Sustainable Energy First shortlisted for award recognising public sector sustainability leadership at the 2026 CPC Excellence Awards.
With the winners being announced at the award ceremony on Friday 26th June, Sustainable Energy First a place on the shortlist for the Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) Excellence Awards for delivering measurable carbon reduction across the public sector.
The award they are finalists for is the “Commitment to Carbon Reduction and Sustainability” category. The shortlisting recognises leadership and innovation through the delivery of the CPC’s energy consultancy framework.
Owned by CPC and operated by Sustainable Energy First, the framework supports more than 10,000 public sector organisations with practical guidance on energy procurement, carbon reduction, renewable energy strategy, and long-term sustainability planning.
The shortlisting acknowledges our role in helping schools, academy trusts, and wider public sector organisations respond to increasing energy market uncertainty, rising operational costs, and growing pressure to demonstrate credible progress towards net zero.
Supporting public sector decarbonisation through energy procurement
The CPC energy consultancy framework was developed to provide members with an accessible and structured route to independent, evidence-based support. Through the framework, organisations can access guidance on energy efficiency, decarbonisation planning, renewable energy procurement, sustainability governance and reporting, helping embed carbon reduction into both operational decision-making and long-term strategic planning.
An important part of this approach is the planned integration of the Sustainable Energy Consortium (SEC), an innovative renewable electricity procurement model developed by Sustainable Energy First. The SEC is designed to provide organisations with future access to stable, traceable UK-generated renewable electricity through a portfolio structure that reduces exposure to market volatility while supporting the development of new renewable generation.
Unlike traditional corporate Power Purchase Agreements, which can often be inaccessible to smaller organisations due to complexity and scale requirements, the SEC has been designed to widen participation and enable more organisations to directly support renewable energy development as part of their procurement strategy.
Sustainable Energy First has worked closely with CPC members to help organisations better understand energy market dynamics, procurement strategy and renewable energy options, enabling them to make more informed long-term decisions around cost control, resilience, and carbon reduction.
Winners for the award will be announced on Friday 26 June.
