Envirobead Retrofit reaps benefits of being a One Stop Shop

Background

Envirobead Retrofit is an SEAI One Stop Shop (OSS) provider based in County Cork. It has been in operation since 2003. They have offices in Dublin, Kilkenny and Galway and can serve customers nationwide.

Envirobead started out as a cavity wall insulation provider. They then became a contractor with SEAI's Better Energy Homes Scheme and have grown to be involved in all the various grant schemes with SEAI throughout the years.

They opened a new showroom in Cork last year to showcase the different technologies and materials typically used in a home energy upgrade. This allows homeowners to physically see the products and understand how they work before they arrive at their homes.

Why register as a One Stop Shop

Fergal Cantwell is the One Stop Shop Project Lead with Envirobead Retrofit. He explains why they registered in September 2022. "It was a natural progression for us. We have  been involved in SEAI grant schemes since 2012. In 2017, Envirobead took part in SEAI's Deep Retrofit Pilot scheme. It  focussed solely on the residential sector and there were some great learnings from this, for both contractors and SEAI," he explains. "We knew we had the experience and skills set to support the governments new target to retrofit 500,000 homes to a B2 by 2030."

The One Stop Shop scheme  launched in February 2022. "There's a lot of transparency for homeowners and contractors alike. If you go to SEAI website, you can see exactly what measures are on offer through the One Stop Shop and the grant amounts for each."

The application process

The application process is about making sure you've thought of everything and have a robust quality management system to allow you to succeed and scale as a One Stop Shop.

You are required to look at your current structure and advise how you plan to grow into the future. For examples, where do you plan to be in 3, 5 and 10 years from now. It will help you identify any weaknesses or areas for improvement and as a result companies that go through will be stronger.

Fergal says there is some thought to be put into the application and a lot of planning involved. "SEAI were there to help us at every step throughout the  application process. I would advise anyone who is interested, to certainly look into it further and see if your company is a good fit."

"We are a contractor-based One Stop Shop as opposed to a project management-based One Stop Shop. We have 80% of our resources in-house and the other 20% are made up of subcontractors that we would have very good partnerships with."

He explains that as a contractor-led OSS, Envirobead has the capacity to work under other One-Stop Shops as a subcontractor basis. It's another option for providers to consider as a business model. 

The benefits of being a One Stop Shop

"We find that a major benefit of the One Stop Stop scheme is that each house or apartment is an individual project so as you close out a house, you are then paid for that. It's a major benefit for the business in relation to cash flow."

Fergal says Envirobead is delighted to be registered as a One Stop Shop with SEAI. "We feel it's a very collaborative partnership and SEAI helped us through the registration process. The partnership with SEAI is fantastic for our business because they're continuously in touch with us and continuously helping us. They touch base with us, you know, three or four times a year finding out how we're doing with the One Stop Shop and seeing can they help us and improve the process in any way."

"Whether you want to become a One Stop Shop or whether you want to register as a subcontractor to complete these works under a One Stop Shop, that avenue is also open to you It's an excellent service. We look back on our progress and we are delighted to see how far we have come and how business has grown.  

How to register as a One Stop Shop

The purpose of a One Stop Shop is to offer, manage and deliver an end-to-end service to the homeowner, advising on and carrying out all aspects of a home energy upgrade. OSS applicants must apply to SEAI to become a registered One Stop Shop.

Our videos below explain how the process works and you can hear from other One Stop Shops who have already registered.