A loaf of bread and a solar panel please

Last month I was invited to an exciting event in London to mark the launch of Sainsbury's new partnership with British Gas.

The concept is simple: to create a 'one-stop' shop for all your energy needs.  To begin with I was a little sceptical. I'm not in favour of large monopolies and tend to think shops should stick to doing what they do best - leave the car insurance, electricity supply and optician services to the experts.

However, this partnership isn't just about energy supply. What Sainsbury's want to do, is create an easily accessible destination, in store where customers can get reliable, accurate advice and information on reducing their energy consumption, save money and reduce their carbon footprint.

In the very near future, it may not be so unusual to see a sight like this in your local store, as they will also be selling home energy surveys, micro generation technology (that's things like solar panels to you and me) and home insulation products.

The event was held at the Walnut restaurant in West Hampstead, a sustainable restaurant using local products and engaging in energy saving practices themselves.  Besides the fact that I had a lovely meal, and got to finally meet some more wonderful bloggers, one of the best parts of the event from me was meeting Lucy Siegle.  Author, journalist, TV presenter and glamour-puss eco-warrior, she is something of a heroine to me!

  

She spoke honestly and with humour about what we can all do as individuals to reduce our carbon footprint and lead an ethical, sustainable lifestyle, whilst admitting that she herself is not perfect.  Small changes we can all do such as home composting; installing energy monitors to watch our consumption and savvy shopping to avoid excess packaging are a great way to start.

You could also do a lot worse than book a home energy survey with Sainsburys for £45 - it could end up saving you as much as £200 per year!

This is a sponsored post. Thanks to Sainsbury's who invited me to attend this event, provided lunch and transportation costs and a bag of products to take away.