24 Sep 2014
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Chalmor are finalists in RBS search for ‘green’ innovation.
RBS names Chalmor as a finalist in the UK’s largest search for new ‘green’ innovation.
RBS has selected Chalmor as a finalist in the Innovation Gateway; a major international search for new ways of reducing energy, water and waste.
Launched in March this year, the RBS Innovation Gateway attracted more than 140 submissions in just 40 days, from brand new concepts through to market-ready products and services.
The ideas came from innovators and small businesses (SMEs) around Britain and the world, from Perth in Scotland to Perth in Western Australia.
The best ideas will be tested on the RBS estate of 2,500 buildings and branches in the UK.
The innovation submitted by Chalmor is eTRV+ an energy saving retrofit for heating which can realistically reduce energy consumption by 30%.
Steven Henry, MD at Chalmor said “We are delighted to be named as a Gateway finalist. This provides us with the opportunity to demonstrate the flexibility of eTRV+ to provide energy savings across the RBS estate, with a wide variety of buildings and heating requirements”.
Announcing Chalmor as a finalist, Marcela Navarro, Head of Customer Innovation at RBS, who is leading the Innovation Gateway initiative, said: “Everyone connected with the RBS Innovation Gateway has been incredibly impressed by the innovators’ creativity and dedication to resource efficiency. The quality and the range of ideas have been phenomenal.”
Over the last six months an independent panel of experts from academia and the business world has worked with RBS to analyse each submission, to assess how they could help drive resource efficiency if the innovation was installed on the RBS estate.
Marcela Navarro said: “Our world-class panel of subject-matter experts have brought their knowledge and passion to the Gateway, carefully assessing each submission. We are delighted to say that 97% of all submissions were reviewed by at least five experts in the Innovation Panel.”
Being named as a finalist takes Chalmor just one step away from seeing its innovation installed by RBS. The company will now go before a Dragon’s Den style panel at the bank’s London headquarters on 10 November for one final pitch.
Successful, market ready ideas will be tested in RBS buildings and branches. All successful concepts will be given a £3,000 grant to develop their idea further before any possible test on the RBS estate.
The bank’s property portfolio in the UK is made up of 2,235 branches, just over 300 large offices, 42 industrial sites and 5 data centres. With 17 million customers, 115,000 employees and such a large estate of new and historical buildings, RBS’ footprint is significant.
John Hayes, head of corporate services at RBS, says: “The RBS estate is a diverse mixture of over 2,500 buildings from retail units to data centres. The business issue we’ve had over the last 10 years is the huge increase in energy costs, more than doubling and forecast to carry on doing.”
Steven Henry said: “eTRV+ fits directly to radiators, enabling accurate heating control on a room by room basis. It saves energy through close temperature control and preventing overheating, it also switches off the heating when no one is in the room. Our innovations are a range of new features, developed specifically to enhance energy saving in commercial settings – prompted by our own experiences of visiting large office blocks on freezing days in February, to be greeted with sauna like temperatures, with all the windows open! eTRV+ could help RBS reduce their heating energy consumption by up to 30%”.
Prof. Doug Crawford Brown from Cambridge University, who sits on the RBS Innovation Gateway panel which selected Chalmor as a finalist, confirmed how vital innovation is for people and the planet: “While there are solutions to a low carbon world available, many remain costly and ineffective. Innovation in materials and energy are therefore crucial to the world's sustainability goals.”
Steven Henry said: “RBS are leading the way, showing commitment to addressing their energy efficiency and to partnership with the SME sector. The Gateway provides a great opportunity for innovators to gain recognition on a national scale”.
As well as helping RBS save more energy, water and waste, the Innovation Gateway has two more aims; to cultivate unique and awe-inspiring innovations and to help SMEs accelerate their access to market.
Steven Henry notes: “This trial will enable us to gain valuable insight into user behavior, to feed back in to product development. Becoming an RBS supplier would add credibility to eTRV+ and recognition for Chalmor’s lighting and heating energy efficiency services”.
The RBS Innovation Gateway is an ongoing scheme. For information and details on how to apply please visit: https://www.innovationgateway.rbs.com
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Notes for Journalists:
Steven Henry is available for interview, quotes and pictures. To arrange to speak or visit today please contact on the numbers and email below.
T: 01582 748700
E: marketing@chalmor.co.uk
To find out more about the RBS Innovation Gateway story so far, visit the Innovation Gateway Vimeo channel. http://vimeo.com/channels/751278
Here you will find a range of video content which can be used for background information and quotes.
