Our promise to the environment

Earth is a pretty amazing place and we'd like to help keep it that way. As an energy company, we take our environmental responsibility very seriously.

We really care about the environment and the consequences of energy generation.

Everyone's heard about CO₂ and the greenhouse effect, but how seriously should we take them? Here's a few facts (and these really are facts) to help you decide:

The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1997
During the last 100 years, Earth has warmed by 0.75 degrees Celsius and the rate at which it's warming is getting faster
Spring arrives in the UK around 10 days earlier than it did in the 1970s
The smallest amounts of Arctic summer ice on record were in the last three years
CO₂ levels in the atmosphere have risen by 38% since 1750, the year the industrial revolution began

Source: Act on CO₂

We think these facts are pretty sobering. That's why we've got a real commitment to eventually making renewable energy available to everyone.

We'd like to supply 100% renewable energy to all of our customers right now, but there just isn't enough to go around. We've increased the amount in our New Energy Plan so more people can do their bit for the environment whilst enjoying great value. We also offer the UK's cheapest 100% renewable Green Energy Plan for those who want to do even more. We're also actively planning on generating our own renewable energy in the future.

After all, it's everyone's responsibility to look after our environment.

Doing our bit

At our office, the Ovo Barn in Gloucestershire, we're striving to minimise our carbon footprint. Our beautiful rural location is a great reminder every day of what we're working to protect. We use our own 100% renewable Green Energy Plan and by the end of our first year we pledge to be carbon neutral. Making sure we're doing things in the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly way possible is an important consideration in all the decisions we make as our business grows.

Measuring our environmental impact

Measuring our environmental impact is the first step to finding ways to be more efficient and setting targets to improve. We will publish our environmental impact and performance each year in an impact report.

We're also working towards achieving the Carbon Trust Standard, which is awarded to organisations which measure, manage and reduce their carbon footprint www.carbontruststandard.com

Green champions

To encourage our team to be as energy efficient as possible, we've appointed a number of 'green champions'.

On top of their main job, whether that's helping answer customers' questions, marketing or research, our champions make sure we're all doing our bit to reduce our impact on the environment. They also work together to come up with new initiatives and keep tabs on our progress.

Why not check out our hints and tips for ways to make your office greener?