An EPC is required when a property is built, sold or rented. It gives a property a rating from A or 100 (most efficient) to G or 0 (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years.

You may be able to find a property’s rating on the UK Government's Find an energy certificate page .

If a property has never had an EPC rating, or it has expired, you need to book a property assessment to get a new Energy Performance Certificate.

There may be a cost associated with obtaining an EPC.

New-build homes will have a Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA) before they’re finished. This should be available from the builder or estate agent.

PEAs will be accepted for homes not yet completed.

The Carbon Trust is an international climate change and sustainability consultancy and the world’s leading independent certification body for carbon footprints. Their certification process follows the only internationally recognised carbon neutral standard, PAS 2060.

You can learn more about the Carbon Trust by visiting their Who we are page .

A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused directly by a product, and is expressed as a carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). The Carbon Trust calculated our footprint at 96kg of carbon emissions for every mortgage we provide.

The Carbon Trust completed a footprinting exercise of our mortgage service to calculate our carbon footprint. This footprinting exercise reviewed all aspects of our mortgage service, from the paper we issue to customers to the waste we generate, including the energy we use to provide our mortgages, our storage of digital documentation and the provision of our homeowner welcome boxes.

Carbon offsetting is a way to account for unavoidable carbon emissions. Put simply, for every tonne of carbon we generate relating to our mortgage product, we will buy a tonne of carbon offset units so that our overall emissions associated with the product are neutral and there is one less tonne of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there would otherwise have been.

We have invested in a renewable energy project- Wind Farms in India.

India has a rapidly growing population, which is increasing the demand for energy throughout the country. 75% of India’s energy needs are met through the burning of fossil fuels; meaning greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and, since 2013, India has accounted for more than half of the increase in global CO2 output. We are supporting efforts to reduce these emissions by purchasing carbon credits from wind energy projects.