About Community Energy Action

Community Energy Action is a Christchurch-based charitable trust committed to providing warm and healthy homes for all. Community Energy Action was established in 1994 and works throughout Canterbury north of the Rakaia. We are governed by a board with seven voluntary trustees.

What we do
Our vision, mission and strategic objectives
How we fund our activities
A bit of history
Community Energy Action today
Awards
Our sponsors
Trustees and management team
Annual report 2008

What we do

Community Energy Action provides energy solutions that are good for people and good for the environment.

Our main activity is the installation of insulation and heating in the homes of all incomes with surpluses going to additional assistance for vulnerable people on low incomes. We also run a Curtain Bank which recycles lined and thermal curtains into the homes of those on low incomes and we provide free home energy efficiency advice for all households through our website and a free phone service. In our shop and through our website we sell DIY home energy efficiency products.

Our vision, mission and strategic objectives

Our vision is warm, healthy homes with minimum environmental impact, being accessible to all in our community.

Our mission is to provide householders with accessible energy solutions to achieve good health, good environmental outcomes and the relief of fuel poverty for all in our community.

Our strategic objectives are to:

Provide advice and education
Provide advocacy and leadership within our community and contribute effectively at a national level
Ensure relevant energy efficient solutions are available to all households in our community
Develop activities and relationships that ensure our ongoing ability to meet the needs of households in our community

How we fund our activities

Community Energy Action does not organise any fundraising. Instead we ask people to get their insulation and heating installed by Community Energy Action as surpluses from our regular work are used to fund the charity part of our organisation together with funding from other charities, the government and our loyal sponsors.

A bit of history

After Delle Small, a lecturer at the University of Canterbury, attended the UN conference on sustainability in Rio de Janeiro, she approached Ian McChesney, an authority on energy issues. Together, on a voluntary basis they ran energy efficiency workshops for low income households, tenants and elderly people.

In 1994 they received a grant from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) which enabled them to run the first ever practical DIY project in the country. They pioneered a community based projects approach, teaming up with the Te Whare Roimata Trust providing workshops, technical help and training on home energy efficiency issues.

The community project confirmed the need for action on energy efficiency and specialist insulation installers were trained.

In 1994 Community Energy Action Charitable Trust was founded. With Delle managing the trust on a daily (voluntary) basis and Ian providing guidance as its first trustee, together with trustee Roger Sutton (Chief Executive from Orion New Zealand Ltd), Community Energy Action developed home energy checks, hot water cylinder wraps, draught stopping and ceiling and underfloor insulation.

In 1995 the Curtain Bank was added as an activity to Community Energy Action.

In 2000 the Warm Babies Programme was set up, providing subsidies for vulnerable families with a newborn baby. In 2004 the Elderly Health Programme was added to Community Energy Action's activities. In 2009 the Community Energy Action Discretionary Fund was established to help those in need of extra funding and not eligible for either the Warm Babies or Elderly Health Programme.

Delle Small has been a member of the EECA's advisory board for many years. Delle retired as a trustee in 2009.

Ian has led the trust as its chair until 2009. He still remains a trustee up to today.

Community Energy Action today

Today Community Energy Action is a professional organisation with more than forty staff, including some twenty insulation installers. It is guided by seven trustees and managed by a Chief Executive and a management team of three.

Learn more about Community Energy Action's trustees and management team.

Community Energy Action has installed insulation in more than 16,000 homes since its establishment in 1994 of which 2282 homes in 2009. Of the homes fitted with insulation in 2009, more than half were low income families with a Community Services Card (1165) or people with a cold-related health condition (1210).

Learn more about Community Energy Action.

Awards

2001 - Joint winner of EECA's Energywise Residential Award for energy efficiency

2004 - Runner up in the Energywise Sustained Achievement Award

2008 - EECA award as top achiever for delivering subsidised insulation to low income households.