Trust and reputation critical to Green Deal?

Trust and reputation seem to be emerging as key ingredients likely to affect whether the Government's forthcoming Green Deal is taken up.

The Department of Energy & Climate Change has opened consultation on the forthcoming Green Deal and the requirement on energy companies to contribute £1.3bn annually to ensure even low income households can access to energy-saving home improvements.

According to the DECC press release

Every British home and business will be able to install packages of energy-saving technologies such as insulation at no upfront cost, making their property warmer and cosier straight away, with repayments made over time out of the energy savings.

However, given recent drastic changes to the incentives to encourage people to generate solar electricity on their roofs and the problems caused to renewables businesses by delays in the introduction of another green power incentive scheme, builders are looking to the Government to demonstrate commitment to this latest green initiative being planned.

The CBI has already warned that cash-strapped households might not be convinced it is worth getting involved in the Green Deal.

Reputation is also a potential issue. The energy companies, who will be at the centre of this scheme, do not have a high trust rating with consumers, and an article on a related issue suggests some people may not even allow a Green Deal assessor across their doormat.