How does this new role differ from your previous work at the company, or is this more about building on your existing engagement work?
This role is not necessarily a new one, but more of an extension of what I’ve been doing for many years.
As we’re entering a net zero ambition period, government and European legislation is coming at us thick and fast, and so the majority of my role will include – and has included for a while – representing Worcester on the various trade associations, where we are members.
With the increasing frequency of these meetings in the lead up to net zero, it became challenging to manage this part-time. So – having recognised the significant importance on our business – we determined that we needed someone dedicated to this role full-time.
Ultimately, the role has changed to enable me to have more time to proactively attend, and prepare for, such meetings and communicate back to the business without other commitments.
Over the last few years, we’re seeing some of the major changes in various government departments, which are not really interested in opinions anymore – they want hard evidence. Therefore, a key part of my role includes evidence gathering on, for example, government policy proposals, what impact they have, or if there is any difficulty in the timelines they’re proposing etc.
What I hope to achieve in this role is that through collaboration and consultation, the industry and government can reach a harmonious situation, whereby policies being proposed suit both parties and obviously, end up in achieving the desired net zero goal.
As a major heating manufacturer, how is the type of products and services offered by Worcester Bosch involving in line with policy relating to both domestic and commercial buildings?
Policy and regulations have a serious influence on what products we introduce to the market, such as what features they have, their performance, their efficiencies and so on.
On the performance of the appliance, including its consumption and emissions, many of these minimum levels and maximum levels are set by either European or local country regulations. Therefore,
it’s essential that we’re aware of upcoming regulatory changes well in advance, as it can take years to develop products that comply with new policies for both domestic and commercial buildings.
Following the election in July, what are the main priorities for lobbying policymakers that the company will be pushing to enact? What potential is there to build on existing initiatives, and what have been some of the most important commitments over the course of the last two parliaments that are being felt in building engineering?
We’re hopeful that, with the new government in place, we will get more assurance on policies and firmer commitments on any regulation changes.
I think it’s fair to say, the past government changed its minds more than once on certain aspects of policy. It can be quite a challenging thing to do because much of the policy affects people’s homes, their lifestyles, their wallets. Therefore, we have great sympathy for government departments which have to set targets and things in place, while still trying to achieve net zero by 2050.
What would help appliance manufacturers is a firmer position on regulatory decisions, given that the development cycle for appliances can take three or four years.
As a supplier of a range of different technologies such as boilers and heat pumps, how does the company see the balance of supplying these technologies in the timeline of the net zero transition, particularly with some calls for a set date on ending installations?
Well, the UK is primarily a gas boiler market. Despite a drop in installations last year, nearly 1.5 million boilers were still sold. While this number may be slightly lower this year, it’s still an extremely healthy market, and the numbers are evident.
For the foreseeable future, boilers will still continue to play a significant role in the UK heating landscape.
In fact, the Labour Party announced recently that it is unlikely to ban gas boilers by 2035 – a pledge made by the previous Conservative Government. It’s possible we’ll see a slower transition from fossil fuels, to other technologies.
But all in all – these are decisions to be made by the Government. We’re definitely in this transitional period where electric heating is certainly being promoted, and consequently, we’ll continue to develop products that meet these types of policy promises.
Image credit: Worcester Bosch
