Client ContributionTaken from our audited acounts

Relationship with other groups, charities and individuals

The Eco Centre continued to work under service level agreement with a number of local authorities. It undertook short term work with charities and statutory bodies. And it continues to deliver the Health through Warmth project funded by npower. It has joined two consortia for the purposes of bidding for contracts and is involved in networks and fora of organisations with similar aims and objectives. However it remains an independent charity with no trading subsidiary.

Related parties

None.

Risk Management

The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

Review of activities

2010 marked the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Newport and Nevern Energy Group. This was celebrated with a public event that looked at Wales' progress on its sustainable development objectives.

The RETS project launched in February. This is a major EU funded partnership programme to exchange good practice between European municipalities. The year has been characterised by study visits and seminars around the partner countries.

Other projects started in 2009 have progressed through this year. One major new project called Cosy Homes Advisor started in October 2010. It is a fuel poverty project, working with those most in need in their own homes. It is funded by the BIG Lottery and the ScottishPower Energy People Trust.

There have also been a number of fixed term contracts won by competitive tender, undertaken by staff in the Mold office.

Trustees embarked on a process of strategic review, including meetings and consultations with staff. This was followed by a vote at the 2010 AGM to change the name to Eco Centre Wales, although Companies House forced the change to Eco Centre (Wales).

The Eco Centre received some unrestricted charitable funds, from the Garfield Weston Foundation, which have made a big difference to the cashflow for the year and the turnover. Overall, incoming funds have increased on 2009.

Contributions from Volunteers

All the Trustees are volunteers, and they and other volunteer workers make a very valuable contribution to the activities of the Eco Centre.

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Charitable activities

Energy Advice
Staff in both advice centres continued to provide impartial energy advice to about over 6000 callers. They also administered at five council endorsed measures referral schemes; Flintsulate, CO2i, TPEES, Ceredigion Cosy Homes, ME2.
This resulted in nearly 5000 separate measures being installed across four local authorities over the course of 2010.
Staff in North Wales continued to provide the Health Through Warmth service in Flintshire and Wrexham. In 2010 92 households benefited from improved heating systems or new central heating systems. They also continued to provide EPC services to Flintshire County Council housing department.
The 2010 – 2011 CO2i scheme budget was doubled to £400,000 with half of this used for zero interest loans for capital intensive energy measures. The grant scheme yielded the following financial investment in energy efficiency measures:

Which resulted in the following installations and savings:

ZILF - Zero Interest Loan Finance
The Eco Centre worked with Robert Owen Community Banking Fund to deliver Powys County Council's zero interest loan finance for renewable technologies and 'hard to treat' energy efficiency measures. The Eco Centre and Robert Owen set up a referral process and put procedures in place to ensure the smooth running of zero interest loan finance to Powys householders. Also, ZILF enquirers benefited from the Eco Centre's free and impartial renewables and energy efficiency advice service.
The Eco Centre and Robert Owen teamed together to market ZILF by producing a promotional leaflet, which has been circulated to MCS installers, partners and sent to public places in Powys such as post offices and libraries. Since the marketing of ZILF the Eco Centre has received continuous stream of ZILF enquiries with an average of 5 applications packs sent out each week. Outputs this year:

  
 Renewable Energy

The Peoples' Power Station (PPS) by Eco Centre Wales has been helping small communities in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park develop community owned and operated sustainable energy systems. This area of Wales has a huge technical potential for a wide variety of small-scale energy projects, but there are a unique set of regulatory challenges within the National Park which must also be overcome. We have recently been successful in helping the community of Roch get their community wind power project through the planning process, with a further 4 projects involving photovoltaics, wind and hydro power systems currently at various stages of pre-planning development. In addition to technical assistance the PPS also provides the prospect capital funding support to eligible projects.
The PPS, which runs until April 2012, has also played a key role in leading workshops for national organisations (e.g. Cynnal Cymru, Environment Wales), has delivered numerous talks to community groups in West Wales and has participated in a regional knowledge-sharing conference at Staffordshire University with a range of European project partners.

Education

Operation Energy is a new schools project developed with financial support from the Ernest Cook Charitable Trust. It has been delivered in schools in Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

Additionally, the Education Manager has undertaken a number of short term contracts and continued to develop and promote the Climate Change Wales programme.

The Eco Centre provided for support to Pembrokeshire Schools under a separate service level agreement which includes workshops on Energy, Climate Change and Transport. In addition staff provided cover for the Sustainable Schools Project officer, whilst she was on secondment with the ESDGC schools network from January to September . This provided increased opportunities to support Pembrokeshire schools with their planning and preparation and enabled the education staff to build on the Eco Centre's reputation with a broader range of local schools.
We have provided consultancy to Centre of Alternative Technology in the development of their Footprint Futures website. We produced a guide to Community Waste Reduction as part of the CEPF work for EST.
We have provided INSET training for: Work Based Learning Tutors as part of an Ymlaen Ceredigion project; teachers in collaboration with the National Botanic Garden; Sustainable Schools teachers and a workshop for Llanion Park Community Association, Green Champions Training for Pembroke CA21.

Fuel Poverty

Cosy Homes Advisor - Tackling Fuel Poverty in the Home
The aim of the project it to help, support and advise the most vulnerable householders who are struggling to deal with their energy bills, heating systems, and energy efficiency measures, also those who are suffering with cold and damp related illnesses due to not having adequate heating installed at the property.
The Cosy Homes Advisor will be able to look at options, solutions, grants and funding to help finance the measures required, and will be able to support the client through the whole process.
The project started 1st October 2010. From that time until 31st December 2010, nine households have been visited and thirty two households have received telephone advice in the Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Powys areas. The Cosy Homes Advisor is working with frontline workers and partner organisations to make sure the beneficiaries get all the help that they need. The project is funded by the Big Lottery and ScottishPower Energy People Trust and runs until the end of September 2012

Environment Wales Development Officer

Environment Wales is a partnership of organisations in the voluntary sector, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government. The initiative aim is to contribute to sustainable development by supporting and encouraging voluntary action to protect and improve the environment of Wales.

Geraint Hughes is the Eco Centre Wales's Development Officer for Environment Wales. The Development Officer works to provide support and advice to community and voluntary groups. Projects supported by Environment Wales are allocated a dedicated Development Officer who remains a constant point of contact and helps the groups through each stage of the Environment Wales process.

On top of the EWDO's Environment Wales work with his projects, this year the EWDO has been working directly with Eco Centre staff on the education project, helping staff through the forms and application process, following up on the work and monitoring the project.
The EWDO has increased his list of active projects to 42.