Our Environment

Going clean and green

Purchased electricity accounted for 30% of our 2019 baseline year emissions and energy supplies are a key area of focus after air travel as we work towards our net zero goals.

All of our UK offices use green energy suppliers but in Cheltenham and for our London HQ (our main consumer) we are now purchasing electricity from some of the top four suppliers of green energy. Good Energy and Ecotricity match the power we use with electricity generated by the sun, wind and water in the UK. In addition, in 2020, Good Energy offered our staff a £100 discount for switching to their 100% renewable energy supply.

A number of energy tariffs marketed by suppliers as ‘green’ use power from the wholesale market which is derived from a mix of sources including fossil fuels and nuclear power. Thanks to a regulatory loophole, suppliers acquire certificates to label this energy as ‘green’ through UK Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs) and European Guarantees of Origin (GoOs).

Good Energy has contracts with 1,600 different generators across the UK and all of its electricity is sourced purely from renewables. It is the only company that has all of its tariffs certified by USwitch’s Green Accreditation scheme.

“If I’m going to buy electricity from a company, the least that company should do is buy themselves the equivalent renewable electricity from elsewhere,” says Good Energy Director of Communications Luke Bigwood. “At the moment, it’s far too easy to certify a unit of electricity as ‘green’. REGO does that, but to verify it properly requires a burden of proof that engenders the need for a direct contractual relationship with generators.”

Habitability of the planet is at the heart of Good Energy’s mission, adds Bigwood. “We need to get rid of fossil fuels everywhere, but in the interim, there will be players who are regularly trading with fossil or nuclear generators and then ‘greening’ up their tariffs. We don’t think that is the cleverest way to do things – procuring electricity in the right way is beneficial for everybody,” he says.

“Procuring electricity in the right way is beneficial for everybody”

- Luke Bigwood, Director of Communications, Good Energy

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