The letter organsied by the UK Green Building Council has been signed by the bosses of Carillion, Keepmoat, Willmott Dixon, Barratt, H+H, Knauf, Saint Gobain and Quintain.

The campaign follows Cameron’s announcement last week that he would reduce green levies in the wake of rising energy bills.

The letter argues that energy efficiency is the “only sure way” to protect households against rising bills in the long-term.

Paul King, Chief Executive of the UK Green Building Council, said: “Business leaders are sending a powerful message to David Cameron – do not scrap the Energy Company Obligation.

“Cutting back schemes designed to boost energy efficiency is an incredibly short-sighted view and one that will only result in higher bills in the medium to long-term for those most vulnerable from rocketing energy prices.

“Energy efficiency is the only guaranteed way to combat rising energy bills and it defies belief that the Prime Minister is considering ‘rolling back’ one of the Government’s biggest initiatives to achieve this.”

The full text of the letter reads:

Dear Prime Minister
As you are well aware, the rising cost of energy is a major issue. In fact, according to recent market research, energy bills are now the single most worrying expense for British households. However, we are concerned about your recent statement “We need to roll back some of the green regulations and charges that are putting up bills.”
Using less energy by improving the efficiency of our housing stock is the only sure way to protect households against rising bills in the long term. A key component of so-called green levies is the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, which is specifically designed to improve the energy efficiency of vulnerable and low income households and ‘hard to treat’ properties, such as those with solid-walls. If ECO was in any way rolled back it would have the perverse effect of increasing energy bills for these consumers, with severe consequences for jobs in what should be a growth sector of the economy.
The cost of ECO could be reduced if the Government’s flagship green policy, the Green Deal, was delivering. Simply put, the greater the contribution that can be made to retrofit costs by the Green Deal, the less is required of ECO, and the lower the charge levied on all bills. We strongly believe that one of the best ways to encourage uptake of energy efficiency measures and increase demand for the Green Deal is to provide a new financial incentive for householders, based around Stamp Duty.
There are a number of ways of designing such a scheme, but in essence, more energy efficient homes would attract a slightly lower level of Stamp Duty, in much the same way as a more efficient car attracts a lower level of car tax – which has been remarkably successful in shifting consumer buying behaviour. Importantly, people carrying out energy efficiency work after a home purchase would be able to claim a rebate on some of their tax. It would help ensure that homebuyers consider the efficiency of the property they are buying, which can have a huge impact on their future energy bills.
With the housing market recovering and the number of sales rising, the Treasury is likely to see an increase in revenue raised through Stamp Duty by around £2billion over the next year or so. The incentive scheme could be designed in a cost neutral way, or by using a small proportion of this revenue without having an impact on the Government’s fiscal commitments.
Yours sincerely

Paul King, Chief Executive, UK Green Building Council

Oliver Smith, Director, 5th Studio

Sunil Shah, Managing Director, Acclaro Advisory

Susheel Rao, Director, Aiyana

Andrew Gould, Andrew J Gould Ltd

Andrew Warren, Director, Association for the Conservation of Energy

Mark Clare, Group Chief Executive, Barratt Developments

Rab Bennetts, Director, Bennetts Associates

Rod Pettigrew, Chief Executive, Building and Engineering Services Association

Professor Phil Jones, Head Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University

Nigel Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Carillion

George Adams, President, CIBSE

Alfred Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Climate Change Capital

Diana Montgomery, Chief Executive, CPA

Dr Neil Cutland, Director, Cutland Consulting Ltd

David Strong, Chairman, Energy Efficiency partnership for Buildings

Don Leiper, Director of New Business, E.ON UK

Brian Berry, Chief Executive, Federation of Master Builders

Sally Uren, Chief Executive, Forum for the Future

Peter Walls, Chief Executive Officer, Gentoo Group

Nigel Rees, Chief Executive Glass and Glazing Federation

Matthew Spencer, Director, Green Alliance

Rob Bould, Chief Executive, GVA

Dave Hampton, Chartered Environmentalist

Mark Oliver, Managing Director, H+H UK

Ben Derbyshire, Managing Partner, HTA Design LLP

David Robson, Managing Director, InstaGroup Ltd

Toby Knight, Director of Project and Development Services, Jones Lang LaSalle

Nigel Banks, Group Sustainability Director, Keepmoat

John Sinfield, Managing Director, Knauf Insulation

Paul Everall, Chief Executive, LABC

Christoph Harwood, Partner, Marksman Consulting LLP

John Walker, Chairman, National Energy Foundation

Neil Marshall, Chief Executive, National Insulation Association Limited

Paul Appleby Consultant

Stephen Sterling, Head of Education for Sustainable Development, Plymouth University

David Crump, Director, Quintain

Peter Rickaby, Director, Rickaby Thompson Associates Ltd

Peter Rogers

Peter Hindle, Senior Vice- President, Saint-Gobain Ltd

Stewart Dodd, Managing Director, Satellite Architects Ltd

Liz Warren and Rachel Mills, Directors, SE2

Mads Jensen, CEO, Sefaira UK Ltd

Andrew Carpenter, Chief Executive, Structural Timber Association

Andrew Eagles, Managing Director, Sustainable Homes

John Thorp, Managing Director, Thameswey Sustainable Communities (Thameswey Group)

Mhora Samuel, Director, The Theatres Trust

John White, Chief Executive, Timber Trade Federation

Paul Joyner, Group Director of Sustainability, Travis Perkins Group plc

Dave Worthington, Managing Director, Verco

Mike Roberts, Director, Vertigo SDC Limited

Michael Wayman, Managing Director, Vibrant Energy Matters Limited

Stephanie Hilborne OBE, Chief Executive, Wildlife Trusts

Anna Woodeson, Associate Director, Wilkinson Eyre

Rick Willmott, Group Chief Executive, Willmott Dixon