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FEATURE SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS More and more businesses are seeing the value of renewable electricity. Dr Randall Bowen,


Business Services Director at Good Energy, discusses what is motivating companies make the switch and what other businesses can learn from them.


With sustainability high on the agenda for an increasing number of UK organisations, many businesses are making the decision to engage with their energy supply and change the way they source their electricity.


Independent research undertaken by YouGov has confirmed that sustainability matters to consumers, with 72% of the UK adults surveyed saying they intend to be ‘greener in 2018’. This could be through making more sustainable choices such as reducing plastic usage, recycling, and buying from environmentally-conscious businesses. In fact, 62% of those surveyed stating that they would be more likely to buy from a brand with good environmental credentials.


The good news is that the road to using renewable energy as a business doesn’t need to be complicated. All it takes is making a simple switch from a traditional supplier to one, like Good Energy, which sources 100% of its electricity from renewable generators.


One business that has embraced renewables is the UK’s number one smoothie brand, Innocent. The business operates on the idea that it wants to “leave things better than we find them”, and employs 361 people out of London office, Fruit Towers. Katie Leggett, Innocent’s Sustainability Officer, explained: “Our commitment is to do our bit to keep climate change below two degrees. And a part of that is ensuring all our offices are powered by renewable electricity.”


The team at Innocent have found that by engaging their employees with how they use energy, they have made environmental and cost savings. They’ve done this by installing interactive features around the office, such as a ‘Last Leaver Lever’ which switches off all non-essential power on each floor at the end of the working day; and ‘Fresh Air Lights’ which light up when it’s more energy efficient to open the windows for natural heating or cooling.


Innocent are one of 90 companies using Good Energy’s peer-to-peer platform, Selectricity, to choose which renewable generators they source their electricity from. “It’s an amazing touch specifying what type of energy you are using.” said Jasper Sheffield, Innocent’s Office Superman. “It makes energy a tangible product instead of something that just comes down the wires.”


Jasper also used Selectricity’s energy-tracking function to identify areas of inefficiency. “We noticed that there were a few non-essential items left on every weekend. Over the course of a year we are now saving a lot of electricity.”


Another business with sustainability at the heart of its operations is the UK’s largest independent cheese producer, Wyke Farms. A few years ago, Wyke Farms


22 | TOMORROW’S FM


realised that going green was valuable to both their business and the environment. Now, they’re the first cheese and butter maker to be self-sufficient when it comes to energy creation.


“62% of UK adults stated that they would be more likely to buy from a brand with good environmental credentials.”


The farm invested £15m in five bio-digester vessels which use waste cheese, cow manure and waste from local food manufacturers to generate 100% renewable electricity; capturing gases like methane that can otherwise harm the environment. The digesters generate more than enough power for the needs of the entire site and all of Wyke’s cheesemaking operations, and Good Energy buys the excess to supply other businesses and homes.


Richard Clothier, Managing Director of Wyke Farms, said, “While a lot of businesses may say that becoming greener will cost you more, we’ve found the complete opposite. Challenging yourself to be efficient and reduce waste actually lowers your costs.”


As these businesses show, switching to renewables is a simple step that every organisation can take towards becoming more sustainable in 2018. Businesses can be proud that they are helping to tackle climate change as well as appealing to consumers – and that can only be good news for their own business and the planet as a whole.


www.goodenergy.co.uk twitter.com/TomorrowsFM


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