Category Archives: Oil & Gas

npower Football League Professionals Work Alongside Teens For ‘What’s Your Goal?’ Competition

Earlier in the year, npower offered every budding Alex Ferguson, potential Howard Webb and future Jeff Stelling a chance to bring their dreams to life with the ‘What’s Your Goal?’ competition.

From the high-pressure role of a football manager to the split-second timing of a pitch-side photographer, this was an opportunity for children yearning for a job in sports media to get first-hand experience of the industry.

The prizes took youngsters to the QPR training ground, inside the Sky Sports studios and even within touching distance of the players in the npower Championship Play-Off final at Wembley Stadium.

Among the professionals offering their advice were Queens Park Rangers manager, Neil Warnock and Sky Sports presenter, Dave Jones.

In this three-part series, the children demonstrate the desire and passion needed to cut it in one of the nation’s biggest industries.

And for those youngsters aiming for a similar career, heed the advice of 12-year-old Oliver Marden who, having won the chance to experience being a sports presenter, said: “You should try for everything and grasp every opportunity you can.”

npower is bringing back its What’s Your Goal initiative bigger and better than ever before for 2012. Any young people interested in getting involved should keep an eye out for updates on the npower What’s Your Goal website: www.npower.com/whatsyourgoal.

Via EPR Network
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npower Teams Up With Sky Sports To Launch Ad-Funded TV Show

npower’s new three part ad-funded TV series, ‘What’s Your Goal’, is set to launch on Sky Sports on Thursday 25th August – the culmination of npower’s successful 2011 campaign of the same name.

The series captures the moments that six children from around the UK discover they are handpicked as winners of the npower What’s Your Goal competition, to be mentored by some of the brightest and best in the football industry.

Viewers will follow the journeys of the young winners as they work side-by-side with their mentors, getting their hands dirty and mucking in with the professionals before being set a challenge relating to the day-to-day workings of the role.

Npower’s ‘What’s Your Goal’ is a football-based initiative launched as part of npower’s title sponsorship of the npower Football League. It was designed to inspire young people aged 12-16 to think about their future careers by showcasing the different roles available behind the scenes of football clubs up and down the UK.

Sky currently holds the broadcasting rights for the npower Football League and teamed up with npower, commissioning production company North One to capture the action. The shows are voiced by Sky presenter Ben Shepherd, who also features in the final episode which airs in September.

Along with Sky Sports presenter Dave Jones and long time Sky Sports TV producer Billy McGinty, the ‘What’s Your Goal’ winners also spend time with Ipswich Town’s business manager, an Action Images sports photographer and one of the npower Football League’s most senior female referees, Sasa Ihringova.

QPR’s manager, Neil Warnock also features in the series to mentor a young QPR fan who joins him and his team amidst talk of possible point deductions by the FA, when the future of QPR’s promotion into the Premier League looked uncertain.

Clare McDougall, npower’s head of education and community, said: “What’s Your Goal offered young people fantastic one-in-a-lifetime experiences that allowed them to get stuck in with the professionals and learn the ropes first hand, so we weren’t surprised by the overwhelming response we got from parents and their children across the UK.

“As not everyone could win the mentoring days, we worked with schools and parents to offer lesson plans and content that was designed to educate youngsters about the endless possibilities in the football industry, inspiring them to think about their future careers by looking at what they enjoy and thinking about potential opportunities.

“The TV show will help to spread npower’s What’s Your Goal message even further and we look forward to seeing npower’s ‘What’s Your Goal’ winners as they make their TV debuts on screen, showing the world how ambitious and talented our teenagers are and hopefully encouraging others to start thinking about what their goal is.”

Via EPR Network
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Npower Reports Over Half Of UK’s SMEs Failing To Realise Energy Cost Savings

Npower has revealed new research that shows over half of small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) have no measures in place to monitor energy efficiency, despite many of them seeking ways to manage the bottom line in tough economic conditions.

The findings from the latest npower Business Energy Index (nBEI) show that 53% of the 4.8 million* SMEs in the UK have no methods in place to manage business energy efficiency, and nearly one in five (18%) didn’t know if they had reduced their energy consumption over the past 12 months.

This is despite figures from the report showing that where energy efficiency is being measured, 50% of SMEs reported savings of up to 10%, showing there is huge scope to make significant business savings, while also reducing carbon emissions.

Statistics from the Carbon Trust also highlight the potential for SMEs to reduce emissions further. The Trust found that SMEs have a potential energy saving opportunity of up to 20%, compared to 8% for large businesses.

Patrick Harvey, head of customer loyalty at npower, said: “This year’s npower Business Energy Index found that for SMEs, the greatest driver for increasing energy efficiency is cost, rather than the environment. This is why it is surprising that so many are still not measuring the positive impact that implementing energy efficiency measures can have on their business.

“The results of the research show the huge untapped potential for SMEs to both reduce emissions and increase savings.”

However, encouragingly, overall the nBEI found that the importance SMEs place on energy management and efficiency is at its highest level since 2005. When asked to rate the significance of energy management to their business out of 10, SMEs gave an average score of 6.7, which is up from just over 5 when the Index began.

Coupled with this, many reported to be proactively measuring their energy usage and recognising the payback of low-cost, quick-win measures such as turning equipment off, which was ranked as the most popular action over the past six months. This was followed by regularly monitoring consumption and reducing heat loss.

Patrick Harvey continued: “It is really encouraging that energy efficiency is working its way up the business agenda but there’s still a long way to go.

“More businesses need to realise that through simple to implement and low or no cost measures, they can lower their bills by around 10%. In today’s tough operating environment this is a saving that SMEs can’t afford to over overlook. This is why we’ve developed SmartStart – a toolkit and advice service which helps SMEs get energy saving measures up and running and gets them saving on their bills quickly. Smaller businesses don’t have to rely on their landlords or have a big team in place to identify and implement energy saving measures.”

For more information on how npower can support SMEs reduce emissions and cut costs please visit www.npower.com/Business/SmartStart.

Via EPR Network
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npower and Robbie Savage Team Up to Break Record

npower has announced that, as part of its Club 72 initiative, former football player, Robbie Savage, will attempt to set the World Record for the most football league shirts worn at once.

Savage brought his playing career to an end last season but to celebrate the start of 2011/12 season, the Welshman has teamed up with the npower Club 72 initiative to wear a football shirt from every single football league club, and in doing so setting the record for most amount of npower football league shirts worn at one time.

In a league career spanning seventeen years, there’s not many team strips that Savage hasn’t encoutered before but with newly promoted AFC Wimbledon and Crawley Town both joining the league for the first time, there will be at least two shirts he won’t have seen before.

As well as donning the colours once again of some of his previous clubs such as Derby County and Leicester City, Savage will also model some real blasts from the past with Football League Shirts some fans would be pleased to forget..

On the record attempt, Savage said: “It seems quite an easy challenge at first glance but having seen photos of similar attempts I’m actually a little worried now.

“Throughout my playing career I was fortunate enough to weigh exactly the same in my final season at Derby as when I first started out with Crewe Alexandra – I certainly don’t think there is any room to be carrying any extra pounds for this challenge.

“The t-shirts’ collective weight will obviously put my shoulders and back under a lot of pressure and heat stroke is also something else to consider.

“Naturally I’m hugely proud of my playing career and this is a great way to end it. If I break the record, I expect that makes me the only player in the world to wear every single npower Football League team strip.”

The record attempt is to celebrate the launch of npower’s Club 72 initiative which will be an interactive platform for football supporters to chart their own performance throughout the season.

Launching to coincide with the start of the 2011/12 season, Club 72 will offer fans the chance to document their own performance in terms of attending football league games at npowerclub72.com. The site will allow fans to record the Football League stadiums they’ve been to and show how far they’ll go to follow the beautiful game. For every stadium visited, you’ll be awarded a virtual badge as well as bonus points for being a “lucky charm” (seeing three victories in a row) and reaching certain milestones such as “all Championship grounds visited”.

Via EPR Network
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npower Partners With Vokèra To Offer Ten Year Boiler Warranty

npower, one of Britain’s leading energy suppliers, has signed an exclusive deal with Vokèra boilers, to offer customers a ten year warranty on all of its boilers products.

The partnership will mean that npower is the first energy supplier to offer a ten year warranty, which is more than twice the standard warranty offered on most new boilers. Products covered under the offer include domestic gas boilers and the warranty includes replacement parts and free reparation services. Customers can take advantage of the offer through npower’s hometeam, which installs, services and repairs boilers.

Joan Coe, npower marketing manager, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with an industry leader like Vokèra to offer a ten year warranty on all new boilers installed by npower. The average lifespan of a boiler is around 10-12 years,* so this is a significant offer that will benefit thousands of homeowners by protecting their new boiler through most of its working life.

“As one of the most expensive items in the home, the partnership will offer anyone choosing Vokèra boilers through npower added reassurance and peace of mind when it comes to keeping their homes warm and their showers hot.”

Steve Cipriano, managing director, from Vokèra boilers, added: “There are three elements to this partnership that bring great value to the customer; one, the customer gets a superb quality product, two, it is expertly installed by npower, one of the UK’s leading boiler installers, and three, it is backed by npower’s exclusive ten year warranty, providing customers with complete peace of mind.”

Via EPR Network
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npower Reports Businesses Call For Government Help To Keep The Nation’s Lights On

npower has reported that energy risk – particularly in terms of security of supply and supply costs – has been identified as the top risk major business energy users are facing, above legislation, security and health & safety. Added to this, many believe it is the government’s responsibility to help reduce instability through funding for self generation projects and demand management tools to bridge the supply gap and keep the nation’s lights on.

These were some of the key findings of the npower Business Energy Index (nBEI), an annual report tracking business opinion on energy use, energy risk and carbon emissions.

According to the report, when asked what was of most concern in relation to energy within their business, supply costs came top with a risk ranking of 6.6 out of 10, followed by security of supply with a ranking of 6.1.

However, despite an energy risk being identified as a top concern, one in six major business energy users still do not have a policy in place to manage it – although 91% do have one in place for health & safety, a more ‘traditional’ business risk.

David Cockshott, director of industrial and commercial markets at npower commented: “It is worrying that while businesses have identified that risks associated with energy – from security of supply to cost – pose a real threat to their immediate and future operations, many have admitted to not having a strategy in place to manage it. While many businesses have embraced the benefits of energy management and energy efficiency, when it comes to solutions to manage risk, there is less of a focus from organisations.

“This could be because they don’t believe the two main areas of concern – cost and supply – are something within their control. However, there are ways businesses can mitigate their risk, including investing in self generation or demand management technology.”

Despite their concerns over energy risk, nearly two thirds (62%) say that investing in self generation and demand management technology is not a business priority. While 51% cite lack of finance as a barrier, and 38% say they simply do not have the resource to manage the project.

When asked who should finance investment in self generation, 61% of businesses of all sizes felt that the government should be responsible – only 18% believe it should be self funded. While the government’s proposed ‘Green Deal’ should go some way to assisting SMEs, it would not provide the same help for larger energy consumers.

David Cockshott continued: “While this year’s nBEI shows that more easy-to-implement energy efficiency measures and improvements are happening across businesses of all sizes. When it comes to large scale self generation projects or demand management initiatives, there is still some resistance.

“What is clear however, is that businesses believe that investment in these areas should come from government. While the government is keen to support smaller companies through initiatives such as the Green Deal, the report shows that larger businesses believe the government should also look at ways to help them. For instance, to mitigate risk and reduce instability through incentivising self generation and demand management tools.”

Via EPR Network
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npower Reveals Parents Fear of Gadget Takeover

Npower has revealed that Parents fear they are being replaced by gadgets in their children’s lives, new research by the energy supplier has found.

Almost half (46%) of the parents taking part in the study said communication with their children has been affected by technology.

A third (34%) admitted they had to compete with games consoles and online social networking for their children’s attention and over a quarter (28%) feel redundant and hurt by the lack of involvement in their child’s life.

Evaluating the findings, psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos said families should “spend time together doing face-to-face activities”.

She said: “Just an hour a day interacting as a family can boost confidence and improve verbal communication.

“Because this level of technology was not present when we were growing up, it’s important to use it in a way that enriches our family life as opposed to using it to the detriment of other ways of communicating with each other.”

The research was carried out nationwide and 1,000 parents and 1,000 children were involved.

Energy company npower commissioned it in support of its No Power Hour campaign, a UK-wide roadshow hosted by ex-England manager Kevin Keegan. No Power Hour will see Keegan encourage families to save energy by spending more time together in the open air.

The study also found that half of all children (51%) spend up to five hours a day glued to a screen and more than a quarter (27%) prefer to communicate digitally rather than face to face, while one in four prefer playing on an X-Box console to spending time with their family.

Via EPR Network
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npower Teams Up With Kevin Keegan For No Power Hour

npower has announced it will be teaming with Kevin Keegan to help fans of the beautiful game save energy in Sunderland.

Former Newcastle boss Keegan will visit the city to encourage families to spend an hour doing something fun without using electricity.

And the 60-year-old reckons a kick-about is the perfect way to get fit and help the environment at the same time.

Kevin Keegan said: “The No Power Hour is designed to get kids and parents off computers and get them out for an hour after switching everything off.

“We’re in Sunderland first then in a couple of weeks up in Leeds – it’s a fantastic set-up we’ve got.

“We’re not saying you can replace technology, it’s here forever after all. What we’re saying is sometimes you’ve got to switch it off and spend a bit of time with your kids – and you can do it together.

“You can do things that will become a lot of fun for you. What happened to making kites and things like that?

“What we’re saying is come out and just do something with your kids, the things you do that are great fun and cost nothing except the effort to get out the house and go somewhere.”

Children and parents can join Keegan’s master class at Seaburn Recreation Park where he will display football skills they can practise together in back gardens, on playing fields, at the beach, the sports centre, the park and even in the living room using no power.

Children can also get involved on the Climate cops, where they can download a mission chart, to keep track of the activities they participate in.

Via EPR Network
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npower Urges Businesses To Have Their Say On Energy Legislation

npower, the energy firm, has announced that businesses need to make sure they make their voices heard when it comes to shaping current and future energy legislation. npower has launched its own consultation for businesses in response to the government’s Red Tape Challenge.

The ‘Red Tape Challenge’ was launched in April 2011 with the aim of engaging with different industries to gather feedback on current UK legislation, to help simplify the regulatory landscape for businesses.

npower’s ‘Red Tape Challenge – Have Your Say’ campaign is designed to give businesses the opportunity to feedback on current and future energy regulation affecting the sector. Businesses can have their say on the energy policies they think should be scrapped, merged with existing regulation, simplified or left.

Once feedback has been gathered, the energy company will submit its findings on behalf of businesses to the government’s Red Tape Challenge, ahead of the utilities and energy sector’s consultation deadline on 27 October 2011.

The campaign was launched in response to the Red Tape Challenge as well as npower’s own research that revealed strong business opinion on current and proposed energy legislation.

When asked about the proposed Electricity Market Reform (EMR) nearly half of companies surveyed believed the EMR would be complex and unwieldy for businesses. Similarly, research conducted to coincide with the first anniversary of the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) found that 45% of businesses want to see the CRC scrapped.

David Cockshott, director of industrial and commercial markets at npower, said: “The UK’s business community has been given a unique opportunity on an unprecedented scale to have its say on energy legislation and we are urging them to get involved and make their voices heard.

“We know from conversations with our own customers that businesses find it difficult keeping track of the legislation or potential legislation affecting them, from the EMR to the CRC. Now businesses can tell the government exactly what policies they think should be scrapped, merged with existing regulation, simplified or left as they are.

“We understand that everyone is busy, which is why we are launching the npower Red Tape Challenge – Have Your Say campaign. It simplifies the process and is designed to provide businesses with a less time-consuming way to air their views on current energy related legislation.

“This type of opportunity to influence legislation does not come along everyday and we urge businesses of all shapes and sizes to take the time now to have their say on the energy policy of the future.”

Via EPR Network
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npower Hometeam Praised By Financial Expert Jasmine Birtles

npower hometeam has been named by Jasmine Birtles has a good example of a company who shares its ‘no claims’ cost savings with customers.

Broadcaster, financial expert and founder of Moneymagpie.com, Jasmine Birtles, has attacked British businesses which profit from insurance, cover and care products and then fail to share the cost savings with those customers who don’t make a claim.

Birtles has called for businesses to offer a form of ‘no claims bonus’ cash back and it seems British families feeling the squeeze agree. A survey of 2,000 consumers* released shows that nearly 80 per cent believe they should receive an annual cash pay-out if they don’t call on an insurance or care product.

Her comments add to the on-going PPI debate which has seen banks come under increasing pressure over insurance products. Yet Birtles is quick to point out that the problem is wide-spread across the consumer market.

She explained: “All sorts of corporations, from banks to insurance companies and energy providers, clearly benefit from cost to serve savings when customers don’t claim against their products or policies, but where’s the reward for these customers? Good business is a two-way thing where both sides should benefit. As the cost of living continues to rise, wouldn’t it be nice to see more big businesses sharing these savings with some sort of cash back?

“npower’s hometeam 50 boiler and central heating care is a good example, as it’s priced the same as British Gas’ homecare, but offers customers 50% cash back if they don’t have an emergency call out during their 12 month care plan. Currently, npower is the only boiler care provider offering anything like this.

“npower estimates it will be pay out more than £700,000 in cash back over the next 12 months, but if all energy providers did this, there could be cash back of more than £500million in customers’ pockets from the boiler care market alone.”**

If businesses followed this advice it actually might benefit them, as 81 per cent of consumers questioned in the npower survey said they would be more likely to choose a product if it offered some sort of cash back.

Via EPR Network
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npower Reveals Brits Haven’t Lost The Urge To Splurge

npower has revealed that even those British families might be feeling the squeeze, they haven’t lost our urge to splurge, with the average Brit expected to spend more than £70,000 on impulse buys over a lifetime.

A survey of more than 2,000 customers conducted by npower hometeam 50, which is currently giving cash back to thousands of customers, suggests that whilst half of people choose to save spare cash from their monthly income, triggers such as receiving birthday money, coming into an unexpected windfall such as cash back from a company, or a small win on the lottery, will result in a spur of the moment purchase.

More than a third of consumers treat themselves to an impulse buy at least once a week spending on average £21.34. That’s £1,114.56 a year and an incredible£70,217.28 forked out during the average adult lifetime. Surprisingly, men spend more on impulse buys than women frittering away £25.67 per week compared to a more frugal £18.89.

Items such as food, clothes, magazines and wine prove irresistible for girls when passing through the high street or supermarket, whilst books, shoes and toiletries also top the list for compulsive female shoppers. Predictably, food, beer and DVDs are the most common treats for their male counterparts.

Emily Stagg, from npower hometeam 50, said: “General consensus would have it that British consumers are trying to save every penny at the moment, but our research suggests that when we come into a small windfall, such as a small win on the lottery or cash back, we’re still more likely to treat ourselves or our loved ones.

“£20 a week might not seem a lot, but can add up to a huge amount over a lifetime. For £70,000 you could easily put a large deposit on a house, pay off all your debits or buy a sports car.”

70 per cent admit they are more likely to give in to temptation if there is a sale on. But 61 per cent of women firmly cite retail therapy as a reason for shopping on impulse, and often spend more money if they are feeling a bit down or depressed compared to just 38 per cent of men.

When it comes to confessing all to a partner, 33 per cent of girls admit they don’t bother telling him about their recent purchases. A fifth of couples argue regularly as a direct result of overspending each week, and 67 per cent of women admit they are definitely the worst for impulse buys.

Emily Stagg continued: “As part of our hometeam 50 product, we’ll be giving cashback to thousands of hometeam 50 customers over the next 12 months – that’s an awful lot of impulse buys.”

The cashback campaign will see hometeam 50 customers who signed up to the boiler care and central heating care product 12 months ago and who haven’t had to call out npower’s hometeam, receive 50% of the amount they paid npower, back.

Via EPR Network
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npower Announces its Manager of the Month Award Winners for April

npower has announced the winners of the Manager of the Month awards for the npower Football League in April.

Southampton manager Nigel Adkins has been named npower League 1 Manager of the Month for April.

Adkins’ side stand on the brink of promotion thanks to wins against Milton Keynes Dons, Charlton Athletic, Leyton Orient, Bristol Rovers, Brighton & Hove Albion, Hartlepool United and Brentford.

Former Charlton Athletic boss Alan Curbishley chairs the npower Football League Manager of the Month judging panel. He said: “Southampton maintained their fine form throughout April with seven wins from their eight games.

“Nigel Adkins has done a great job since his appointment and his side have all but secured promotion back to the npower Championship.”

In League 2, Bury caretaker manager Richie Barker has been named npower League 2 Manager of the Month for April.

Barker took charge in March, and went on to lead his side through a six-game unbeaten run to ensure automatic promotion to npower League 1.

npower head of sponsorship Emma Collins added: “For the club to do so well with a managerial change late in the season is very impressive.

“Barker has hit the ground running, and fully deserves the award.”

Finally, in the Championship Norwich City striker Simeon Jackson has been named npower Championship Player of the Month for April.

Jackson netted eight times during the month to help the Canaries secure automatic promotion.

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npower Announces Its Player of the Month Award Winners for April

npower has announced the winners of the players of the month awards for the npower Football League in April.

Sheffield Wednesday striker Neil Mellor has been named npower League 1 Player of the Month for April.

Mellor, who is on loan from Preston North End, fired in six goals during the month, including vital strikes against Colchester United, Walsall and Swindon Town.

Sky Sports’ Football League expert Peter Beagrie sits on the npower Football League Player of the Month judging panel. He said: “At the beginning of the month, Wednesday were hovering just above the relegation zone in 17th position.

“But Mellor’s six goal contribution has helped navigate the Owls up the table – a safe distance 11 points from the drop-zone.”

Over in League 2, Bury striker Ryan Lowe has been named npower League 2 Player of the Month for April.

The veteran skipper netted four times during the month, leading his team to an automatic promotion place in League 2.

npower head of sponsorship Emma Collins said: “Lowe’s experience and quality has been a huge part of Bury’s success this season.

“His performances have been of the highest order in recent weeks, and he fully deserves the League 2 award.”

Finally, in the Championship Norwich City striker Simeon Jackson has been named npower Championship Player of the Month for April.

Jackson netted eight times during the month to help the Canaries secure automatic promotion.

His impressive goal haul included hat-tricks against Scunthorpe United and Derby County.

Peter Beagrie added: “After going more than 20 games without a goal, Jackson produced a show of true marksmanship in April.

Via EPR Network
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npower Reveals Birmingham Teens Spend More Time Inside Than Outside

npower has revealed that over two thirds (67%) of Birmingham teens are spending more time inside than outside, with seventy per cent preferring computer games over an outdoor activity, according to the research commissioned by the energy supplier.

In stark contrast, their parents admit to spending most of their time in the garden whilst growing up (63%) and over three quarters (76%) of the parents questioned felt children who spend time outside have a better awareness the environment.

The findings come as npower’s ambassador Ben Fogle visits Birmingham’s Think Tank to act as a judge for its Climate Cops SOS Finale, an initiative designed to encourage young people to make a real green change in their area, and to urge the young people of Birmingham to get active and get green by signing up for 2011’s Climate Cops SOS where they could win a week of adventure with Ben himself this November, with entry closing on 30th June 2011.

At the event, Ben will be discussing the importance of preserving the great outdoors and presenting the winning school with a green make over, plus ten brand new Netbooks for the students.

Clare McDougall, npower’s head of education and community, said: “Growing up for me was all about being outside with nature, playing in the garden and camping in the countryside, but after npower’s recent research it seems that Birmingham kids could be turning into ‘generation x-box’.

“We want Birmingham teens to show us their green credentials and adventurous side by entering this year’s Climate Cops SOS so that next year we can hopefully crown them as 2011’s ‘green-agers’ and present them with a fantastic week of adventure alongside a real life explorer.”

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npower Launches ‘Every Shirt Has A Story’

Npower, the title sponsor of The Football League, has launched a new campaign for fans called ‘Every Shirt Has A Story’.

npower is asking fans from across the 72 Football League clubs to reveal the memories behind their team’s seasonal colours and share their shirt stories with other fans via www.everyshirt.co.uk.

Sharing stories that talk about both the highs and lows of the sport, as well as personal tales surrounding the beautiful game, entrants will have the chance to win several competition prizes. These include the chance to be one of six ‘face of the finals’ winners who will see huge images of themselves displayed at either Wembley or Old Trafford – two of the world’s most iconic football stadia. The football fans will be honoured with 16 by 24 metre facia boards as well as seeing their name emblazened on a giant football shirt that will cover the pitch as their team prepare to contest the play off final. Season tickets and signed shirts can also be won.

‘Every Shirt Has A Story’ is fronted by football legend Dion Dublin. Dion and a whole host of other footballing heroes and celebrity fans will be revealing the stories behind their most cherished football strips .

The initiative supports npower’s Football Saver tariff which rewards Football League fans when they switch energy suppliers. Along with offering a discounted tariff designed for fans who want value from their energy prices, npower is also giving away a £45 voucher to spend at any official npower Championship, npower League One or npower League Two club shops. The Football saver tariff uniquely offers discounted energy, which is a reward for fans but also supports the clubs with the money from the vouchers going straight back to the clubs.

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npower Reveals Nearly Half Of Businesses Want The Carbon Reduction Commitment Scrapped

Npower has conducted new research revealing that, on the first anniversary of its implementation, UK businesses want the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) scrapped.

The research reveals that companies not only want to see an end to the scheme, but over a quarter (29%) also said they do not think the Carbon Reduction Commitment will help the UK meet its carbon reduction targets – one of its key aims.

The government proposed several changes to the scheme as part of its Comprehensive Spending Review and as such, financial incentives which were originally included in the scheme were removed. Nearly half of businesses (43%) said they want financial incentives reintroduced and 40% of organisations said that now the CRC is effectively a tax, there is no incentive for businesses to reduce their carbon emissions – another important reason why the scheme was introduced in the first place.

Dave Lewis, head of business energy services at npower, said: “The results of our latest research reflect much of the feedback we receive on a daily basis from our customers. It is concerning that the changes to the CRC have resulted in businesses putting less priority on reducing emissions, which was one of its key aims. We feel it is important that organisations focus on the best practice behaviour the CRC sets out to encourage, as energy efficiency and effective energy management make sound commercial sense, with or without the scheme.”

Over half of businesses (54%) feel the CRC places unnecessary financial burden on businesses and 41% feel the CRC should be postponed until the UK economy’s financial recovery is more secure.

Dave Lewis continues: “It is also worth noting that nearly half of businesses (48%) said they felt the scheme’s first league table, due to be published in October 2011, will not carry any real meaning. When the scheme was first launched, this was an important element of its financial and reputational incentives, so these results seem to suggest that organisations are viewing the scheme differently, and many of our customers have told us they see it purely as another tax.

“The next milestone in the CRC calendar is submission of the first footprint report, which details an organisation’s carbon emissions from April 2010. This is due by 29 July and our research reveals that not only are over one in ten businesses concerned their company will miss the deadline but that 10% of them are not confident the data their company will submit is correct. This is a real concern as accurate data is the first point of any effective energy management strategy and only by truly knowing how and where energy is being consumed can efficiency measures be put in place.”

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npower Encourages Homeowners To Find Out More About Climate Week

npower encouraged homeowners to pay a visit to its stand at the Ideal Home Show during Climate Week to find out how to make their homes more energy efficient and better manage their impact on the environment.

Exhibiting at the show for a third year, npower showcased the latest eco-friendly home technology developments including electric vehicle technology, solar energy panels and the company’s green energy tariff.

Centre of the stand was a Tesla, the fastest electric vehicle in existence, along with home and city charging points for electric vehicles.

Nicola Hadcroft, creative services manager at npower, commented: “Climate Week is all about highlighting the innovative technology that is coming to the market to help make homeowners’ lives easier. The Ideal Home Show was the perfect place to showcase what npower is doing to make a difference.

“By encouraging people to become more engaged with their energy usage and as a supplier helping them to achieve this, we can work towards a more sustainable future and help homeowners tread more lightly on the planet.

“Even by making small improvements such as using an electricity monitor, energy efficient light bulbs fitting or fitting a smart meter, can make a difference, while bigger innovations, such as installing solar panels are a viable investment for the future.”

Homeowners who are not looking to install new products in their home, but still want to play their part can also sign up to npower’s green energy tariffs including npower Juice and npower’s National Trust Green Energy.

Via EPR Network
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Shock and Ore – Tarnished Earth Street Gallery in Birmingham

Tarnished Earth, a dramatic street gallery of photographs telling the story of one of the world’s biggest ecological disasters, is set to remain in Centenary Way, Birmingham, until 13 February before continuing on its tour of the UK.

The free outdoor exhibition by Jiri Rezac is being staged by The Co-operative in conjunction with WWF-UK and Greenpeace to show how Canada’s magnificent Boreal Forest is being destroyed and polluted by the rush to extract oil from the tar sands just below the surface to supply the oil market.

More than one million people are estimated to have seen the striking images – which contrast the destruction caused by oil extraction with the area’s pristine wilderness and the traditional way of life of the indigenous First Nation Cree – since its unveiling in London’s Southbank in September.

Paul Monaghan, Head of Social Goals and Sustainability at The Co-operative, said:“It is really important that people see for themselves the scale of the environmental destruction which is being done in order to extract oil from tar sands.

“The greenhouse gas emissions from tar sands oil are far greater than those of conventional oil, and its exploitation alone would be sufficient to take the world to the brink of runaway climate change.

“Tarnished Earth vividly portrays the impact tar sands operations are having on this beautiful area of boreal forest which has been home to wildlife and the indigenous Cree nations for thousands of years.”

Via EPR Network
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npower Get Kids To Switch Off And Go Green This Half-Term

In research published by npower Climate Cops parents reported that their children will spend an additional four hours watching TV, the same time again playing games consoles, and a staggering 2.5 hours blow drying and straightening their hair, during the forthcoming half-term.

npower Get Kids To Switch Off And Go Green This Half-Term

In an effort to help kids put down the controller, Climate Cops ‘No Power Hour’ is on a mission to keep kids entertained and think green over half-term, by encouraging children to switch off, get out there and try something new and spend an hour each day using no electricity.

Kids are being encouraged to unplug the computer games, put down the TV remote and turn off the iPod speakers and take part in No Power Hour by discovering fun things to do using nothing but their own energy and imagination.

Kids and families can get green ideas by clicking onto npower’s website where they will find interactive games to teach them to save energy, along with wall charts and stickers to keep track of progress made throughout the Climate Cops. No Power Hour mission.

Via EPR Network
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npower To Launch New TV Campaign

npower will launch a new TV campaign promoting its new easier to understand bills from the beginning of February.

The new npower energy bills have been designed incorporating feedback from both Consumer Focus (the statutory consumer champion for the UK) and Which?. The bill carries the Plain English Crystal Mark for its ‘Jargon Busting’ page.

The new 20 second TV ad, designed and produced by Aardman Animations, features ‘Penny’, npower’s customer service representative, solving a ‘Countdown-style’ conundrum.

The new TV ad will be supported by a multi-media campaign that includes sponsorship of regional quiz and crossword pages, print advertising in match-day programmes across npower Football League clubs and a competition to win an Apple Ipad on npower.com

Kevin Peake, marketing director at npower said: “Over the last year a criticism often levelled at energy suppliers is that gas and electricity bills can be complicated to understand. We decided at an early stage to take action and started to make changes to the lay-out.

“We deliberately sought feedback from some of the industry’s fiercest critics, Consumer Focus and Which? and, where possible, we have included their recommendations. We will continue to seek feedback and constantly review our bills.”

Via EPR Network
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