Willerby cuts energy bills for holiday home owners and parks with new sustainability standard

Holiday homes market leader Willerby is introducing a new, ground-breaking standard specification for its models to cut their carbon emissions, make them more energy efficient and cheaper to run.

Willerby, which has a workforce of around 1,100 people at its two sites in Hull, is the first UK holiday homes manufacturer to introduce any kind of sustainability standard and the only one to offer a green build specification across the board.

Willerby’s new GreEN Standard will apply to all static caravans¹ manufactured from October 2022 and will be adopted in the design and production of all future new models.

The change is the most significant innovation in the holiday homes industry since the introduction of double glazing and central heating.

It’s a key part of Willerby’s drive to put sustainability firmly at the heart of all its design processes and manufacturing operations and reinforces the company’s status as the UK holiday homes brand leader.

The GreEN Standard will reduce the energy consumption of Willerby’s holiday homes by up to 28%³, compared to models built to the previous specification.

The new standard will mean Willerby’s holiday homes …

• Are inherently more sustainable.
• Consume less energy.
• Are cheaper to run.
• Will be warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
• Will emit at least 250kg less carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere every year – the equivalent of driving 1,350 miles in an average petrol or diesel car.

Willerby has carried out comprehensive research into the carbon impact of its holiday homes in order to understand how this can be reduced. This included calculating the embodied carbon – emissions associated with materials and processes during manufacture – as well as the carbon footprint of holiday homes once in use.

As a result, Willerby’s new GreEN Standard incorporates:

• A 100% increase in the thickness of exterior walls².
• Upgraded insulation in the walls, floors and roof.
• Addition of “low emissivity” argon gas-filled double glazing, which emits low levels of radiant heat energy, to all windows and glazed exterior doors.

Willerby CEO Peter Munk said: “Our new GreEN standard is a hugely significant development in our ongoing commitment to tackling the climate crisis.

“Our industry has an important role to play in the pathway to a sustainable future and I’m proud we’re leading the way in our sector with the introduction of this new specification. It puts sustainability at the very heart of all our product development and manufacturing operations.

“Further improving the energy efficiency of our holiday homes has the additional benefit of enabling owners to make significant savings on their energy bills, which is particularly important at this time when living costs are rising sharply.

“Holiday park operators will also benefit from reduced running costs on their Willerby GreEN Standard rental units, as well as this initiative contributing to the increased sustainability of their operations.

“In short, this is great for the environment and good for the pocket.”

Willerby has worked with several of its customers in the UK holiday parks sector during the research and development project that has led to the introduction of the GreEN Standard.

Willerby’s technical director Simon Tempest, the company’s board champion for sustainability, said: “As a major employer, and a leading player in the holiday homes industry, we recognise our responsibility to reduce the carbon impact of our operations.

“We’ve done a great deal in this area already, with the introduction of a raft of green initiatives. These include installing biomass boilers at our Hull site which convert waste wood into energy to heat our manufacturing facilities, saving 1,000 tonnes of C02 annually and avoiding hundreds of truck trips to remove this waste.

“The introduction of the GreEN Standard is a major leap forward in our sustainability journey and a game-changing innovation for the holiday homes industry.”

For more information on the GreEN Standard, go to www.willerby.com/green-standard

What it means for holiday home owners

The GreEN Standard responds to the ever-growing desire for holiday home owners, like everyone else, to live more sustainably, reduce their energy consumption and save money on fuel bills.

• The GreEN standard will deliver a reduction in annual carbon emissions of 28%³.
• It will also cut energy consumption by 28%³, making it cheaper to run a holiday home.
• The reduction in energy use will result in an annual saving of as much as £249³ on energy bills for privately-owned holiday homes, at a time when energy prices are rising significantly.
• The increased insulation measures will make Willerby’s holiday homes warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
• As green initiatives and sustainability credentials become ever more popular and prevalent, it is likely that Willerby GreEN Standard holiday homes will have higher re-sale values.
• The GreEN Standard makes holiday home ownership an even more attractive staycation choice.

What it means for holiday park operators

The GreEN standard delivers a series of benefits for Willerby’s customers in the holiday parks sector.

• All the major holiday park groups have in place, or are developing, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) plans that include a strong focus on reducing carbon emissions. The GreEN Standard will help park operators meet this challenge, as it means a significant reduction in carbon emissions for every new Willerby model on their parks.
• The GreEN Standard will reduce carbon emissions by 28%⁴ for “fleet” models used for holiday rentals.
• It will also deliver a reduction in energy consumption of 28%⁴, resulting in an estimated annual average energy bills saving of £747⁴ for each fleet model.
• The initiative helps to address the widespread concern across the industry about the future supply of gas.
• It will mean Willerby models on holiday parks are more attractive to buyers and as holiday rentals.
• Because of the ever-growing desire and demand for sustainable choices, GreEN Standard models are likely to command higher prices when re-sold at the end of the fleet lifecycle.
• The GreEN Standard will also help make holiday parks a more attractive proposition for banks and investors, who are placing an ever greater importance on sustainability when considering investment decisions.

¹Due to pitch constraints, our Ashurst models will not be built to the GreEN Standard specification.

²12ft holiday homes only.

³Figure based on a Brookwood 40ft x 12ft three-bedroom model and 90 days occupancy. Saving based on 18p per kwh.

⁴Figure based on a Brookwood 40ft x 12ft three-bedroom model and 270 days occupancy. Saving based on 18p per kwh.