plan will deliver upgrades and lower energy bills to up to five million homes across the country. To do this we will work with the industry to make it easier for everyone to access a wide range of financing options that will make heat pumps and solar panels more affordable.
“Forming this Strategic Partnership with some of the biggest names in finance, research and innovation, and consumer protection will ensure the funding and support are in place to improve the nation’s homes and cut bills for good.”
