Audley Group, the retirement village provider, today announces its commitment to green energy. The entire Audley Group portfolio of villages including the 19 Audley Villages, and Mayfield Watford, will be powered by green energy by November 2021.
Audley Cooper’s Hill in Surrey, opened in late 2019, is Audley’s very first green energy village and all newly completed villages will operate on green energy. Villages which are already in operation will transfer over to green energy sources in the next 24 months.
The commitment spans all communal areas at the villages including the restaurant, Audley Club and Mayfield Club, spa and gym. In addition, the vast majority of property owners purchase their gas and electricity through Audley’s provider and this means over 90% of owner properties will also be powered by green energy by winter 2021.
At present energy and electricity use from UK properties accounts for 20% of UK greenhouse emissions and these will need to fall by at least a quarter by 2030 to meet targets1. Green energy is produced with little or no environmental impact and its generation doesn’t emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Instead energy is generated through a range of sources such as wind power, solar, and hydro. Audley’s energy is provided by Total Gas & Power.
Supporting the work done on reducing the carbon output from energy generation the group is also working on a number of initiatives to move towards zero carbon status. This includes evaluating sustainable building practices and the integration of low to zero carbon technologies, such as natural ventilation and ground source heating in both existing and new villages.
Kevin Shaw, Managing Director, Audley Group, said: “Environmental issues and sustainability impact every aspect of our daily lives, from the food we eat to the energy we use, and not least the homes we live in. It is something that is incredibly important to not only us at Audley, but also our property owners. We are the very first retirement village provider to implement green energy across our full portfolio of villages and we are part of just a handful of housebuilders putting zero carbon initiatives at the heart of our projects. Our latest announcement reaffirms our commitment to reducing emissions from the housing sector and is just another step on the journey to zero carbon status.”
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View the press release (122KB PDF file, opens in a new window)