Search Results for: window & door

Entries are now invited from across the spectrum of housing modernisation projects and associated activities including energy efficiency, glazing, roofing, gas safety and aluminium systems for windows, doors and facades. 

The Best Home Improvement Glazing Project award is sponsored by the GGF, other awards include Glazing Services with Community Benefit, Aluminium Systems for Windows, Doors & Facades and Energy Efficiency in Local Communities amoung others.

Entry for each award is free and more details are available on the NHIC website here or by clicking here to download an application form. 

The straight forward entry form must be submitted with any supporting evidence by the closing date of 22nd September.

The Glass and Glazing Federation is one of the sponsors of this prestigious event, along with others such as British Gas, National Federation of Roofing Contractors and Schueco UK. 

Companies and organisations working in disciplines covered by the award categories can enter a project completed within the past year.  In this way they can take advantage of an opportunity to raise the profile of the many inspirational initiatives that are characteristic of our nation’s outstanding ingenuity in the field of housing.

The winners will be announced at a special luncheon in the Gladstone Library, One Whitehall Place, London SW1 on Thursday 12th November 2015.

The GGF will yet again be in attendance at the political party conferences this Autumn to raise Members concerns across a range of political campaigns including:

• Reducing the rate of VAT on home improvements and energy efficient glazing

The GGF has long argued for a reduced rate of VAT for energy efficient windows and doors, from the current 20% rate to a 5% rate – to bring energy efficient glazing into parity with other energy saving products. In addition, the GGF supports the wider campaign to cut the VAT on home improvement, repair and maintenance work from a rate of 20% to a rate of 5%.

• Consumer Bill of Rights  

The GGF have been raising awareness of potential problems over the current wording of some parts of the Bill, to avoid confusion for consumers and to protect businesses from potential “rogue consumers”. 

• Manifesto for Barriers Containing Glass to Resist and Contain Fire and Smoke

The GGF’s ongoing campaign to urge all those involved in fire safety (including regulation, design, installation etc.) to advocate an integrated approach to fire safety. 

• Addressing the impact of the change of ownership of private sewers

A significant number of GGF Members who manufacture, supply and install conservatories have found that homeowners wishing to build conservatories on their properties are being hampered as a result of the change of ownership of private sewers.  The GGF has developed industry guidance which outlines best practice for installing conservatories or extensions in cases where building work may go near to a sewer.  Given the absence of a water companies’ code of conduct, the GGF is campaigning for this guidance to be adopted by the water companies, in order to provide clarity for consumers who wish to extend their homes.  

• Incentivising the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation

The GGF’s key focus is on improving the energy efficiency of households and commercial premises. Since 2011, the Federation has been lobbying all of the main political parties to provide evidence and advice on how to better incentivise the schemes to boost the energy efficiency of the UK’s building stock. 

Nigel Rees, GGF Group Chief Executive commented, “We have a full on itinerary at the Party Conferences with face to face meetings with MPs and MEPs responsible for energy, employment, local government and planning, skills, treasury and tax. We look forward to attending various events and sessions to raise and discuss our concerns to Ministers and policy makers. With 2015 being an election year and with a great degree of uncertainty around the outcome, it is important we reach as many key influencers as possible.”

Party Conference Dates and Venues:

• The Labour Party Conference, 21^st-24^th September, Manchester
• The Conservative Party Conference, 28^th September to 1^st October, Birmingham
• The Liberal Democrat Party Conference, 4^th – 8^th October Glasgow

As well as Senior GGF staff attending, the GGF’s political advisers and public affairs firm GK Strategy will also have representation at all three party conferences on the Federation’s behalf. GK Strategy are in the line-up of guest speakers for GGF Members’ Day (30^th September) where they will present an update of all the GGF’s political campaigns. 

Throughout the campaign, TrustMark provided listeners with help and advice on how to source a local trustworthy tradesman and how to avoid falling foul of a fraudulent trader.

GGF Group Chief Executive Nigel Rees commented, “We are very pleased with the success of the TrustMark campaign as it not only raised consumers awareness of the problem with rogue traders but it also promoted the TrustMark companies, of which hundreds are GGF Members.”

From Scotland down to Kent, 27 radio stations across the UK broadcast interviews with TrustMark, generating more than two hours of air-time on both breakfast and drive time shows. The stations, which included seven BBC regional stations and a host of large commercial radio stations, also gave their listeners the opportunity to call in and share their experiences of dealing with rogue traders.

GGF Member (and GGF ex-President) Greg O’Donoghue Director of Just Windows and Doors Ltd represented the glazing sector in the radio interviews and commented, “It was good to take part in these radio interviews and I was happy to explain how being a GGF Member helped my company to join TrustMark. I was particularly pleased our information went out to such a wide audience because it’s important consumers recognise the value and assurances of using GGF and TrustMark companies when they are employing companies to carry out work in their homes.”

Its priorities for the coming year are: to improve awareness of its consumer protection programme; continue its successful political lobbying campaign; and to place environmental matters at the heart of its activities.

Commenting on the GGF’s 2011 action plan, chief executive Nigel Rees said: “The remit of the GGF is vast, and we have many responsibilities to our members; there are many developments that occur on a daily basis that will affect one or more of our members, and we will always deal with those immediately.

“However, there is also a bigger picture, and we must continue move the organisation forward without being hampered by the minutiae of day-to-day operations. This is why we have singled out these three areas – consumer protection, political lobbying, and the environment – for particular focus in 2011.

“Furthermore, we are in the final stages of updating our website, which will promise better access to the operations of the GGF and its members.”

Consumer Protection The GGF is the leading authority for employers and companies in the flat glass, glazing, home improvement and window film industries. The total annual turnover for its Members is in excess of £1.5 billion and it was responsible for developing and setting up FENSA, the Competent Persons Scheme for the Replacement Window and Door Industry, which has over 9,100 Registered Businesses, the majority of whom are micro enterprises and SMEs.

Underpinning the GGF’s relationship with the consumer and the homeowner is the Federation’s Code of Good Practice and the Customer Charter. These protect the consumer by guaranteeing that GGF member companies will behave honestly and fairly, while offering products that comply with the latest industry and GGF standards.

The Code of Good Practice puts the consumer’s mind at rest for a number of reasons, including:

• Honest sales procedures

• Deposit protection (via GGF Fund Ltd)

• An open structural survey

• Products manufactured in accordance with all relevant standards

• Installation in accordance with all relevant standards

• Installers who meet all of their legislative requirements • Guaranteed products and installation

• Availability for insurance backing of guarantees

To strengthen this even further if the consumer has any complaints that cannot be settled satisfactorily with the member company, the GGF will provide a free, correspondence-based conciliation service.

The GGF will be raising awareness of the protection it offers consumers through the updated website, new brochures and literature, increased presence in consumer media, and by exhibiting at a greater number of consumer exhibitions than ever before.

Political Lobbying

During the last year, the GGF appointed a leading firm of political lobbyists to pursue its aims by delivering the organisation’s messages directly to the people who make the laws for the United Kingdom.

There have been a number of high profile successes, such as briefing Luciana Berger MP prior to a parliamentary debate on energy efficiency. The focus of that debate was on the funding available to homes for energy efficiency measures to be installed under the Green Deal, a scheme that the GGF is campaigning to have include energy efficient windows.

However, these are only the tip of the iceberg, and GK Political offers valuable behind the scenes advice.

Environment

As mentioned previously, one area that the GGF is lobbying hard on is the inclusion of energy efficient windows in the widely discussed ‘Green Deal’. The Green Deal is a scheme whereby homeowners are incentivised to install energy efficient products in their home. Despite hinting earlier in the year that windows could be included, the Green Deal currently only considers roof and wall insulation.

To push the case for windows, the GGF and Pilkington Glass recently met with Dave Watts MP – and will soon be meeting with Rosie Cooper MP and Ian Mearns MP – to discuss the relationship between glass and the environment.

Dave Watts (the MP for St Helens North) said he could not understand the resistance of DECC (Department of Energy & Climate Change) to the inclusion of the windows and has offered to write to the Minister – the GGF provided him with a draft letter, outlining the case for including windows in the Green Deal, pointing out that the Energy Savings Trust has stated that as much as 23% of a home’s energy can be lost through inefficient windows.

On a more day-to-day level, it is easy for companies to say “we consider the environment”, but it is more difficult to carry that promise out effectively. In a recent interview, the GGF’s deputy chief executive, Ian Chisholm, said: “Whether we had intended to or not, we have built up an unparalleled level of understanding on the relationship between glass and glazing and the environment. Furthermore, we help to advise companies on matters such as reducing carbon emissions, the amount of waste they send to landfill, and the designing of green products. Surely, the very fact that we are in constant dialogue with the government – helping it to shape environmental policy – is evidence enough of our environmental wisdom.”