British Woodworking Federation (BWF) chief executive Iain McIlwee said key issues for the joinery industry were to make sure that timber products were not disadvantaged against PVCu and large businesses did not have an advantage over small companies.
The Green Deal announcement on June 11 highlighted 45 product areas that will qualify for Green Deal finance as part of the plan to improve the energy efficiency of UK homes, without any upfront costs for the homeowner. It includes high peformance external doors and replacement windows.
The BWF said the final policy included changes it had asked for during consultation, including restrictions on cold calling to homeowners and new rules requiring Green Deal assessors to declare any commission and any ties to deal providers (installers)
"Our view on the Green Deal is to make sure our industry benefits from any growth it creates and we are not disadvantaged by any policies in it," said Mr McIlwee.
"We do not want to see assessors and providers working in such a way as to disadvantage the supply chain, that’s why we want to see any affiliation declared up front. If they don’t, then they may not be offering the best products to the customer, favouring the large manufacturers.
"We do not want to see the lowest cost solution. Customers should be given scope to source products to suit them. Timber should not be disadvantaged against PVCu and small businesses should not be disadvantaged against large businesses.
"There’s quite a lot of vagueness about it and it’s very hard to see exactly how it will work. The jury is still out and my best guess is it will be a slow start and build up over time."
The BWF is publishing a Green Deal "roadmap" within the next few weeks to guide joinery companies on benefitting from the scheme. The Timber Trade Federation recently issued a bulletin to show how members could use the Green Deal to generate business opportunities.
The Green Deal will launch in October, with £200m allocated to encourage early uptake and future support of £1.3bn annually.
Homeowners will pay back improvement costs in installments spread over a number of years, with the idea that the energy savings will, in effect, cover the payments.
