Britons Are Increasing the Amount They Spend on Going Green

Despite the fact that we are in recession, it has been reported that residential property owners are still spending and working hard to make their homes more eco friendly.

The Ethical Consumerism Report by the Co-Operative Bank shows that household spending on eco friendly services and products has increased from £6 billion in 2007, and £5.5 billion in 2006, up to £6.4 billion last year.

Home owners have worked hard to improve energy efficiency in their homes by installed measures such as double glazing windows, insulation and more – employing a number of local tradesman up to a total of £3.9 billion spent.

A further £1.8 billion was spent on green household appliances, and £1.9 billion was spent to upgrade boilers to more energy efficient models.

Some home owners are going even further to do their part for the environment, and a total of £333 million was spent on technology for renewable energy – an increase from £244 million in 2007.

On average, the bank claimed that a typical household spent £250 on green products in 2008.

The results of this report will be seen as good news to the UK Green Building Council, who recently called for greater action when it comes to making green improvements to residential properties. The head of the Council, Paul King, had recently claimed that homes need to be refurbished, rather than just have a new boiler installed.