Managing Director Hugh Synge was presented with the award at a ceremony and dinner at the Four Pillars Cotswold Water Park Hotel, just north of Swindon. The awards are intended to recognise, reward and promote environmental best practise in Wiltshire.

Around 200 guests from Wiltshire businesses attended. Judith Hann, one of Britain’s leading science journalists and broadcasters, and best known for presenting Tomorrow’s World for 20 years, was the guest of honour and presented the awards.

Soltrac, who operate out of Tisbury, south Wiltshire, started in 2006 with the simple aim of bringing down the cost of installing high-quality solar water heating systems. Since then they have taken a number of innovative steps to improve the quality of service and information in the solar water heating industry.

These include taking a friendly, ‘no pressure’ approach to marketing and sales, and being transparent on price, by publishing a full price list. Soltrac is also an approved installer under the Government’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme, so their domestic customers receive a £400 grant towards the cost of installing solar thermal panels.

Most significantly, Soltrac have set up a Solar Thermal Research Facility on the roof of the Keystone Brewery near Hindon. Soltrac and Keystone have a partnership where in return for free hot water for brewing beer, Keystone allows Soltrac to use its roof to test six different solar panel systems. The facility is building up a large amount of invaluable information on solar performance.

Receiving the award, Hugh Synge said:

"Right from the start we have taken a different approach to selling solar panels. We don’t employ any high pressure sales tactics, we never make claims about our products that we can’t back up, and we take an open, honest and ethical approach in everything we do.

“We believe that we are the only small company in the country who has an independent research facility. This is real data on the performance of the solar water heating systems that we sell, collected right here in the South West of England, not from some laboratory in Germany or Switzerland.

“It means that we can be confident when we say to our customers that our systems will provide you with 60-70% of your hot water needs, save you hundreds of pounds a year and reduce your carbon footprint by almost three quarters of a tonne of CO2.

“Winning this award is very exciting. We have all been working hard, through difficult economic times, to help people bring down the cost of their fuel bills and cut their carbon emissions – gaining recognition from the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust of this hard work is a real boost."

There has never been a better time to go solar. Fuel prices are high and we are all looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint. Solar water heating is the most affordable form of renewable energy and can make the biggest cuts in fuel bills and carbon emissions per pound of capital spent.