The King’s Award for Enterprise is the most prestigious awards for UK companies, recognising and celebrating business excellence across the UK. As a recipient, Community Energy Pathways has demonstrated outstanding success in sustainable development, promoting opportunity through social mobility, inspiring others and empowering communities.
Community Energy Pathways, formerly Community Energy South, a community energy social enterprise, has been awarded the King’s Award for Sustainable Development 2025. The award is received for Community Energy Pathways’ dedication in empowering local communities to swiftly deliver locally owned, low carbon energy, reduce their energy bills and support those people left behind in the energy crisis.
Community Energy Pathways works with local authorities, community energy groups, industry leaders and central government to support local communities to become resilient by reducing their energy use and creating locally funded community energy. To do this we build partnerships and harness local funding to support volunteers and locally led community energy organisations to work with local authorities to provide trusted support and advice in the heart of local communities. The result creates increased local resilience and empowers communities to be involved with the future of energy, new job opportunities and local green economies that we need to deliver a sustainable low carbon future for us all.
Ollie Pendered, CEO of Community Energy Pathways, said:
“Local authorities can find it challenging to raise additional funds for energy solutions – especially in the current economic climate. We empower local communities to work with local authorities to help neighbourhoods be smarter with energy use, discover ways to reduce energy bills, and decarbonise their energy, all while creating local job opportunities.
“We’re over the moon to receive the King’s Award for Sustainable Enterprise, and we want this to be a catalyst to support even more local authorities to speed up their journey to Net Zero Community energy can help local authorities create cheaper-to-run, warmer, and safer homes and buildings, and we hope this recognition will help to deliver our vision that every Unitary, District or Borough council across the UK should benefit from community energy. in turn leading to the creation of many more community energy groups and resilient communities.”
What is community energy?
Community Energy Pathways has supported over 50 community energy groups to grow and flourish. Across England from Leicestershire to East Sussex, these community energy groups are an inspiring network of hard-working local volunteers and energy champions providing trusted local projects that empower local residents to make the transition to a low carbon future.
Net Zero needs buy-in from local communities. In the community energy sector, people work together to reduce energy use and generate low carbon heat and power. Our project, Community Energy People, is delivered by local people with a focus on community engagement, collective action and local leadership.
Community Energy People – creating new jobs for the sector
Nicola Davidson is one of Community Energy Pathways’ expert project managers who has developed the Community Energy People initiative, which is a National Lottery Funded project. Designed in partnership with local community energy group leaders, it supports 11 community energy groups to grow their capacity so they can do more of the projects their neighbourhoods want. It includes creating 33 part-time jobs for three years over the project and help the community groups expand their work and become strong local employers.
Nicola Davidson, Project Manager at Community Energy Pathways said
“the best parts of this project are the new jobs created. We learned that crafting these opportunities for people based on one or two days per week has been really attractive – applicants are keen to drop their existing full-time work to try out our sector. For the community energy groups they’re seeing an injection of talent and bolder ideas for energy projects. It’s a real confidence booster. We also committed to ensure that half of the roles would be filled by people not usually represented in community energy – meaning younger people, those with social or health barriers have better chances of adding their skills”.
Leaving No One Behind – UKPN Energy Advice Partnership
The Leaving No One Behind project, funded by UK Power Networks, has enabled Community Energy Pathways to support over 18 community energy groups to deliver personalised home energy advice to customers across the Southeast, from energy-saving talks to tailored advice and home visits. This funding has allowed groups to employ local people, build up volunteers, and develop their organisations. So far, we have reached over 15,000 customers with energy advice through this project.
Camille Rodskjaer, Energy Champion Coordinator at Community Energy Pathways said,
“Our expert energy advice has been crucial for many individuals and hard-to-reach communities. The impact our sessions have had in helping individuals is tangible. Community Energy Pathways advisors, trained in the role, have saved clients hundreds of pounds and reduced fuel debt stress for individuals and communities, some of whom seriously lack resources. We additionally support local community groups to raise awareness by attending sessions, delivering talks on carbon reduction and renewables. We help them become independently established, building stronger and healthier communities.”
Building a resilient Community Energy Network in Essex
Working in Essex for the past 4 years has been one of the greatest highlights of our journey. We invited people living and working across the county to come forward with their ideas and concerns around energy use and challenges they saw ahead. We met people of all backgrounds and learned so much about their own expertise and how that could be applied to community energy. The first companies we helped them form delivered: a retrofit assessment for a rural village, a low carbon plan for schools with energy challenges, and energy efficiency advice for locals, by locals.
All the work created through Community Energy Pathways with support from Essex County Council is replicable and the work is shared across a wider set of 30 Essex groups to inspire them to copy in their own way. More groups are underway, with ideas for harnessing rooftop solar potential on trading estate roofs, collaborating with charities as they struggle with funds and sharing portions of commercial renewable energy projects. We are also thrilled to have supported a group of young adults to venture into running their own community energy company in their spare time – great for their personal development, a strong addition to their CV’s and addressing concerns for the planet.
Essex Climate Czar, Councilor Peter Schwier said
“This award couldn’t have gone to a more worthy organisation – Community Energy Pathways has been, and continues to be, a real force for good, providing crucial support to local authorities in the transition to low carbon energy and helping residents understand how they can be smarter with their energy use. Since 2020, Essex County Council has collaborated with CEP to foster a thriving community energy sector in Essex. Under the helpful guidance of CEP, seven empowered groups have emerged. These groups have received support with governance, skills, and funding and to develop a portfolio of projects. We now have more communities coming forward and this work has influenced the integration of community energy into the local authority policy and strategies, as well as our Climate Action Plan.”
Energy on the High Street; Zero Carbon Guildford and Community Energy in Surrey
Community Energy Pathways has supported an incredible community energy journey with Surrey County Council working with their Greener Futures team. It started with a request from many small groups – from resident associations, churches and charities who wanted ideas funding and methods to save energy in ways that were often very challenging. Community Energy Pathways worked with three Surrey based groups to get them up and running, helped them secure free training, deliver local energy advice events and apply for funding to grow their start-ups. This included working with Zero Carbon Guildford who had set up a high street Climate and Energy centre in their town.
Ben McCallan, Engagement Manager in Surrey County Council’s Greener Futures team, said:
“It’s hard to overstate the impact Community Energy Pathways has had in supporting Surrey ventures to scale up and grow over recent years. For example, in 2022, Surrey County Council contracted Community Energy Pathways to mentor 10 community groups and they also secured a funding pot for Zero Carbon Guildford and Energy Action Redhill & Reigate to run the Home Energy Advice Team, which has since supported over 2,000 Surrey households to help them be more energy efficient.
“From the formation of the energy-generation focused community energy group, Surrey Community Energy, through to opportunities for Surrey’s energy groups to liaise with DESNZ and the new GB Energy, Community Energy Pathways support has been invaluable. The continued growth of community-led energy groups supporting residents in reducing bills, keeping their homes cosy and free of damp and mould has been catalysed by Community Energy Pathways, in turn creating training and job opportunities, and reducing residential emissions to tackle climate change through local projects.”