npower Business Solutions Foundation: uplifting and supporting those facing hardship

nBS, one of the is one of the UK’s leading business energy suppliers, is dedicated to corporate social responsibility (CSR), consistently working to improve the economic, social, and environmental wellbeing of the communities it serves.

As part of this commitment, nBS established the nBS Foundation in 2024. And in its first year, the foundation donated £2.8 million to 89 projects across the Midlands and Yorkshire, supporting the areas near where nBS’s offices are based.

nBS has now committed a total of £10 million to the nBS Foundation, supporting initiatives across five core areas of impact:

• Celebrating environmental sustainability
• Championing diversity and inclusion
• Helping the vulnerable
• Boosting economic and employment opportunities
• Supporting families and young people

Here, we delve into how the nBS Foundation is supporting initiatives that offer crucial assistance to people experiencing hardships. By setting up mental health programs and creating pathways to employment, nBS takes pride in supporting groups that seek to uplift vulnerable people, enabling them to rebuild their lives.

Here are two of the projects to have benefited from direct funding through the nBS Foundation so far:

Building homes and better lives with Canopy Housing

For 25 years, Canopy Housing has been addressing the housing crisis by working with homeless volunteers to transform empty properties into safe, affordable homes.

Homelessness and derelict houses have long been a challenge for communities around Leeds, and Canopy Housing tackles both these issues by training volunteers to retrofit properties to the Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) CarbonLite Standards.

This initiative not only provides vulnerable people with housing - it also equips them with valuable life and employability skills. Each year, over 100 volunteers are supported through Canopy Housing, which has now successfully converted a total of 80 properties.

And with a grant of £95,600 through the nBS Foundation, Canopy Housing has been able to renovate four more Victorian terraces into low carbon homes, as well as conducting workshops to educate people about its projects.

Empowering women back into work with Smart Works

Smart Works helps unemployed women gain the confidence, coaching and clothing they need to succeed in job interviews and transform their lives. This charity aims to support women facing multiple barriers to employment, including refugees, lone parents, women from ethnically diverse communities and survivors of domestic violence. Women are referred to Smart Works via Job Centres, mental health charities, women’s refuges, homeless shelters, the prison service, care services and youth organisations.

Central to Smart Works is the Interview Dressing and Preparation service, designed to help women feel and look their best during scheduled job interviews. This service includes a 60-minute dressing appointment followed by a 60-minute personalised interview preparation session, all provided free of charge.

Through a £17,500 donation, the nBS Foundation has supported the role of a new Outreach Assistant supporting areas such as Seacroft, Harehills and Bradford. Since receiving this funding, the team has supported over 700 women, including around 350 in Leeds.

Supporting those in need

Across E.ON, we’re committed to supporting our customers, our colleagues and our communities.

From the meaningful funding through initiatives like the nBS Foundation to supporting individual E.ON Next customers who may be struggling to pay for their energy, we’re here to help.

For more about how E.ON, npower Business Solutions and E.ON Next are driving positive social impact across the UK, click here.