Subject: Carbon Co-op at Number 10, lessons from Energise and more...

Carbon Co-op at 10 Downing Street, insights from Energise and more…

It's been another busy month here, with activities over many projects. Members of our Energy Commons team, Ellie and Pete, attended the co-operatives and mutuals reception at 10 Downing Street, sharing our experiences providing energy advice, retrofit, and the clean energy transition with members of the Government and Civil Service.

Laura Williams shares insights from the Energise project working with Longsight women's group, 'Queen Bee', in an informative article which highlights the practical measures that work for local communities in energy advice.

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What Works in Community Energy Advice: Insights from Energise Manchester and Queen Bee

A group of four women are gathered around a table with flipchart paper, working collaboratively as part of a Carbon Co-op workshop.

Between 2024 and 2025, Energise Manchester teamed up with Longsight’s Queen Bee group to deliver a series of practical energy advice workshops — designed with the community, for the community.

The Queen Bee group is a women-only group based at Northmoor Community Centre, where women from mainly South Asian backgrounds meet regularly to share food, do arts and crafts, and connect. Energy advice isn’t usually on the menu — but thanks to a collaborative approach, that changed.

Read about their experience

Carbon Co-op at Number 10

Two Carbon Co-op staff members (Ellie Radcliffe & Pete Fletcher) standing behind a table with a red cloth saying “Carbon Co-op“ on it, speaking to a man in a suit in the garden of Number 10 Downing Street

This month, Carbon Co-op staff members attended the co-operatives and mutuals reception at 10 Downing Street, hosted by Business Secretary (and local Co-operative Party member!) Jonathan Reynolds.

The event brought together a range of co-operatives and mutuals to showcase their work, and Ellie and Pete were even lucky enough to meet Larry the cat.

Read more about their reception

Progress in Practice win CarbonLite Retrofit Award

A photo of two Progress in Practice Architects accepting the Retrofit Award certificate

Architects, Progress in Practice have won the Exemplar Sustainable Buildings Awards, Retrofit Category award for their work on Ward Grove. Progress in Practice have been the architects for our Levenshulme Area Based Scheme retrofit project, and it is great to see them winning recognition for their work!

The Ward Grove project has been certified to the AECB CarbonLite Retrofit Standard. The AECB’s CarbonLite Training Centre offers a comprehensive suite of expert-led courses designed to support the built environment sector in upskilling for a net zero future, a fantastic resource for retrofit practitioners.

Read about the award

Check out AECB's training

What we are Reading...

DESNZ Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy released

Just out today, we are in the process of reading through the DESNZ Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy. We are paying particular attention to proposals around the role of Community Energy in the implementation of this strategy.

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Subject: Carbon Co-op at Number 10, lessons from Energise and more...

Carbon Co-op at 10 Downing Street, insights from Energise and more…

What we are Reading...