Press release, [embargo] Thursday 26th November 2020
BT Group and Hubbub launch pioneering project to explore the benefit of smart tech on household bills and emissions Following the UK Government’s announcement and ambition to make households greener, warmer and more energy efficient as part of the new 10 Point Plan to tackle climate change, Hubbub and BT Group today announce plans to create the Smarter Living Challenge which will help households to reduce their carbon emissions by using technology to help run their home. Over the next three months, the pioneering pilot project will work with 60 diverse households across the country, looking closely at attitudes, perceptions and behaviours around running a home. It will investigate how digital technology can help make people’s lives easier and save them money in the process, before using these case studies to inspire the UK’s largest movement of households to make positive changes at home. New consumer research which surveyed 3,000 UK adults* shows that 63% of people don’t currently use any technology to run their homes but almost a quarter (23%) said they’d use technology more if it reduced their impact on the environment. Although 61% of respondents said they are very concerned about the impact of climate change on the planet, there is a perception that leading a greener lifestyle costs money with 43% saying they think that being environmentally-conscious is expensive. Andy Wales, Chief Digital Impact and Sustainability Officer, BT Group said: “BT has led the way on climate action for over 28 years and we’ve pledged to become a net zero carbon emissions business by 2045. We also have a responsibility to help households reduce their own carbon emissions and we’re hoping to inspire action on a big scale when we reveal the outcomes of this project to the wider public in spring 2021.”