How green is your energy supplier?
Your money is one of your most powerful tools for making a stand
on environmental sustainability and choosing who supplies your energy and how you use it, can have
a significant impact on the environment. The UK has pledged to reach "net
zero" - where no additional planet-warming greenhouse gases are added to
the atmosphere - by 2050. To achieve this, much more of our energy needs to come from
renewable and low-carbon sources, and much less from fossil fuels.
Traditionally
much of our energy has come from coal but today this is insignificant. Whilst we should be
encouraged by the increased proportion of renewables we still have a way to go and the Government’s own
Climate Change Committee has expressed concerns that
the UK could miss its future targets.
Most
of our energy comes from the National Grid and there are no separate routes to
supply genuine 100% clean energy apart although some local community energy
schemes are starting to do things differently. Dozens of energy deals now claim to offer 100% renewable
energy but many are not as green as they seem;
‘greenwashing’ is widespread. Just recently Uswitch published the first
comparison site to set standards for green tariffs – gold, silver or bronze –
depending on whether the supplier generates its own renewable electricity, or how it sources its electricity, to help separate the
true green from “pale green” tariffs.
The
debate on which are the greenest energy supplies in the UK is ongoing; the safest
bet is to choose a gold standard deal and the four which currently make the grade are all from Good Energy which sources clean electricity directly from1,600 renewable energy projects across the UK, and runs its own solar and
windfarms too. Other energy suppliers committed
to supplying green energy and actively investing in renewables include 100Green (formerly GEUK), Ecotricity, and Octopus Energy which claims to be on a mission to build a truly sustainable energy system
globally. Switching to a renewable energy provider is absolutely, unequivocally a good thing.so if you haven’t yet done so,
think again (and if I recommend that switch, both of us could get a gift
voucher or a credit on our first bill!). So
after checking out the credentials of your current supplier (and perhaps switching)
perhaps the most practical actions you can take are:
1. Review your home energy use and look for ways of reducing your
consumption which is good for the pocket as well as the planet. Some are so
unbelievably simple and yet often ignored. How many unnecessary lights do you leave on?
Do you still fill the kettle just for a cup of tea? Have you changed all your
light bulbs to LEDs. Why not turn down your central heating by 1⁰ C. Whilst the CO2
savings on such simple tasks seem small, collectively they could make a significant difference and help your pocket too.
'The greenest energy is the energy you don't use at all'
2. With prices of solar panels dropping so substantially, you could
consider generating some of your own 100% clean energy and Increasing numbers
of households are now doing this You might also be able to strike a deal with
one of the large solar farm cooperatives like Big Solar Co-op or Westmill Wind
Farm Co-operative in Oxfordshire which are beginning to spread their benefits
to the local community.
Your money has power; plan
to use it wisely to select an energy supplier
which can be seen to be making a
positive contribution to the health of the planet.
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