With the climate agenda now part of mainstream thinking, society clearly needs to step up and cut its carbon footprint. Our CEO Doug Stewart, answers some of the questions we often get asked as the UKs only supplier of 100% green gas and renewable electricity.
More and more people are choosing green electricity and green gas for their everyday needs. Whether it’s for lighting, heating, cooking, or simply powering the TV or the iPad, a third of Britain’s households have switched to green energy tariffs.
How green is 100Green?
We’ve been supplying our green energy to customers for 20 years and over the years we’ve seen many shades of green, and a myriad of measures in a bid to standardise or accredit the offerings.
100Green (Green Energy UK) is in fact one of just three companies recognised by Ofgem (the energy industry regulator), for the greenness of their energy supply, their green business models and practices when the energy price cap was introduced in the UK.
We can, in fact, claim to be the only supplier in the UK that supplies 100% green gas, as well as supplying 100% renewable electricity – from solar, wind, biomass and hydro power generation. We enter into power purchase agreements with generators so we know how and where the energy that we supply to our customers is produced.
Unlike many suppliers, we don’t use carbon off-setting schemes preferring instead to purchase only independently verified green energy.
What is the difference between your green energy tariffs?
But it’s not just the green agenda we are interested in, sustainability plays an important role too.
We have three energy tariffs: Sparkling – our standard tariff, Tide – our time of use tariff (ideal for EV owners) and our EKO tariff >. This third tariff provides an option for people who want to take the meaning of ‘green’ a step even further into other sustainability criteria. So, for example, the electricity is certified as being generated in locations away from migrating birds and fish habitats.
How can I be assured that your tariffs are really green?
Assurances of our green credentials are fundamental to our business and our relationship with our customers. For our electricity, we have a REGO certificate (Renewable Energy Guarantees Origin) for every MWh that we supply; this is audited annually by Ofgem. For our green gas, we have Renewable Gas Guarantees of Origin (RGGOs) that are certified by the Green Gas Certification Scheme. The purpose of the certificates is to prove that the energy was produced from renewable sources. And our EKO tariff is additionally certified as sustainable, by an independent European ecolabel, EKOenergy.org.
Why is your 100% green gas so special?
Supplying our customers with 100% green gas sets us apart from every other energy company - we are proud to be seen as a niche supplier - and it’s among the reasons we were recognised “Best Buy” for green energy earlier this year by Ethical Consumer Magazine.
Demand for green gas is growing year on year: since 2017 there has been a thirteen-fold increase in the number of customers being supplied with green gas in the UK. That’s great news; it’s not only better for the environment, but it means millions of tonnes of organic waste, instead of being sent to landfill, simply left to rot (releasing methane a greenhouse gas 20 times more toxic than CO2) or incinerated, gets put to good use - heating over a million homes.
Where does your green energy come from?
At 100Green, we believe in sustainability. We are committed to supporting generators of 100% renewable energy across the UK and we are dedicated to offering our customers, a real choice of where both their gas and electricity comes from. You can read more about how our energy is generated here >
We also like to concentrate on service, putting the customer at the centre of our business. We strive to answer the phone quickly, efficiently and with a friendly helpful voice on the end of it. You can find out more about our customer promise here >
The combination of good service and sustainable energy means that our customers tend to stay with us.
How much does truly green and sustainable energy cost?
On price, we are the first to admit that the higher costs associated with providing 100% green gas and 100% renewable electricity are reflected in our tariffs; but we’ve worked it out that for the average household it’s only the cost of that cappuccino a week.
That’s a small sacrifice for sweeping change!
Doug Stewart, CEO, 100Green