Solartwin’s innovative solar water heating systems have just gained the coveted “One Planet Products” green product listing by Bioregional, the award winning not for profit business based at Bedzed in Bedfordshire UK.

This award follows a detailed environmental scrutiny of both the solar panel product and the business as a solar supplier. “I’m delighted we have gained this prestigious listing, because it will lead to homes and businesses cutting their carbon footprint even more effectively” commented Dave Houston, Contracts Manager at Solar Twin Ltd. One Planet Products helps its members to purchase and specify green construction products and services easily and affordably and helps them build knowledge in sustainability.

One Planet Products is an award winning not-for-profit social business; managed as a member-led club it enables members to specify and purchase environmental construction products, materials and services more cost effectively and easily, reducing the environmental impact of developments. One Planet Products allows members to select sustainable products such as solar thermal systems quickly without the need for carrying out expensive and time consuming research themselves. All the products have been assessed against the One Planet Living principles.

The website allows members to compare listed products rapidly and effortlessly, including energy, carbon and water savings, cost, lifetime and payback periods. Housing currently produces around one third of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions adding to the effects of climate change. By encouraging the use of low-energy materials, innovative resource-saving devices and high quality construction methods, One Planet Products aims to reduce the environmental impact of the UK housing stock.

Representatives from BioRegional, WWF, SEEDA and the Building Research Establishment (BRE), sit on the advisory board of One Planet Products, enabling One Planet Products to draw on considerable environmental knowledge and expertise when carrying out product reviews. One Planet Products was launched by BioRegional Development Group, an entrepreneurial, independent environmental organisation that develops award winning, commercially viable products and services to help enable One Planet living – living within our fair share of the Earth’s resources.

Correction: Solartwin & Chester Chronicle article on One Planet Products 11/7/2008 The Chester Chronicle Newspaper published an article in which it was reported that Solar Twin Ltd had been awarded the “coveted One Planet Products green accreditation award for its energy-saving heating system”. A correction is required here. To be precise, Solar Twin Ltd have in fact passed One Planet Products’ in-depth assessment process which evaluated the environmental, social & ethical aspects of products and businesses.

However One Planet Products have recently clarified to us that our passing this process does not actually constitute an award or an accreditation but a listing. One Planet Products is an award winning not-for-profit social business; managed as a member-led club it enables members to specify and purchase environmental construction products, materials and services more cost effectively and easily, reducing the environmental impact of developments.

We would like to clarify here that One Planet products do not operate as a certification or accreditation body but as a gateway to buying genuinely green products. Dave Houston, Contracts Manager at Solar Twin Ltd, says “We are committed to use of clear and factual information in all our literature and marketing material: indeed were named as Best Solar Business in Ethical Consumer Magazine in 2005. Solar Twin Ltd would like to apologise for any confusion this may have caused and look forward to developing a strong and successful relationship with One Planet Products and its partners.

“Regarding accreditation, the Solartwin solar panel has just been accredited throughout Europe under Solar Keymark. We should not have claimed that Solartwin’s innovative solar water heating systems have just been awarded the coveted “One Planet Products” green accreditation. We should have used the word, “listing” instead of “accreditation. We sincerely apologise for any misunderstanding this may have caused. This is obviously a serious error, given that One Planet Products immediately delisted our technology pending our correction of this word, which we have now carried out.”