A few months ago I wrote in this column about how the British political landscape has been transformed by the Stern Report in the UK and by documents emerging from the European Commission. Suddenly, we are all environmentalists, and everything we do in our business and domestic lives have to take cognizance of that environmental cost or benefit.

Recently I attended a one-day conference organised by the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, a body which – in their words – “facilitates interaction and collaboration between a highly fragmented energy efficiency industry and the many government bodies that are responsible”. They are funded by DEFRA, the Department for the Environment.

It sounds like wishful thinking, but the presentations made on 27 March really showed how the pieces of this particular jigsaw are coming together, and how we as manufacturers and retailers of domestic appliances must learn to live with consumers who will want to know not only energy efficiency ratings but the carbon footprints of the products on offer.

Government's green agenda

First we heard from an official from DEFRA who gave us the history of White Papers, Energy Efficiency Plans and Policy Reviews since 2003. The difference now lies with the pace of proposed government activity, and whilst the Energy White Paper, due in the spring of 2007, has been put back to May (for legal reasons), it will form the basis of a new Energy Efficiency Plan due out in the summer. It will reflect the Government's belief that energy efficiency savings will provide at least half of the carbon savings that it wishes to achieve. It will be linked to Building Regulations, Codes for Sustainable Homes and the now infamous Energy Performance Certificates for homes – due later this year. It has as its basis the Government's recent Draft Climate Change Bill which makes the UK the first country to seek to set up a long term legal framework backing up carbon emission standards.

To reinforce this message we had a representative from the regulatory body OFGEM, who pointed out that whilst DEFRA set policy and targets, OFGEM monitors and administers compliance.

The agenda for manufacturers

So where does this leave the manufactures and retailers of domestic appliances?

First, with certain legal responsibilities to ensure that our products are energy efficient, correctly labelled and ultimately recycled in accordance with the requirements of the WEEE Directive.

Second, we need to ensure that in our dealings with our customers we provide the degree of information which will be required. Price will always be important, but it will often not be the only factor in determining consumer choice.

In addition we need to take advantage of the opportunities which this new scenario provides.

Selling the 'early replacement' argument

Our appliances, such as washing machines, carry mandatory labels telling consumers how energy efficient they are. In the past decade, the average washing machine sold in Europe has a reduced water consumption of 62% and energy use of 44%.

The problem for our industry lies in the large number of older and less efficient appliances still in use. As manufacturers we are victims of our own success in improving quality. Our consumers seem to hold on to their old appliances until they become defective.

The challenge is to get this message across. In the absence of serious support from government of the type available elsewhere (such as tax incentives for consumers in Italy who buy a new energy-efficient model), it falls to us to explain the advantages of early replacement of appliances. The UK Government seems more inclined to use the stick rather than the carrot to influence consumer behaviour.

Manufacturers and retailers need to work together towards achieving the ambitious environmental targets at British and EU levels, whilst also bringing positive benefits to the individuals concerned, both to their lifestyles and their pockets.