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Unless you were underground during the first few weeks of November , you can ’ t have failed to be aware of COP26 in Glasgow which sparked great debate outside of the SECC as well as within .
Samantha Cameron-Carruthers
Head of Marketing SimplyBiz Mortgages
The world may not yet have been able to agree on a clear and defined plan of action for the bigger picture , but there are many stopping off points scheduled and that can only be a good thing . The overall takeaways from just over two weeks ‘ to save the planet ’, did offer some hope , and if nothing else , we saw nations working together , with some unexpected alliances being forged .
Ultimately no matter what the teams in Glasgow agreed , ‘ a thousand-mile journey begins with a single step ’ and the ability for people to make a difference within their own lives is a powerful message to big businesses that might choose not to toe the line . We all have the power to play our part and be responsible for the time we have on the planet – and perhaps even what we leave behind .
I ’ m no evangelist on this topic , neither am I an eco-warrior . Like much of you , I am time short , and I just do the best I can with what I have . I recycle , I buy energy efficient appliances , I delay turning the heating on for as long as I can , as frankly I was one
of the generations that were told ‘ if you ’ re cold , put a jumper on and run around a little .’ I don ’ t yet drive an electric car – although I now feel that is the future , once a couple of areas are resolved . I am therefore no green angel , but like most , I am trying to think more widely .
I have been interested to watch the rise of the green mortgage in recent years , from what could initially have been seen as a doffing of the cap to the climate change conversation , claiming the PR headlines , to what is now a product set that is moving more into the mainstream .
The Ecology Building Society were the first , back in the noughties , to offer discounts for energy efficiencies and then in 2018 , Barclays launched theirs , closely followed by a number of others . The provision continues to grow and at a recent series of events , we saw two firms in Keystone and Kensington ( about which you can read more in this edition ) keen to deliver vital education , presenting on green mortgages and the way they worked to support your clients .