European Sustainable Energy Award for Prisons (E-SEAP)

The framework involves prisons being assessed against criteria under three main elements: 1) Buildings and Energy Management. 2) Education and Training. 3) Communities.
The project itself involved prisons having a preliminary assessment carried out in order to identify areas for development, followed by an intense period of external support, culminating in prisons being re-assessed towards the end of the project.
Under the buildings and energy management element, a full energy survey of the prison premises was carried out resulting in the production of a full report and action plan detailing where savings could be made.
Under the education and training element, Prison staff received a two hour training session focussing on how they could save energy in the home. This made it relevant and incentivised them to take part, whilst helping to instigate positive behaviour change within the prison. This training was CPD accredited so that it could be used as evidence towards staff continuing professional development.
The prisoner training was either a short two-day course or a longer, accredited course.
The main aims of this training were
1) Improved energy-saving behaviour among prisoners, helping to reduce prison consumption.
2) Helping prisoners to gain employment post-release.
3) Helping to reduce rates of re-offending through reducing prisoner’s energy bills post-release, helping them into employment and providing them with transferable skills.