University Students Lend Expertise to Fuel Poverty Initiative as Oh Yes! Partnership Gathers Pace

It’s a tough time for many when the energy bill lands on the doormat. It seems like everyone is looking for clever ways to save a bit of cash and be kinder to the planet. What if the answer was right on our doorstep? A new project announced on March 31, 2026, shows that sometimes, the freshest ideas come from students who are ready to make a real difference. A group of sharp minds from the University of Hull are rolling up their sleeves to support a brilliant fuel poverty initiative, all thanks to a successful partnership with the membership campaign, Oh Yes! Net Zero. It’s all about connecting local businesses with student brainpower to tackle big problems, like helping vulnerable individuals and communities keep their homes warm without breaking the bank.

A partnership that's already paying off

So, what’s the story here? It starts with a campaign called Oh Yes! Net Zero. Think of it as a club for businesses in the Hull and Humber area that want to be more sustainable. It has over 170 active members, all committed to reducing their carbon footprint. One of the smartest things they’ve done is team up with the local university to create a successful partnership. They connect their member businesses with talented students who can help them with green projects.

And it's not just talk. A pilot project proved just how well this can work. A Hull-based company called Springfield Solutions, which specialises in high-tech digital printing, needed a hand. They brought in a recent university graduate, Hemant Joshi, to take a proper look at their delivery operations. He analysed everything about how their vans get from A to B, with the goal of cutting both costs and those pesky carbon emissions. It was a massive success, showing that this blend of business experience and academic know-how is a recipe for real change. This initial success paved the way for the next phase of the programme.

Tackling fuel poverty with fresh marketing ideas

Now, this fantastic partnership is entering its next phase, focusing on a huge issue: fuel poverty. That’s where a brilliant organisation called End Energy Poverty comes in. Co-founded by the sustainability experts at BACB Renewables, its mission is simple but powerful: to help community groups and vulnerable individuals lower their energy bills, save money, and cut carbon. As part of the project's growth, half a dozen students from the University of Hull are now lending their expertise to this vital fuel poverty initiative.

What are they actually doing? They’re putting their heads together to build a top-notch cross-channel marketing strategy. That sounds a bit corporate, but it just means they’re coming up with smart ways to spread the word about End Energy Poverty online and across different platforms. The goal is to get the message out to more communities who need support. A great idea is only great if people know about it, right? The students’ marketing work will help build an online presence, ensuring that the people who need help can find it easily. This support is key for the initiative's continued growth.

A win-win for students and the community

This project is a fantastic example of a win-win situation. The students get to apply what they've learned in lectures to a real-world challenge. It’s one thing to write an essay about marketing, but it’s another to build a strategy that will genuinely help people. This kind of experience is gold when they start looking for jobs after graduation. The team of six students is supervised by Hattie Wilson-Mason, who is herself a 2025 graduate of the university’s business school, so she knows exactly what they’re going through.

Summer Godlieb, one of the students working on the project, summed it up perfectly:

“This is a fantastic opportunity to apply what we’re studying at university in a real-world business environment, working with a company to help tackle the cost of living crisis and make a positive difference to peoples’ lives. We hope our marketing and social media strategy will enable End Energy Poverty to reach even more communities in need of support. Initiatives like this are so important, and we’re proud to be playing our part. For us as students, working with End Energy Poverty will provide us with invaluable experience as we prepare to take our first career steps after university.”

The talented group bringing their skills to the table includes:

• Ajay Ayodeji – Marketing

• Alecia Castan – Business Management with Accounting

• Ethan Foreman – Business Management

• Summer Godlieb – International Business

• Ozioma Obi – Business Management with Human Resources Management

• Elena Velcheva – Business Management with Marketing

The people making it happen

Behind every great project, there are passionate people. Lloyd Glanville is the Managing Director of BACB Renewables, one of the co-founders of End Energy Poverty. His company is already deeply involved with the Oh Yes! Net Zero campaign, running free "Energy Clinics" for its active members to give them advice on cutting bills and becoming more sustainable. Discovering the campaign's partnership with the university felt like finding the missing piece of the puzzle.

Lloyd Glanville explained the connection:

“Through our broader work with Oh Yes! Net Zero, we found out about the campaign’s partnership with the University of Hull, which is a perfect fit for what we’re trying to achieve at End Energy Poverty. As End Energy Poverty gathers momentum, it’s fantastic to have support from talented students who can bring their learnings and expertise to accelerate our mission to tackle energy poverty and support the transition to low carbon, renewable energy. For the students involved, it’s an invaluable opportunity to enhance their CV and professional development with real-world experience. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship, and we’re looking forward to seeing what ideas and strategies the students come up with.”

It's clear that this collaboration is more than just a business arrangement; it’s a shared mission to make a tangible difference in the community.

How the support is making a real impact

This isn't just a plan for the future; End Energy Poverty is already making waves across Hull and East Yorkshire. They've provided support to a range of local organisations, including the Hull Sea Cadets, Holderness Area Rural Transport (HART), Hessle Road Network, and even the city's famous aquarium, The Deep. This work helps these vital community hubs manage their costs, allowing them to focus on what they do best.

The project shows what can be achieved when different parts of a city come together. The university provides the brainpower, local businesses provide the opportunities, and campaigns like Oh Yes! Net Zero provide the network that connects them all. And for other businesses wanting to get involved, there’s a simple way to offer support: by becoming a 'Friend of End Energy Poverty', companies can help fund more projects that have a lasting, positive impact on local communities and the lives of vulnerable individuals.