Birmingham and Luton airports have received new electric vehicle (EV) charging points as a result of a new partnership between Airparks and UK manufacturer POD Point.

More than 160 NGOs, public institutions and businesses – including major brands such as Sainsbury’s and IKEA – have come out in support of solar over proposed increases to rateable values.

UK-based manufacturers could improve their output by as much as £2.56 billion by 2025 – and boost the UK’s international competitiveness – by investing more in energy efficiency technologies, Barclays has claimed.

The European Union has confirmed plans to increase its energy efficiency target to 30% by 2030 in an effort to reduce dependency on energy imports while creating jobs and increasing GDP across the trading bloc.

Businesses are demanding greater certainty around the future of energy policy in the UK after last week’s Autumn Statement left them “disappointed at the lack of focus on energy”, according to an open letter to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Walkers Crisps has successfully reduced the water and carbon emissions used in the growing of its potatoes by 50% since 2011 after implementing a series of measuring techniques to identify where savings could be made.

A coalition of organisations across the energy sector is calling on the government to take action after an energy audit found that the efficiency of UK electricity supply has remained broadly unchanged since 2010.

German automobile giant BMW is to launch a new ‘Digital Charging Service’ for its portfolio of electric vehicles early next year, promising to integrate EVs with national grids and on-site renewable generators.