Nationwide Building Society is stepping up its efforts to support mortgage members in improving the energy efficiency of their homes. Nationwide plans to reduce the interest rate on Green Additional Borrowing to zero per cent, offering a new range of 0% Green Additional Borrowing products from Thursday 1 June. This development will allow up to 5,000 households with a Nationwide mortgage to borrow £5,000-£15,000, up to a maximum of 90 per cent Loan-to-Value (LTV) over a two or five-year product term. With the UK’s 29 million homes contributing to 16 per cent of the country’s emissions, Nationwide’s approach aims to help achieve the net zero target by 2050 by retrofitting properties.

Henry Jordan, Director of Home at Nationwide Building Society said, 

“Residential properties are one of the biggest causes of emissions and there is a need for more to be done by government and business to encourage households to act. A key barrier to making homes more energy efficient is not only the upfront costs associated with retrofitting, but also the payback period of making such changes. It’s clear to us that only meaningful incentives will help shift behaviour. So, by launching this latest product for up to 5,000 of the Society’s mortgage holders, we can test and understand whether offering zero per cent interest will encourage members to make the necessary green home improvements, where the costs of finance may have, until now, discouraged them. As a mutual, we’re committed to returning value back to our members, which is demonstrated by this being the first time we’ve taken this approach. Creating a greener society is a shared goal and we need to make it as easy as possible for households to play their part.”

Example improvements 

• Solar panels
• Cavity wall insulation
• Pipe and boiler insulation
• Window upgrade/replacement
• Air source heat pumps
• Ground source heat pumps
• Investment in rainwater ‘harvestation’
• Upgrading of existing utilities (e.g. lighting)
• Small scale wind turbines
• Electric car charging stations