"We aim to be an all-inclusive partner to brokers and homeowners on the journey to greener, more energy-efficient homes, and the voice of the industry in educating the intermediary sector."
Awards are certainly not the be-all and end-all of mortgage lending, but to have your work recognised by the broker community is very special – and Hinckley & Rugby were thrilled to receive the Best Green Lender award at last week’s Financial Reporter Brokers’ Choice Awards.
But what is more important is the work we’ve done to get here, and how we’re making our lending proposition as environmentally friendly as possible.
We entered this award because we genuinely feel that we’re a leading light on the ‘green’ stage, and that we’re making a significant impact. Our own green agenda and commitment to local community initiatives are the beating heart of our Society, stemming from the formation of our Environmental Committee in 2019. Created to engage with our communities and to coordinate local green initiatives, this has shaped our entire green lending strategy.
Perhaps most importantly, we identified major gaps in public awareness of how to improve the energy efficiency of a home and how to finance that. Supporting our members is what being a mutual organisation is all about, so finding tangible solutions to that knowledge gap became a priority for us. Our commitment to green lending culminated in a unique partnership with green retrofit specialist Retrogreen.
The Society’s partnership with Retrogreen, a licensed TrustMark Scheme Provider, created a service that was the first of its kind to market. It enables and fully supports both residential and investment property owners to improve their property’s energy efficiency, and to raise their Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating. The barrier of affordability is overcome by covering the full cost of green retrofitting through a lower-rate green mortgage.
At every step – from start to finish and beyond – the customer is assisted and supported with expert guidance, ensuring that their home energy goals are fully realised. This ‘with you all the way’ approach is what sets the service apart.
We aim to be an all-inclusive partner to brokers and homeowners on the journey to greener, more energy-efficient homes, and the voice of the industry in educating the intermediary sector. Part of that is helping brokers to fully appreciate the considerable benefits of green retrofitting, and the opportunities it presents. We are working closely with Retrogreen to develop broker education and provide direct engagement opportunities for brokers at forthcoming events.
Also in 2023, Hinckley & Rugby was featured in a TV documentary series – Finance Frontiers – which was produced to highlight environmental innovations in the financial sector. The Finance Frontiers team visited our head office to learn about all the positive changes we had made, and joined the Society’s green champions on one of our regular school visits. There, the team witnessed how we engage with local primary-age children, supported by a retrofitted doll’s house.
The following video was used in the documentary, and highlights the Society’s environmental initiatives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX9esEGjQWw.
Hinckley & Rugby believes that green lending in support of 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 committed to a leading role in this for the direct benefit of our members, our community and our planet, and winning this award is a testament to the hard work and dedication behind that commitment.
